U. of 0. l ibrary
S-uone, Oregon
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Named
BRIG. GEN. JACK A. GIBBS, Roseburg, has a happy smile as he receives promotion to
his new ronk. His wife, left, and Maj. Gen. C. F. Necrason, commander of the Alaskan Air
Command are pictured pinning on his new stars. The award was made o few minutes
after word was received that the Senate had confirmed the presidential nomination.
Others pictured at the ceremony are Mrs. Frank A. Armstrong Jr., wife of the Alaskan
commander; U. Gen. Armstrong; and Mrs. Necrason. Gibbs is commander at Elmendorf
Air Force Base, Alaska. (Air Force Photo)
Legislators Hear Criticism
Of Hunt For Steve Solovich
The search for Steve Solovich is
not being pushed, and people in the
area where lie is ranging are both
frightened and angry State Sen.
Albert G. Flcgel and Rep. V. 0.
(Bun) Kelsay were told Saturday
by a group of more than 75 resi
dents of the Glide-Little River
area.
After listening to the delegation.
Sen. Flegel stated he would meet
with Sheriff Ira Byrd to discuss
progress of the hunt and the need,
if any, for additional aid at the
state level.
Flegel and Kelsay. following a
meeting with the Roseburg Cham
ber of Commerce, were given a
report of numerous thefts in the
Glide area and the fact that homes
have been entered during the ab
sence of residents; Women, parlic.
ulaily, arc frightened, il was sul
ed. Methods Criticized
Some of the speakers criticized
the methods used by the sheriff in
hunting the fugitive. Others said
they didn't criticize the law en
forcement officers except that the
effort to capture Solovich was tak
ing too long and that the "on
again, off again," tactics were not
providing desired protection.
The two members of the legisla
ture stated they are not law en
forcement officers; that they are
unable to order any procedure.
Klegel told the group he was con
fident the sheriff was seeking to
handle the matter in the way he
thought best but that he would dis
cuss the matter with the sheriff to
ascertain if anything could be done
to speed the capture tf Solovich.
. Solovich, who escaped approxi
mately a year ago from the Vet
erans Hospital at Roseburg, has
been ranging in the area east of
Glide and has reportedly cut fenc
I es, killed sheep, stolen rifles, am
munition, clothing, bedding, tools,
food and numerous other articles.
Man Has Hallucinations
Mentally deranged, he reported
ly has the hallucination he is lead
ing a large force of guerilla fight
ers. He recently shot and wounded
Watson Talcotl, a resident of the
area, working with a posse as a
special officer. Since the time Tal
cott was shot, it was stated, there
has been little activity connected
with the hunt for Solovich. Sheriff
Byrd had issued a statement that
.
Sheriff Says His Present Method
Holds Best Promise For Results
By BILL SPARKS
News-Review Staff Writer
Douglas County Sheriff Ira Byrd
tins morning said he had discussed
Saturday's "Solovich Meeting" with
State Sen. Al Flegol and added he
had told Flegel he thought the
present method of carrying out the
search for Solovich held the best
promise for bringing the escaped
mental patient in alive.
Byrd also said he felt it was bet
ter to comb the hills with a small
party of men as he's doing now be
cause a larcje posse wouia tentf to
get Solovich riled up more and in !
crease the possibility of his killing;
someone.
Criticism Sharp
The sheriff has come tinder sharp
criticism over the Solovich case by
two strong factions the one group
The Weather
AIRPORT RECORDS
Mostly cloudy with periods of
ram today end Tuesday. Not much
temperature change.
Highest temp, last 14 hours 59
lowest temp, lest 14 hours . 49
Highest temp, any Mer. ('0 .. II
Lowest temp, ary Mir, ('5l .. 19
Precip. last 24 liours . .11
Precip. from March 1 3.77
Precip. from Sept. 1 J7.7
Excess from !ept. 1 4.55
Sunset tonight, :17 p.m.
Sunrite tomorrow, :2I a.m.
New Brigadier
i ' - , - :
the search was halted because of
extremely stormy weather.
