La Grande evening observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1904-1959, July 23, 1945, Image 1

Historic Oregon Newspapers

La Grande evening observer., July 23, 1945, Image 1

Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR

About La Grande evening observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1904-1959 | View Entire Issue (July 23, 1945)

Page of 8 Next Prev Issue Next Text PDF JP2 (2.5 MB) Clip/Print Image

Return to Top

Page of 8 Next Prev Issue Next

Newspaper Page TextWeather Data for 24 hours at 7 a. ni. Temperature: Maximum " Minimum M , Oregon: Clear tonight unci 't uesduy. A Community Newspaper For Every Member of the Family fl!Ht!!!!Si;iillilWlllilH!HI!'!ll lilli nilg J IJ l lTiTTfiTrn Vf otf eJfewe C'ii ESTABLISHED 1896 LA GRANDE. OHEON MONDAY EVENING, JULY 2.1. 1945 FIVE CENTS imisim Fdf k 7 Aeir u i Fleet Now in Actions Off Japan GUAlii, July 23 (UP) Destroyer spearheads m Ad miral William F. Halsey's al lied fleet reopened the attack on Japan with a double strike into Tokyo bay and the Bon in islands today while his main battle f o rc e raged through, storm-lashed Jap anese waters under an omin ous security blackout. The foitr-duy silence blanket ing Halsey'? combined fleet end ed explosively in the early dark ness when the guns of an allied destroyer squadron wrecked a four-ship Japanese convoy in a 20-minute battle off Tokyo bay. Another Typhoon Almost simultaneously, another d stroyeV. , flotilla ranged off Chinchi island in the Bonins, 72S miles to the south, and shelled the town of Omura. Tokyo broadcasts said the waters around Japan hud been hjt again by a howling tropical typhoon similar to the one that damaged a big segment of Hal sey's fleet in June. . There still was no word on the whereabout of the scores of American and British battleships, carriers and cruisers that blacked out last Thursday morning after a tremendous 10-day air-sea bom bardment that littered eastern Japan and its coastal waters with the wreckage of 412 ships and 556 planes. , Hit Battleship1 v A communique revealed the 32,720. ton..Nagato,,.one..oC , the. known ..surviving1 battleships of the Imperial fleet, was one of the 412 vessels smashed up by Hal sey' raiders -.in their 10-day foray. The Nagato was heavily dam aged. Other developments in the spieading pie-invasion attack on Japan included: . 1 A -fleet of 75 to 100 Super fortresses unloaded almost 500 tons of fire bombs on the huge Ube synthetic oil plant in south western Honshu. There was no aerial opposition. . Dooliiile There 2 Lt. Gen. James H. Doo little assumed command of a new U. S. eighth air force in the Oki nawa, equipped with Superfort resses and supporting fighters for a share.in the soflening-up bomb ing of Japan. 3 Tokyo reported an Ameri can surface force shelled Para mushiro island. 4 200 army Mustang fighters from Iwo rocketed and machine gunned a 90-mile stretch of south ern Honshu from Osaka west ward to Okayama in daylight. 30 Leave Here To Go to Presbyterian Camp at Wallowa Thirty young persons from the junior high and high school group left La Grande this morn ing for the Presbyterian youth camp at Wallowa lake, along with delegations from Baker, Pendle ton, Tutuilla Indian Mission, Pilot Rock, Burns and Dayville. The camp, to be conducted through July 31, will include be sides the classes on interpreta tions of the Bible, development of personality, church and church membership, boy and girl rela tionships and the missionary en terprise, such recreations as swimming, horseback riding, baseball, . valley ball, hikes and camp fire activity. Conducting the camp are Rev. Sydney A. Walker of Baker, Rev. Mark A. Tnlney, La Grande, Rev. John Walpole of Pilot Rock, and Rev. Earle P. Cochran, Pendleton, assisted, by Mrs. Lyle Johnson, La Grande, Mrs. E. P. Cochran, Pendleton, and Mrs. S. A. Walker, Baker. On the faculty are Dr. John Anderson of the College of Idaho, Lyle Johnson f La Grande, Charles Eble, Pendleton, Mrs. E. P. Cochran, Rev. Fred Swanson of Burns, and Mrs. J. Moser of the foreign missions board, and Dr. LeRoy Walter, supervisor of Christian education for Oregon. AIRFORCE DAY SET WASHINGTON, July 23 (UP) President Truman today pro claimed Aug. 1 airforce day. T? INAUGURAL FLIGHT COMPLETED Passenger shown immediately after landing of the inaugural Left to right are Merlin Johnson, and proprietor of Trotters men's merce and manager of the Eastern Oregon Light aior of the airway with Johnson. Province was ing plane. Frank Schiro. publisher of the Obser photograph. Plane left here at 7 a. m passengers trip took two hours and 50 minutes. $ $ La Grande Has "Adequate Transportation" In All Fields Now, with Airline, Says Gray "La Grande can now feel that 'ft has adequate transportation of all types for business and per sonal requirements," Raymond Gray, president of the chamber of commerce, said this morning, in