steam up “yes” interest in the Tuesday referendum on the stadium bond issue. The Citizens Committee for the Stadium, of which Jerry Atkinson and Canadeo are co-chairmen, has been pointing to Saturday’s rally for the last three weeks. The key figures in the audience Saturday will be over 400 ward workers – roughly 20 from each of the 21 wards. These workers, headed by Bernard Darling and Roman Denissen, will spend the final days before the election in a house to house campaign, along with members of the women’s committee. A crowd of more than 1,000 fan-voters is expected. The public is invited and there will be plenty of seating room. All of the talks will be brief but hard-hitting. Halas is expected to present official dope – as concerns his Bears and other teams in the league – on why the Packers need a new stadium. And the pro grid pioneer is expected to mince no words! Lambeau is flying in from California where he now makes his home. Hutson is coming up from Racine. Losch and Burris were due tonight to look over the city, including the stadium…Arrangements for the rally were completed at a meeting of the stadium publicity committee yesterday. The group announced that the last of thousands of pamphlets will be distributed over the weekend…Members of the South Side Civic Assn., at their regular meeting last night, unanimously adopted a resolution urging the citizens of Green Bay to vote for a new stadium in next Tuesday’s referendum. “We believe it is one of the improvements Green Bay needs to keep it the leading city in Northern Wisconsin,” said Carl Zoll, president.

MAYOR EXPLAINS CITY FINANCING FOR STADIUM

MAR 30 (Green Bay) - Since it can be assumed the valuation of Green Bay will increase annually, Mayor Otto Rachals emphasized today that construction of a new stadium will not necessarily mean an increase in the city tax rate. The estimate of expenses to the city for its half share of a $960,000 stadium of 22 cents per $1,000 assessed valuation is based on the present total valuation, the mayor explained. Increases in annual valuation totals could well offset part or all of the increased bonding and interest expenditure, he said…WILL PAY HALF: Rachals also emphasized that building a stadium would mean no changes in school construction plans and repeated figures to explain the city’s debt limit of nearly $20,000,000. Nothing speculation of the stadium’s effect on a new west side junior high school, Rachals explained that the school project already is authorized and is following normal procedure toward construction. Land is purchased for the school site, and plans now are being drawn, he said. A recent decision of the council’s finance committee was to start planning of the school bond issue after construction bids, including alternates on phases of the new school, were received by the Board of Education. This decision was made, Rachals said, because of past experience with bids being greater than bond issues sold in advance which made necessary transfers from surplus city funds. Construction on the new junior high school should start in August, Rachals said…ALREADY AUTHORIZED: With the Packer Corp. playing half of the bond issue and interest on this half and with an interest rate of 2.1 percent, the rate obtained on city hall bonds, Comptroller John Tease has computed the total cost to the city at $552,000. On the basis of the 1955 local assessed valuation of about $125,000,000, this amounts to an expense of 22 cents per $1,000. Rachals pointed out that, applying the present tax rate, each increase of $1,000,000 in local valuation would raise an additional $25,500 in property tax income. Thus, an increase of $1,000,000 each year during the 20-year term of the stadium bond issue would almost pay the city’s share of the cost. Since 1950, the annual increase in the city’s total assessed valuation has been between $3,000,000 and $6,000,000. The increase for 1956 is estimated at about $7,000,000. Optimists might point out that the St. Lawrence Seaway or annexations and consolidations during the next 20 years could make the city’s valuation increase at a greater rate than has been recorded since 1920. Many factors will determine the city’s valuation and tax needs, which determine the annual tax rate, Rachals said. It is true that the city will assume an average expenditure of 22 cents per $1,000 of present valuation if the stadium bond issue is approved next Tuesday, but Rachals said he wanted to make the point that this does not necessarily mean a tax rate increase of this amount. With the total cost of $552,000 to the city over 20 years, the average annual payment by the city will be $27,600. With the diminishing principal each year, and the annual reduction resulting in interest, Tease explained, the city’s payments will start with $34,000 the first year and will be $19,000 for the last year of the bond issue. The Packers have pledged to pay $30,000 a year over the 20 years. One other factor mentioned by Rachals was the breakdown in sources of city property tax income. About 52 percent of the city’s assessed valuation in real estate and personal property is mercantile and manufacturing property so that business pays more the half the city taxes. From this standpoint, Rachals said, the cost of a stadium with interest would be about $1,200,000 but to the home owners of Green Bay is only $265,000. The mayor pointed out, too, that a $960,000 bond issue would have no dangerous effect on the city’s limit on bonded indebtedness…ONE-THIRD OF LIMIT: On the basis of the present assessed valuation, the city’s bonding limit is $19,960,108. The present city debt, including the recent bond issue for a new city hall and storm sewer construction, is $6,360,000.