Gail Carnine, a deputy sheriff
who directed the effort to capture
Solovich until recently, commend
ed the men who had worked with
him, as he reported to Flegel and
Kelsay the procedure to date. He
slated his opinion that it would be
difficult to obtain a more efficient
group to engage in the search,
Tape Recording
Sought In Trial
FORT - PlERCEr- Fl -(AP)
cuunel fur- Joseph?' A. Peel Jr.
today sought access to tape re
cordings of Floyd A. Holzapfel's
account of how he murdered Cir
cuit Judge and Airs. C. E. Chil
lingworth. State Atty. Phil O'Connell and
defense attorney Carlton Welch
argued bitterly over the issue and
at one point, O'Connell said: "Mr.
Welch, you are a deliberate liar."
O'Connell said that Welch made
no effort before the trial to talk
to anyone present during the con
versation in a .Melbourne
Fla.,
motel.
he
Welch retorted that when
tried to talk to James Yenzer, an
undercover agent for the State
Sheriffs Bureau, Yenzer went to
O'Connell, "then disappeared and
could not be found."
That was when O'Connell called
Welch a liar.
The defense contended that it
needed the tape to determine
whether there was conflict be
tween what happened at the mo
tel and the testimony being given
bv P. O. Wilher.
Wilbcr and Yenzer went on a
four-day drinking spree with Hol
zapfel and got him to tell how he
killed the judge and his wife, Mar
joric. June 15. 1955.
Peel is charged wilh plotting
the killings to prevent Chilling
worth from exposing gambling
and moonshine rackets in West
Palm Beach.
As the trial moved into its sec
ond week, the stale had .13 of its
original witnesses to send to the
stand against Peel.
i which wants the escaped mental pa -
tient left alone, and the other'
which wants him taken from the
woods at any cost. There is. of
course, a third group, wanting him
taken from the woods, but without
violence.
Byrd answered one vein of crit
icism regarding the possibility of
having to shoot Solovich by say
ing, "If we had wanted to kill him
we could have done it several
times in the past."
There's no one who wants to see
him taken alive any more than I
do." the sheriff emphasized,
Mv mfn nave orders to take
him without injury if possible." he
pointed out. "If this can t be done,
they have orders to shoot to wound
him and only if their, own lives
are in danger do they have orders
to shoot to kill."
Ideas OK'd
Byrd said that he would lie hap
pv lo talk with State Police Sunt
II. G. .Maison about the search for
Solovich. "If Klegel wants to ar-
range a meeting and Maison has
any ideas of how to get Big Steve
oui of there, I'll be glad to work
vuth him."
The sheriff added lhat up lo this
point he has never talked with
Maison personally about the pos- saee to the U.S. government ask -
sibililv of the state Police entering ing the establishment of a long-
the search. He said he appreciated - range economic aid program in
Klegcl's call and will get in tniirh slead of (he presen( aid empha
with the stale senaior if he needslsizing consumer goods imports.
Roseburg Man
Named General
Promotion of Jack A. Gibbs
Roseburg. to the rank of brigadier
general has been confirmed by
the Senate following presidential
nomination. Gen. Gibbs is Llmen
dorf Air Force Base commander.
A native of Canton, Ohio, Gen.
Gibbs attended the Roseburg ele
mentary schools and was gradu
ated from Roseburg High School.
He obtained a bachelor of science
degree in mechanical engineering
at Oregon State College in 1936,
the same year he was awarded
the W. E, Boeing National Schol
arship. Brother Resides Her
He is a son of the late Mr. and
Mrs. A. J. Gibbs. A brother. Dr.
Donald R. Gibbs, is a practicing
dentist in Roseburg. He has two
sisters, Mrs. Harold Boucock, Yon
calla, and Mrs. Richard S. Crenshaw.-
lioseburg.-
He enlisted in the Oregon ra
tional Guard in 1930. Following his
graduation from OSC where he
was outstanding in ROTC, he was
commissioned a second lieutenant.
He entered the Air Force in 1938
and received flight training at Ran
dolph and Kelly Fields. He receiv
ed his wings in 1939.
Decorated For Bravery
He was at Hickam Field, Hon
olulu, at the outbreak of World
War II and was decorated for brav-
lery under fire as the Japanese al-
lacK tell on ine Army Air Base
and Pearl Harbor. He has had 23
years of military service.
During and since the war he has
held command over several Army
and Air Force schools and bases
and. at present, is commander at
Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alas
ka, where he has served since
July 1959.
lie is married to the former
Doris Mary Ludlam of Alameda,
Calif. They have two sons, Jack
and Jim.