commenting on the institution of the daily charter flight trip to Portland from the municipal air field, and return. Gray, who made the trip with other La Grande businessmen, Cherry, Pea Harvests Begin The Pumpkin Ridge Cherry growers announce their ware house at Imbler will start receiv ing cherries Tuesday. Growers are cautioned, how ever, not to bring in fruit until it is fully ripened. If they are in dcubt they should check with the warehouse before picking. Boxes are available at the warehouse. Ray Wilson, of Imbler, is in charge of receiving the fruit for the Paulus Bros. Cannery, at Salem. Union started receiving last Friday and it is understood Cove will also start soon, La Grande growers can haul either to Imbler or Union. Word has been received from the farm food administration, that a ceiling price of U'i cents a round has been approved for picking in all Union county. As a whole the crop is very good this year and harvesting will last three or four weeks in the larger orchards. About 850 to 1,000 tons will be harvested in the county this year, it was estimated by Chase Bonn enkamp of the cherry growers group, but none of them will be stripped east in the fresh stale. Last year about 16 carloads were shipped out, but this year all will go to the cannery. Connolly Urges Charter Adoption WASHINGTON. July 23 (UP) Chairman Tom Connally. D. Tex., of the senate foreign tela tions committee today asked the senate to ratify the United Na tions charter with an emphasis that will ring as "a shout for peace heard 'round the world." Cnnnallv formally opened sen ate dibate which is expected to lesult in overwhelming ratifica tion by the end of the week. Sen. Arthur II. Vandcnhei g. R Mich., who served with Con nally as a delegate tn the San Francisco conference which drift ed the charter as "an exercise of this senate's duty." Vandenbifg aigued that the "guiding genius" of the chatter was nut its provision for possible use of force hut "the use of Hie consultation table" He insisted that charter "confirms our con stitutional processes." S T te vi? I ill s and officials of daily charter trip who piloted the plane; Harry McCarthy, La Grande business man store: Raymond Gay, president of and Power company, and Keith Province, co-oper- on hand at Beavcrton air field to greet the arriv ver, who also made the trip, is not shown in the arrived in downtown Portland at 10 a. m. Return shown in the accompanying pho tograph, declared the trip well worth while from a scenic point of view. "I must say, however, that at no point during the trip did I see a valley to compare with the Grande Ronde valley and its surrounding mountains. We, who live here, should feel grate ful for its assets. "We flew cross country, sight Forester Can't Gel Away From Fires SALEM, July 23 (UP) State Forester Nels S. Rogers can't seem to get away from fires even at home. No sooner had he returned to his home Sunday from the 60. 000 acre Wilson river blaze, than the frantic calls of a neighbor called him to a blaze next door. Rogers pitched in to help quench the flames, but this lime, however, other firefight ers also were on the job and Salem fire department look over the task. 75 Youths Attend Swim m ing CI asses At Pine Cone Pool More than 75 young persons;, some accompanied by their .par ents, were at Pint' Cone swim ming pool at 1 o'clock tliis after noon to take full advantage "f the opportunity to learn to swim or to improve the Uchnique, of fered by the Red Cross during this week a'nd next. Mrs, Anita Jasper of Portland, sent here by the national lied Cross, and Harvey Carter of Grande, arc instructing the rluM ren. Many children made the Ihn e mile trip on bicycles, cats "err filled to the bursting point with eager, potiential swimmers, and a largo tiuck filled with h..s was seen enroute to the pool. The swimmers were b ;r-A ,,)V ided into three groups, tl . ! ninners, from 1 to 2 o'clock, t1'. w hose s imming prowess ma.ie it possible to negotiate 1 1 j lull .width of the pool were to t'' in structed from two to thr. c. and the advanced swimimr.-. wen scheduled for the following hour. 3 to p.m. TIGHTER HOME PRIORITIES WASHINGTON. July 2:1 (IT. The national Housing ag ii' V tod.iv tishtenod iMion'v uiles for constitution of hom. ship" cases. "haul Eastern Oregon Airways are to Portland Saturday morning. the La Grande chamber of com- ing the Columbia river some.