LOSCH, BURRIS HERE; STADIUM RALLY SET

MAR 30 (Green Bay) – Halfbacks Jack Losch and Bob Burris got the feel of Green Bay today. And the tempo is almost like the football season because there’s action in the air. The Packers are preparing for their “greatest game” Tuesday when voter-fans of Green Bay decide on the stadium bond issue – not to mention the future of the team here. Both athletes broke into their Easter vacations to join in the “big battle”, Burris arriving from the University of Oklahoma Thursday afternoon and Losch flying in today from the University of Miami (Fla.) after being stranded for half-a-day in Lancaster, Pa., due to bad weather. Losch and Burris aren’t real familiar with the stadium problem, although one look at the stadium convinced ‘em the reason why behind the referendum four days hence. Burris, the Packers’ No. 6 draft choice, had heard considerable about the stadium from his brother Buddy, who played guard for the Packers for four seasons, and from Oklahoma’s Max Boydston, the Chicago Cardinals’ first choice a year ago. “Max played here last season against the Packers and he told me last winter it looked like Green Bay could use a new stadium,” Burris said. Boydston and Burris were teammates on the Oklahoma powerhouses and they both hail from Muskogee, Okla. Losch, the Bays’ No. 1 draft choice, and Burris will be among the featured guests at the big stadium rally at the Columbus Club at 9:30 Saturday morning. Arrangements for the big free shows are all set. George Halas, owner and retired coach of the Chicago Bears, and Curly Lambeau, founder of the Packers and their head coach for 30 years, will headline the program which will be MC’d by Tony Canadeo, who is co-chairman along with Jerry Atkinson of the Citizens Committee For The Stadium. Other drumbeaters will be Don Hutson, Johnny Blood, Coach Liz Blackbourn and his staff including Ray McLean, Lou Rymkus, Abe Stuber and Jack Vainisi, Breezy Reid, John Martinkovic, Gary Knafelc, Dave Hanner, Mayor Otto Rachals, Packer President Russ Bogda and a flock of others. For a true football atmosphere, the Packer Lumberjack Band, under the director of Wilner Burke, will play for a half hour before the big show and at times during the program. Approximately 400 ward workers, under co-chairmen Bernard Darling and Roman Denissen, will form the nucleus of the crowd which is expected to exceed 1,000. The public is invited to attend. There will be no charge. A half-hour of the program will be televised over WBAY-TV and broadcast over the Press-Gazette radio service WJPG – from 10:30 to 11…”Bob is the best football player in our family!” That’s how Buddy always referred to Bob, who was then just going into high school, when Buddy played here in 1949-50-51. Four other brothers are in football. Reminded of his brother’s compliment yesterday, the latest Burris to try the pros laughed: “I visited Buddy and his family in Oklahoma City two weeks ago and we had a big argument on who was the most important – a halfback or a guard. We never did settle it because he wouldn’t change in opinion about the guard being the most important and I’ll be darned if I was going to agree with him. Buddy said that a halfback couldn’t get through if the guard didn’t open a hole and I said it was up to the halfback to keep running for a touchdown.” The Oklahoma star is anxious to try his hand in professional football, and he’s looking forward to playing here. Coach Blackbourn “introduced” Burris to the team yesterday in his office, pointing out each member of the ’55 squad from a large team picture. Burris and Losch were being ushered around town today by Jack Vanisi of the Packer staff.