Their permanent home is at 203
, W
Howdcn Ave., Kosenurg.
Blair Named Envoy
WASHINGTON (AP) President
Kennedy has picked William Mc
Cormick Blair Jr., 43, of Chicago,
a law partner of Adlai Stevenson,
as ambassador to Denmark.
The president also is expected
to nominate John S. Rice. 62. sec
retary of the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania, to be ambassador
to the Netherlands.
1 help on the search in the future.
Byrd reports he presently has
four men in the hills east of Glide
trying to pick up Solovich's track,
lie explained they're working in
pairs and all have radios. He add
ed they hope to be able to box Solo
vich in and get him to drop his
gun without forcing a shootout.
Wealthy Financier Dies
in Tumble From Roof
NEW YORK (AP) - Hans Dili-
sheim. 60. a weallhv financier and
i businessman with holdings across
the nation, tumbled to his death
Sunday from the roof of a 17-slory
apartment building here.
Police later said they found a
note on the roof. They refused to
disclose its contents.
One of the lirms Ditisheim
headed was Canal Randolph
Corp., owner of the United Stock-
j yards
of 12
Co., which was comprised
stockyards in the country
including one at Portland, Ore,
Korea Seeks Aid Program
SEOUL. Korea (API Korea
lower house today adopted a nles -
I I ,..j.i..:'A,...r-l ,1 i-i ' "if II - hi ii imii in ii i urn ilifinrii"-ifr;'
Established 1873
16 Pages
Davis Named
New Oregon
GOP Leader
Robert G. Davis, former Doug
las County district attorney and
circit judge, has promised an "ag
gressive, affirmative and election
winning party organization.
Davis. 36. was elected in a rou
tine, unanimous endorsement of;
the nominating committee in Sa
lem Saturday to become the new
state head of the Republican Cen
tral Committee. He succeeds Pe
ter Gunnar.
Funds Needed
One of Davis' first orders of busi
ness, he said, will be to secure
funds to carry out an active party
program at the state level. The
party's debt-ridden condition, he
said, is evidence "we're not the
party of money," he said.
He said ne nas no pians lor
changes in the party structure or
activity for at least 30 days wnne
he becomes closer acquainted with
the existing organization.-
Davis, now general manager of
Southern Oregon Plywood Inc.,
Grants Pass, is an attorney, who
lived several years in Douglas
County and was active in party
politics in the county and trans
ferred that activity to Josephine
County where he became chair
man of the campaign committee
tor Rep. ttlwin K. Durno, Kepunii
can congressman from the 4lh dis
trict. Gunnar in his swan song paid
tribute to Davis and said Gov.
Mark Hatfield had heartily endors
ed the selection. . .
Convention Called For
In that speech, Gunnar called
for a Republican state political
convention.
"It is high time that we meet
in convention duly called and all
of us face and attempt to solve
the problems of our party and its
role in our political society, Gun
nar said.
At the meeting, stale party treas
urer Otto Wilson, Salem, outlined
the party's financial disability. He
told the central committee the tyir
ly had some $4,677 worth of pay
rolls ana mils one ana only ?2
270.04 to meet them.
Deep Sea Earth
Samples Taken
SAN -DIEGO. Calif. (AP)-The
first samples of ''.:e earth taken
from a hole 100 tj 300 feet below
the bottom of the deep sea have
been brought up from below the
Pacific off San Diego.
Cores of sand and mud only a
few inches long were brought up
Saturday by the experimental
drill ship Cuss I.
The Cuss I, operated by an oil
exploration firm for the National
Science Foundation, set a record
when it lowered a drill pipe
through water more lhan 3,000
feet deep and punched out sam
ples of earth laid down 11,000 to
a million years ago.
Researchers hailed this as a
feat of first importance. The sam
ples were examined superficially
aboard the ship 18 miles off shore
and then refrigerated for fur
ther investigation in laboratories
ashore.
From the age standpoint,, the
samples are not remarkable.'.
The few shell fossils lhat
showed in the cores were simdar
to those previously recovered by
conventional means only a few
feet below bottom.
This is the opening move in
Project Mohole. an attempt to
drop the pipe through 12.000 feet
of water and drill into still more
interesting earth lavers near Gua-
; dalupe Island, off the coast of Mex
ico.