- where near The Dalles and then entered the gorge about 40 miles furthr on. We got a good view of the river in all its beauty and Bonneville dam. An unusual fea ture of the trip was seeing the numerous water falls from the air. "We were enabled to obtain a good idea of Oregon terrain nearly across the state. The trip . . was smooth and well handled." Union county's pea harvesting is in full swing now with Harry Scliwebke of the Imbler district first to complete delivery of his crop of early canning varieties. Tlieie are an estimated 22,000 acres of peas in Union county, 12,000 acres of edible peas, 5,000 acres of Austrian winter peas, 5,400 acres of garden seed peas, and 300 acres of green canning peas. Don McKinnis, also of the m l.'ler district, has the largest acre age in the valley, with approxi mately 400 acres. Because of the hot weather, it was announced the pea harvest this year will be inferior to pre vious harvests in both quality and yield, although the airplane dusted peas have not suffered fiom field damage as have the peas dusted by ground equip ment. William E. Conarlu Dies Here Sunday; Native of Kansas Dealh came to William Edward i Conarty of Union, 64, at a hos pital here yesterday. He was born .,'nne 21, 1881 at Norton, Kansas, ! and had been a resident of Un- ion county for 64 years. He leaves four sisters, Mrs. Kli-?ali.-th Philips and Mrs. Anna Hor- ; ton. both or Union, Mi's. Jane Johnson of Walla Walla, Wash., I Mrs. Eva Parker of Compton, Calif., and several nieces and nephews. ! Funeral announcements will be made later. Seven Transports .firing 3,054 M en NEW YORK, July 23 (UPl -Si ven transports were arriving loriav with 3,054 troops from tu- i io . First it was the Empire MarDormoU carrying 54 GI's, in dijoing liberated prisoners of war. The units returning will include lhe 13th aimored division, 67th aimoiod infantry baltalian, 124th aimoiid engineer battalion. 46th t.u.k battalion, and an ordnance , I !... hment of the 135th armored (idn.nce maintenance battahun. New Fires Break in lamool . PORTLAND, July 23 (UP) Forest fires in western Ore Kon today spread over a 140 square mile area comprising 90,000 acres, with new windr borne spot fires breaking out iii- some nearly inaccessible country. The Tillumook fire jumped an other four miles to the west to reach the Sulmonbeiry-Nehalem river fork an area where there are no roads and fighters can get in. only after a half day on the pack trail. " ' Rains Help '. Weekend showers slowed the advance of the fires temporarily but more than 2,000 firefighters, including sailors and soldiers, Were struggling to hold fire lines. ': The fire advanced on the east side of the Washington Tillumook county line toward lha railroad between Cochran and timber. Walter McCulldch of 'the Oregon State college forestry school staff, said rains had helped in this urea and he believed the line could be held at the railroad grade. McCulloch said the Standard logging company operations south of Cochran has been burned out completely. New Area Logging operations In new fire territory included McKinney, Menefol and Erickson. Loggers fought a new outbreak in log ging holdings nonh of the Ne halem. There are large stands of green timber outside the old burn across the Nehalem at the northwestern edge of the new burn whore fighters were working today. The country is so rough supplies cannot be dropped in by plane. Assistant Vstate forester John Woods, jr., was taking 300 navy men and logger "overhead" at the southwestern hot spot up Jor dan creek in an attempt to circle that blaze in the Portland mills camp area. The region was quit ed by the rain. Dry Again On the southern front, fighters hoped to join fire trails from Jordan creek east to the Stimson camp where rains have given soldiers and loggers a chance. Return of warm weather was drying up t(ie woods again and forest officials warned a brisk wind i fanning the flames on K tually all fronts. The fire at the Consolidated timber company at Gleenwood was much quieter today, although smoke continued to blanket the area. Not Over McCulloch, owl fire camp dis patcher, declared "from here on in it will be a desperate race to extend fire lines before, the weather could take the play away from firefighters." McCulloch said the main fire, the Wilson river blaze, was just as tough as it ever was, with spot fire still raging. "A little s'prinkle doesn't put out a fire in logs five or six feel in diameter," McCulloch explained. "All For France," Cries Petain . . . i q, Aged Marshal Makes Plea For Justice PARIS, July 23 (UP) Marshal Henri Philippe Petain told the French high court of justice try ing him for treason today he signed the 1940 armistice' with Germany "in order to save France and help the allied victory." Petain, hero of Verdun in the first world war and chief of the Vichy regime in the second, made a plea in his own defense after the opening preliminaries of his trial for his life in the jam-packed, heavily guarded palace of jus tice courtroom. Demonstration Demonstrations against Petain broke out and the red-robed Jus tice, Pierre Montgibeaux ordered the courtroom cleared and a lit tle later suspended the hearing. Petain rose to speak. "I will not answer any questions," he began. "I did the necessary act in order to save France and to help the allied victory by proclaiming the armistice. "What would the allies have