DRAMATIC APPEALS MADE TO KEEP PACKERS HERE

MAR 31 (Green Bay) - Dramatic appeals to KEEP THE PACKERS IN GREEN BAY echoed throughout our town today! Six capitalized words – six points or, if you please, a touchdown, marked a rip-roaring stadium pep rally at the Columbus Club this morning. More than 1,000 fans crowded into the downtown auditorium for the unique program, and thousands of others heard the hard-hitting talks via radio and television. Every remark was aimed at the stadium bond issue referendum next Tuesday – a day that will blacken or brighten the future of the Packers in Green Bay. The key message came from the czar of professional football – Bert Bell, who was forced to remain at NFL headquarters in Philadelphia at the request of his doctors. Two other pioneers of professional football issues dynamic appeals – George Halas, owner and retired coach of the Chicago Bears, and Curly Lambeau, founder of the Packers and their head coach for 30 years. Joining in where Mayor Otto Rachals; Packer head coach Liz Blackbourn; former Packer head coach Gene Ronzani; Johnny Blood, the Vagabond Halfback; Fred Cobb, the speaker deluxe; Toastmaster Tony Canadeo and Jerry Atkinson, co-chairmen of the Citizens Committee for the Stadium; and many others. The Packer Lumberjack Band also provided a stirring musical atmosphere for the occasion. Bell’s telegraphed and “taped” (for radio and TV) words carried tremendous weight, especially when he outlined the amazing growth of the National league and then stated: “This growth will continue and I am sure the good people of Green Bay want to continue to share in it. This they can do by voting for the proposed new stadium which unquestionably will be needed in the near future.” He then pointed to cities interested in the Green Bay franchise, which he valued at $750,000, and added: “Therefore, it is my opinion that it would be good business judgment on the part of the citizens of Green Bay to approve the referendum for a new stadium.” Halas revealed an interesting story, hitting the high spots in the Bear-Packer rivalry and then reaching 1956 reality – the need for a new stadium here. “The Packers have ingredients for many, many years of successful operations – coaching, players, fan support – but there is one other element I might mention, one other factor which is essential for your continued growth as a pro football power. And that all important element is the erection of the new civic stadium, which is now being considered,” George said. Halas added: “Let’s consider this matter from the viewpoint of an owner of another club in the NFL. You have a considerable investment in your team. It costs a minimum of $30,000 to put a visiting team on the field for a game nowadays and the only way a home team can break even, or make a profit, is to take in more than $100,000 per game at the box office. That’s where the potential attendance figures becomes so important. If you can draw 35,000 to 40,000 at home against the Packers, you naturally feel you should be able to draw a comparable crowd at Green Bay. And when this becomes impossible it is inevitable that you look forward to playing at Green Bay with less enthusiasm – say, than playing the 49ers in San Francisco. This isn’t selfishness – just reasonable and necessary business prudence. So, in discussing this matter of a new stadium, I would like to suggest that you think of it in terms of investment in the Packers, and in Green Bay – in fact, the whole state of Wisconsin. By investing in the new field you accomplish two objectives – you make Green Bay an even more desirable franchise in the viewpoint of other league clubs and you make Green Bay a more desirable franchise from the viewpoint of Packer supporters. A bigger stadium increases the Packers’ potential for successful operation. I confess I have a deeper feeling of attachment for the Packers than any other club. Sometimes I wonder if there would be a Chicago Bears today if there had not been such a terrific rivalry, between the Packers and Bears since the early 1920’s. I can say to you sincerely – just as sincerely as we hope to edge out the Packers in both games next fall – that the best way for you to guarantee the current and future success of the Packers is to build the new stadium – a place where your team can grow and flourish in the future, just as it has grown and flourished here in Green Bay from the earliest days of professional football.” Lambeau related the trials and tribulations of the early days in his personal appeal and then hammered: “Not two, three or four people were responsible for keeping the Packers alive in Green Bay. The people, the fans of Green Bay did it down through the years and I’m sure they’ll continue to support the team and build a new stadium.” Lambeau viewed “our present sports age” as a “go ahead period, one of advancement,” adding: “And that type of thinking must prevail in Green Bay. The main way Green Bay and the Packers can advance is by having a new stadium. It makes no difference whether you are Packer fans or not, and who isn’t in this town, a new stadium would benefit the entire city in different ways other than football.” Rachals asked: “Why are all you people here today?” and then answered: “Because of your great love for the Packers; because you want to keep them here, and you are willing to give all of your time in backing the new stadium project.” Rachals said he has given the key to the City of Green Bay many times since he became mayor and one of the recipients was Mr. Kefauver. “Do you know what’s printed on that key? Green Bay – Home of the Packers. Do we want to take off the key?” Rachals questioned. Blackbourn pointed up the “seriousness of the problem” and added: “The coaching staff is working hard, really hard, to keep up our end of the bargain. We want to develop a team worthy of a new stadium.” Key figures in the audience were more than 400 workers in the city’s 21 wards. They will carry on a house-to-house drive today and Monday.