Communist China
Reiterates Demand
TOKYO (API Communist
China reiterated today that its
terms for improved relations with
the United States rest on its de
mand that all U.S. troops leave
Formosa.
A statement from (he Foreign
Ministry, commenting on recently
renewed U S.-Red Chinese talks in
Warsaw, said Peimng s terms are
the same as those laid down Sept,
To improve rclalions. said Radio
I'riping, both countries snouin
"Settle peacefully, in accordance
with the five principles of mutual
respect for sovereignty and terri
torial integrity, mutual nonaggres-
sion, noninterference in each oth
er's internal affairs, equality and
mutual benefit and peaceful co
existence.
"The question of the withdrawal
of all U.S. armed forces from Chi
na's territory Taiwan ( Formosa I
. . . should not run counter to
this aim
n As announced previously In
1 Washington. Peipina said Red Chi -
jna had made withdrawal of theiDe Bats and their two daughters
U S. forces from Nationalist Pres-iwho will live at Springfield; and
ident Chiang Kai-shek's Wand:.lr. and Mrs. Willem Vemht and
stronghold a rondilinn for admit-1 their five children, who will live
ting U.S. newspapermen. I at Tillamook. i
ROSEBURG, OREGON MONDAY, MARCH 13, 1961
So Ions See Little Chance
For Hatfield Bill Approval
Sm Story Peg )
The proposal by Gov. Hatfield
for reorganization of the stale guv-
eminent has little chance of pas-
sage except in very small part.
l nis was one of the several reports
on major legislation at a meeting
in the Uinpqua Hotel in Roseburg
Saturday.
Slate Sen. Albert G. Flcgel and i
itep. w. o. (Bun) Kelsay spoke at
a meeting called by the legislative
committee of the Roseburg Cham
ber of Commerce. They reoorted
on bills pertaining to schools, la-
Dor-management ana taxation, an-
American Missionary
Girl Raped In Congo
LF.OPOLDVH.LE,' the Congo
(AP) Nuns' have been stripped
and one American missionary girl
has been raped by Congolese sol
diers on the rampage in the rebel
province of Kivu. the United Na
tions reported today.
U. N. Malayan patrols are push
ing out from Kindu, trying to
reach isolated villages where
whiles are at the mercy of the
Congolese soldiers.
Six Belgians and four other
whiles, believed to be Portuguese,
were flown here from Kivu Sun
day. All were badly beaten, the
U.N. spokesmen said. They told
of daily heatings in the streets,
Elks Announce
Scholarships
Awards of $750 in scholarships
have been announced for three
i Douglas County students in the
llosehurg Elks Lodge annual schol
arship contest.
The top girl award went to Nan
cy Grass of Douglas High School,
and the top boy award was won by
Gary Antonnen of Roseburg High.
Both collected 5300 scholarships.
The third award of Sl.M went to
Margaret Stein of Roseburg High.
The award amounts will be paid
at (he time (he students enroll in
institutions of higher learning.
The top boy and girl in the con
test entered the district contest but
failed to qualify for the slate test.
The district contest was held Sun
day al the Roseburg F.lks Temple.
Winners of the girls' and boys'
awards of $250 each in the district
test were Adene Jensen of Ragle
Point High School and Jerry Burns
of Ashland High. They topped a
field of 20 contestants from Eu
gene, Springfield. Florence, Coos
Bay, Coquille, Myrtle Creek, Rose
burg, Grants Pass, Medfnrd and
Ashland.
The Douglas County award win
ners were chosen from a field of
11 candidates from Yoncalla, Stilh
erlin, Douglas and Roseburg. This
is the sixth year awards have heen
made by the Roseburg F.Iks. Total
amount of awards so far has been
$4,500.
The state contest is scheduled
at Ontario March 24 and 25, wilh
awards amounting to $5,000 lo be
granted. "
The Roseburg Elks Scholarship
Committee was composed of Gor
don Stewart. Warren Woodruff and
Ralph Snyder.
Young Girls 'Find7
Live Hand Grenade
A live hand grenade, found by
four young girls in a vacant house
Saturday afternoon, was disposed
of by Roseburg City Police.
Kenneth Meng, city engineer,
seeing children in possession of the
unmade, notified police. Upon
questioning, the girls told officers
they had I mind the grenade in a
bedroom of the house at 10fi3 W.
Nebo St., which has been vacant
for some time.
The officers severely reprimand
ed the girls for entering the house,
and turned them over to their
mothers wilh warnings. The gren
ade was loaded, with the primer
punctured. The officer took the
grenade to the river awl threw it
in. He reported the water would
cause it to disintegrate. It will be
harmless if found again during low
water.
Dutch Refugees
Arrive In State
PORTLAND fAP) Three
families of Dutch refugees from
Indonesia including 13 young
sters arrived in Oregon from
I Holland Saturday to begin a new
1 lifo.
I They are Mr. and Mrs. Francis
! cm G. De Water and their six
children, who will settle in Ore-
! gon City; Mr. and Mrs. Louise
swering questions directed to them
f,om ,l,e iieace-
Flegel Opposes Clause
Sen. Flcgel, who prior to elec-
(jon had compromised with the ln-
lerim Committee on Education by
consenting to consideration of 12', a
per cent of 0 and C revenue re
reived by the county, t as a part of
the buduet for distribution of stale
school support money, said he
would obey the opinion expressed
by Douglas County and would op
pose inclusion in the bill of the
O & C clause. He staled his opinion
that the attempt to force counties
pillaging and threats of execution
A nun reaching Kindu from a
mission station at Kasongo told of
48 hours of terror, rape and
bestiality soon after the death of
ex-Premier Patrice Lumumba
last month. The nun, whose name
was not disclosed, said nine sis
ters from the mission were bun
dled into trucks and carted off to
the local jail.
A 75-year-old nun said she was
thrown out of the truck and her
arms broken and her shoulder dis
located. That nun has now
reached T.eopoldville.
In a prison courtyard, (he nuns
were made to dance barefoot on
stones and gravel, singing hymns
to Lumumba. Then they were
locked up in a room for the night
wilh three Congolese soldiers.
They were made to lie on the
ground and strip off their clothes.
"They did not rape us but they
did things so disgusting lo our
poor bodies that we dare not
speak of them, much less write
of them, one nun said.
While residents in small com
munities around Jindu . live in
nightly (error of being ordered
from their beds at bayonet point
and made to parade naked betore
jeering Congolese.
In those communities Congolese
soldiers break into houses at any
time and help themselves to food
money and jewelry.
When the whites protest they
are left with nothing to cat, the
soldiers reply "You can eat
manioc like we do. Manioc is a
primitive vegetable food.
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP)
I lie Belgian radio reported sol
diers of Gen. Joseph Mobutu to
day captured three platoons of the
Lumumba army in Ike I a and
Mondnmbe, near Ihe Oriental
Province border.
San Francisco Port
Open After Dispute
SAN FRANCISCO (AP)-Team
ster Ixical 85 returned lo work
this morning, re-opening the San
Francisco port aflcr a four-day
uispuie over cargo handling.
Secretary Harold Ixiper. said
agreement was reached with ship
pers after a 12-hour session ending
ai j a.m. ooay.
ine settlement afreets more
lhan 7.000 members of Ixical 85
and brings back to work long
shoremen who refused lo cross
Teamster pimet lines.
The San Francisco back-lo-work
settlement came on the heels of
similar agreement that ended
walkout of Teamsters in Los An
geles.
I lie dispute stemmed from a
multimillion - dollar automation
contract which shippers made
with Harry Bridges' International
longshoremen's and Warehouse
men's Union ILWU. '
Heretofore, cargo from the ships
had been moved by the longshore
men on pallets to warehouses
where teamsters switched the car
go to their pallets before loading
on trucks.
The Pacific Maritime Associa
tion shippers had sought to
load directly on to vans from the
longshoremen pallets.
Loper. said the teamster return
was to their old system of using
teamster pallets.
BigCE Damage
Suit Dismissed
PF.ORIA, 111. (AP) A $750
m ill ion damage suit against Gen
eral Electric Co. was dismissed
loday by a U.S. district court.
Judge Frederick O. Mercer up
held a dismissal motion by O.E i
attorney, Timothy Swain, assert
ing that the complaint was insuffi
cient and asking fur a summary
judgment.
The suit was filed Feb. 9 hr J.