PACKERS SIGN TWO TACKLES; 28 PLAYERS SET

MAR 31 (Green Bay) - The Packers’ list of signed players for the 1956 campaign swelled to 28 today, with the official registration of two free agent tackles – Bill Milburn, a 230-pounder from the University of Texas, and Richard (Jocko) Gordon, 265, of Toledo University and the Los Angeles Rams. Milburn, a lieutenant in the Army Transportation Corps, was separated from service this month. He played two seasons of Army football and comes highly recommended by coaches and opposing players. Milburn played on the powerful Texan team that defeated Tennessee in the Cotton Bowl in ’52. He first gained his athletic reputation at Austin, Tex., High, winning all-state honors in football and as an anchorman on the school’s record breaking track team. Gordon, a defensive expert, was the 17th draft choice of the Rams in ’54. A Marine veteran, Gordon was named on the All-Midwestern conference while at Toledo. He started his athletic career at Toledo High, winning all-state honors. Coach Liz Blackbourn has announced the signing of six tackles thus far.

RUSS WINNIE, ONCE PACKER VOICE, DIES

MAR 31 (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) - Russell Winnie, 49, assistant general manager of WTMJ and WTMJ-TV, Milwaukee, died unexpectedly in his apartment here Friday night. Winnie, who reportedly had heart trouble, and his wife appeared here only Sunday for a vacation. They had taken an apartment at Lauderdale Beach. Winnie was a well-known sports announcer and for many years broadcast the Green Bay Packer football games and University of Wisconsin football and basketball contests. He joined the WTMJ staff in 1928, the year after his graduation from the University of Wisconsin. He broadcast Packer games for 18 consecutive years and Wisconsin game for 16 seasons. He also had a sports news program that was heard for 18 years. He was named manager of WTMJ in 1946 and in 1953 became assistant general manager of both the radio and television. He was also a director of the Milwaukee Journal. Winnie is survived by his widow and son, Alon, a medical student at Northwestern University. Another son, Griffin, died 10 months ago.

STADIUM BALLOT FIRST PHASE IN NEW PACKER ERA!

APR 2 (Green Bay) - The first step – or stumble – leading toward a new Packer era will be taken Tuesday when citizens of the City of Green Bay cast their referendum ballots for or against a new stadium. A “yes” majority will mean, simply, that the Packers will remain in Green Bay. A “no” majority will mean, just as simply, that Green Bay stands a good chance of losing the Packers in the next few years. The Citizens Committee for the Stadium, headed by Tony Canadeo and Jerry Atkinson, felt today like the Packers do the day before a big game – optimistic and confident but still full of respect for their opponent. And a "big game" it will be tomorrow! Mayor Otto Rachals calls it "the greatest game the Packers ever played." New era? The Packers, with their wooden City Stadium, have been operating in a Model-T background. A new stadium would put them and Green Bay on a par with other cities in the NFL. Rachals has emphasized that a large stadium can be used for many other events, including sports shows, church gatherings, water show, etc. The committee continued its campaign with distribution of pamphlets reminding voter-fans of the 10 facts which had been explained and publicized many times in the past three weeks. The 10 facts: 1 - The present stadium is inadequate; 2 - We stand a chance of losing the Packers; 3 - A new stadium would have numerous uses; 4 - The cost is relatively small; 5 - The Packers will pay half the bond issue; 6 - Average tax amounts to 22 1/2 cents per $1,000; 7 - Bigger stadium will increase revenue; 8 - New stadium will be clean, comfortable; 9 - You'll be sure of seats for your friends; 10 - You can point with pride to your city. Members of the women's committee were busy in a house-to-house campaign today. The drive is merely to answer questions and ask people to get out and vote...RALLY LEFTOVER: The No. 1 factor at the Saturday morning stadium rally at the Columbus Club was enthusiasm. If we've heard it once, we've heard it a 100 times in nearly 20 years of sports, "you can't beat enthusiasm." From the start of Fred Cobb's stirring and closing address on the "Packer fan", the roaring was amazingly loud. Cobb touched on the human side of the people who built the Packer tradition; it was a tremendous appeal and as his final words drifted away we wondered how anyone with an ounce of sporting blood (and who hasn't got it in this town) could give the Packers the boot...And speaking of sporting blood, the long and enthusiastic hand-clap given former coach Gene Ronzani was heartwarming. It seemed that both Ronzani and the fans had buried the hatchet. In fact, Ronzani came here to cast an absentee ballot and, as he told the audience, "to make the usual arrangements for tickets next fall."...Covering for the Chicago Tribune was Cooper Rollow, who witnessed five Packer home games last fall and, as a result, got to be quite a Packer fan. Rollow posed a thought-provoking question during the storming rally: "Will you tell me why anyone in this town would even consider losing the Packers?" That, incidentally, is how folks feel in larger cities outside Green Bay. They can't quite imagine how a city - known as the sports wonder of the world - could dare place their most prized asset in jeopardy...And on that score, Johnny Blood indicated in his lively talk that Minneapolis is ready, willing and able to take over the Packer franchise. Minneapolis is just finishing a new stadium. Chicago Bear owner George Halas said that "Buffalo is ready to double-deck its 32,000 stadium at a cost of a million dollars if it can get a franchise." And Curly Lambeau hammered: "The Packer franchise could be sold for a million dollars in 24 hours." Thus, the speakers pointed up the value of the Packers - a million bucks worth of everything that could be poured down the drain in 13 hours - between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m., Tuesday. It doesn't make "cents" - the people of our town putting their thumbs down on the Pack!

GREEN BAY WILL DECIDE STADIUM FUTURE TUESDAY

APR 2 (Green Bay) - Green Bay voters Tuesday will give their answer to the proposal that the city be authorized to borrow up to $960,000 for a new stadium of which the Packer Corp. would repay half. Polls in the city will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. The stadium question, because of its effect on the future of professional football in Wisconsin, will be one of the top decisions made in municipal elections in the state. Since there are only seven ward contests in the city and because of the lack of activity in the presidential primary, the referendum will decide to a large degree the city voter turnout...EXPLAIN LEASE PLAN: The question arose again today of what would happen to the Packer half share in paying for the stadium cost should anything happen to the corporation. It was emphasized several weeks ago that the Packer Corp. lease on a new stadium would be so drawn that the lease would constitute a claim against the assets of the corporation should the Packer franchise ever be sold, and that the value of the franchise, estimated at a million dollars, would thus be security to the city for the Packers' commitment. The Packer Corporation's constitution and by-laws provides that in the event of dissolution, any remaining assets would go to the Sullivan-Wallen Post of the American Legion, but this would occur only after all outstanding obligations were paid off. Anything the Packers still owed the city would be one of those obligations.

THE CASE FOR THE STADIUM

APR 2 (Green Bay) - The people of Green Bay are considering the expenditure of approximately one million dollars for the construction of a new city stadium. Some people regard this as a great risk. Some think of it as moderately speculative. Others think it is a sure thing. Actually the expenditure is much less risky than the refusal to spend would be. The most careful estimate of the cost to the city is $552,000. This sum includes the city's share of the principal and interest. The city's share is less than the bond issue because the Packer Corporation has agreed to pay half. Refusal to make this expenditure, which is well within the city's means, would definitely rusk the loss of the Packers to Green Bay. What could such a loss mean? For 35 years, Green Bay has profited greatly by the prestige the Packers have given the city and its institutions. The Packers have been worth millions of dollars in good will advertising. In addition, they have brought thousands of dollars in new money into the business life of the city. Every person in Green Bay has profited from this stimulation of business. The Packers have never been in better condition all around as a team, a business institution, or a competitor in the league. The benefits of this organization will bring to Green Bay in the future should by every test be greater than ever in the past, and they should continue to grow as the city grows. The greatest gamble a Green Bay citizen could take Tuesday would be to vote against the stadium.