I Orion Hrtink and Mrs. Mary
Brown, both of Peoria. They asked
triple damages on behalf of them
'selves and 50 million other GE
i retail customers. They cited GE's
! admission in another case that
I some GB official had jnirfrl oth
ler firms in practices tending to
jward price fixing and Urge con-
i Uriels.
PRICE 5c
lo use any portion of the money
offset would be removed from
the bill. He stated that he expected
to vote for the measure after the
amendment had been made.
Bills pertaining to community
colleges are under consideration
and it is expected that a measure
providing thut the state, county
and student shall each shoulder a
one-third share of expense even
tually will be approved, it was
slated.
Other reports told of the expect a
lion of passage of the Industrial
Forestry Association bill for tax
ing timber; that the proposed busi
ness lax would probably fail pas
sage: that there isn't much chance
for any great change in the stale's
income tax system.
Little Change Expected "
The legislators anticipated little
change in the Unemployment Com
pensation system. Thoy don't ex
pect a sales tax proposal to be
passed and don't look for any great
change in wage-hour legislation or
Hie minimum wage.
George Riggs, a member of (he
legislative committee of the Rose
burg Chamber of Commerce acted
as moderator, after being introduc
ed by Lewis Fullerton, chairman.
The meeting was closed by George
Gratke, Chamber of Commerce
president, who thanked the speak
ers and stated his pleasure m the
large attendance, which filled the
room to capacity.
IngoOn Edge
As Bout Nears
MIAMI BEACH. Fla. fAP -
Heavyweight champion Floyd
rauerson today weighed
pounus me neavicst of his ca
reerfor his title defense against
lngemar Johansson of Sweden at
Convention Hall Monday 1nigh(,.,-i
jonansson weighed TXm'i: It also
was Johansson's top weight.
The New Yorker weighed 182 to
Johansson's 196 for their first
fight in New York, June 26, 1959,
when Ihe Swede knocked out Pat
terson. In their return boul at New
York last June 20, Patterson
weighed 190, his heaviest to that
date, when he knocked out Inge
mar, who then weighed 194H.
There will be a radio broadcast
(ABC) of the 15-rounder but there
will be no home television.
The fight starts at 10:30 p.m.
(EST).
One of Johansson's aides said
(he Swede was "mean and edgy
was hollering at everybody last
night and this morning."
Patterson seemed to be taking
things in stride.
Dr. Alexander Robbins, chief
medical examiner of the Miami
Beach Boxing Commission, said
both fighters were "in very good
shape.
"Neither one was nervous. Both
were cool as cucumbers. Ingo was
very cold-blooded, and so was the
other guy."
Officers Locked In
GOLD BEACH (AP) -Sheriff
R. G. Sabin and deputy Fred
Jamieson decided to inspect Ihe
cell block at the town's jail while
the jailer was out to dinner.
A draft blew the cell door shut
and it locked automatically, Nei
ther had a key.
They waited for about .10 min
utes before Police Chief Jim Bol
ton came by. He decided to check
when (here was no response to
telephone calls.
Three Americans
60-61
At Opening Of British Spy Trial
LONDON
(AP) An American!
couple and three others charged
with stealing naval serreis ana
passing them on to the Soviets
pleaded innocent today at the
opening of Britain a biggest spy
trial since atom spy Klaus Fuchs
was convicted a decade ago.
The famed main courtroom of
(he Old Bailey where Fuchs was
found gullly of giving the Soviet
Union Ihe kevs to the atomic
bomb was filled as Ihe case
opened before Lord Parker, the
chief justice.
The accused are!
Gordon A. Lonsdale, 37, com
pany director holding a Canadian
passport but believed by the gov
ernment to be a Russian.
Peter John Kroser, SO, book
neller. and his wife. Helen. 47,
who Ihe U.S. Federal Bureau of
Investigation says are Morris Co
hen and his wife, Lola. American
citizens and former residents of
New York City.
llarrr Frederick Houghton. 55.
and his fiancee. Ethel Elizabeth
Gee, 46, both British civil
servants.
The government claims they
stole secrets lrnin the British
navy's underwater weapons base
at Portland where Miss Gee
worktd and passed them to Mos-
Request Made
In Response
To Red Query
WASHINGTON (AP) The
White House said today 25 Amer
ican private citizens who were in
Moscow last November urtrnrf re.
I lease of the two RB47 U.S. fliers
i as "a healthy first step" toward
! improving Soviet-American rela
I tions,
i President Kennedv's press sec
retary, Pierre Salinger, told a
news conlcrerce. in response to
questions, that tne group of 25
included two men who now ara -aides
to Kennedy. They are Dr.
Jerome B. Wicsner. special assist
ant for science and technology:
and Dr. Walt W. Rostov, deputy
assistant for national security.
Salinger said Wiesner and Ros-"
tow were in .Moscow in November
shortly alter Kennedy's election
with 23 other An.ericans to at
tend a scientific conference there.
Salinger said the entire group
of Americans was in Moscow as
private citizens. He. added it is
his understanding that Soviet of
ficials asked the Americans how
relations could be improved.
"My information is." Salinger
added, "that all 25 indicated that
release of the lliers would be a
healthy first step."
The White House statements
came against a background of
clamor from Republicans to know
whether secret concessions were
made for release of Capts. Free
man B. Olmstead of Elmire.
N. Y.. and John R. McKone of
Tonganoxic, Kan.
It also followed "publication bv
the New York Herald Tribune of
a Washington dispatch saying Ros-
idw ana wiesner laid the ground
work during a November Moscow
visit for the release of the fliers. :
Olmstead and McKone, released
last January, had been held by the
Russians since July 1. They are
the only known survivors of the
six-man crew of a U.S. plane
downed in the Barents Sea by a
Russian fighter plane.
Today, Salinger was asked about
the background on the negotiations
which led to release of the fliers. ,
He replied that the government
started making representations
immediately after the fliers were
shot down and taken prisoner.
He said these representations
were pressed on an intermittent
basis during the Eisenhower ad
ministration, and were continued
when Kennedy took office.
Asked whether Wiesner and Ros
tow had discussed (he possibility
of thn rplease of IhA fliar wilh
Kennedy prior -ta.aieusuon of the-
matter in Moscow by the 25 Amer
icans, Salinger replied: "I don't i
believe so." , ;
The Herald Tribune story said
Rostow had talks with an official of
the Soviet Academy of Sciences
and set forth this timetable for
action before any summit meeting
or trip by Kennedy to Russia.
Return of the RB47 fliers, com
pletion of nuclear test-ban nego
tiations; a dignified meeting of
Soviet Premier Nikita Khrush
chev and Kennedy in New York to
sign a (est-ban treaty: progress on ,
disarmament; free elections
throughout Germany, and guaran- .
teed western access to Berlin.
Salinger said Rostow did submit;
memorandum to Kennedy after
the conference of scientists in Mos-.
cow. The press secretary provided
no information as to the contents,
and added that he did not know
whether Wiesner also had given
Kennedy a memo.
Today the Republican National
Committee said there are circum
stances suggesting , "concessions
were made lo the Russians which i'
might not have been in the best
interest of the American people."
In its publication. Battle Line,
the committee criticized what it
called Kennedy's "light-lip" policy
against airing of details. The ad
ministration has denied any deal -was
made for t ie fliers' release. : V
The GOP committee publication V
asked these questions: -i
"What kind of papers did the
two RB47 pilots sign while they
were prisoners of the Bussians?. 4
"Would the legal documents
signed by the pilots be of propa
ganda value to the USSR it re
leased? ';
"Why ha the President insisted A
on keeping these facts secret?" ? , L ;
Plead Innocent!
cow over
a high-speed ' radio
hidden in the Kro-
transmitter
gcrs home.
Among the secrets which came
Into their hands, the prosecution
claims were drawings of Dread
nought, the British nuclear sub
marine based on designs supplied
by the United States.
Tho attorney general. Sir Regi
nald Manningham-Butler, headed
the prosecution. The government
contends that Houghton and Miss
Geo passed secret information to
tansdale who relayed it to the
ring's communication center the
innocent-looking bungalow in sub.
urban Ruislip occupied by the
Krogers,
Reminder to the newly-wed
bride: Tim to bono up on
corned beef ond cabbage for
St. Potrick's Day, March 17.
Let the Sacred atmosphere of
the "Ould Sod" permeate the
home. -
I Levity Tact Kant I
By L. F. Reizenstein I
r;..". :
mi:-