if I I 4 ' STARS AND STRIPES RAISED OVER BERLIN Party watching Stars and Stripes being raisod over U. S. group control council in Berlin includes Gen. Goorge S. Patton. jr.. President Harry S. Truman, Secretary oi War Henry L. Stimpion, Gen. Omar Brad ley and Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower. Old Glory is same flag which flew over While House in Washington when U. S. declared war on Germany, Japs, and has flown in Rome. " Three Union Boys Take Prizes In . Crop Contest Three Union county boys, Khrnian Hates, Wayne Kerry, and Norman Wells, w e r e among: the 10 winners of the weed and crops identification contest at the annual eastern Oregon I-H livestock and crops tour Friday and 'Satur day. Bates, with 23 of 26 possible points, received first place; Mark White, Malheur county, was in second place with 21 points; Ber ry, with 20 points, was in third place, and Wells received fourth place with 1!) points. Other Winners Other six winners are: Jack B.chtel, Wallowa county, 111; Bobby McBioom, Baker countv 17; John Madison, Umatilla, 17; David Dennis, Baker. 10; Oliver Keerins, Grant, 16; and Erwin Bush, Malheur, 15. The tour was held in the east ern Oregon experiment station at Union, and classes included branding, dehorning, rope halters tying livestock, beef judging and range management US Attend ine two-day seliool was con cluded witli a swimming party at Cove Saturday altenuejn. Approximately 115 boys at tended the school, with 63 from Union county, under leadership of Price Selnoeder, assistant county agent in charge of 4-11 club work. L. J. Allen, assistant state 4 II leader, and II. G. Avery, super intendent of the eastern Oregon experiment station, were in eliiuer of the tour. done if De Gaulle and the allies had landed in Fiance and found nothing but ruin an cemeteries? I used the powers given me like a shield to safeguard the intersts of Fiance. "I did go so far as to sacrifice my i. pulalion. History will judge how much I did to save France." Servo France He said he had served France all Ins life and "I serve it still in the present I have given Fiance the gift of myself, and will con tinue to servo by telling the truth in this court." "A great part of the world will back me," (Vtain said, 'because I represented the great Christian tradition in fighting against ex cesses of every kind, as well as in supporting ths principle of the family and the principle of work along the lines of social reform. "Anything that may be done by the present government can only be donj along the same lines as those X 'already had laid down." Truman Hopes Talks Over by Mid-week POTSDAM, July 23 (UP) An American spokesman said the big three are "driving ahead" at a meeting rounding out the first week of the conference today, and President Truman is report ed hoping to wind up the meet ing by mid-week. Piime Minister Churchill was reported giving a state dinner tonight for Truman and Gener alissimo Stalin. The Soviet pre mier was host at a state dinner last night and the president was last week. Nephi Combs New Sunday School Head in LDS Nephi Combs was elected Sun day school superintendent at the annual conference of the first ward, church of Latler Day Saints Saturday. Jay Smith Hendrickson was elected first assistant and John Bagley second assistant. Other olficers are: Eunice Shirtliff, su perintendent of the relief society; itoscmun Richeson, first councel lor; Katrine Jensen, second coun rellor and Alice Orton, secretary treasurer. The morning session of the con ference was for lhe young people, lhe 4 o'clock meeting was a ses sion of instruction and the eve ning was given to sermons and testimonies. Olhor Speakers Speakers other tha lhe stake president, C. Lloyd Walch, were Thomas Hunt of Baker, Melvin, Wo.vtcnsknw, and Bishop Walter A. Lindsay, both of I.a Grande, and all speaking on'lhe executive division. Returned soldiers who address ed the conference were Lt. Col. Walter A. Bean who spent three years in lhe oiith Pacific, Oscar Walch of tlie navy who partici pated in the Okinawa and Philip, pines campaigns, and Claude L. Weslenskow, recently returned from Germany. Full Choir Elder Wale of the Seattle stake and Helen S. Bean slake nresl. dent, of relief society also nuirin addresses to the conference. At the evening meeting the full choir, 32 voices, presented a num ber of selections for the enjoy ment of the group. Miss Lynn Russell was soloist at the morn- ng session. Outgoing officers of the or ganization were: W. A. Roundv. Sunday school superintendent: Ernest L. Richeson, first assist. ant; Glen John, second assistant' Vioia Fullmer, president of re lief society; Katy Weimer, first coenselr; Jennie Hendrickson, counselor and Nedra Salisbury, srcrelary-treasuier. ,4 , Creeping Slowly in One Area After a 72 hou r battle, forest service men and volun teers from Union, Wallowa .. and Baker comity artea ex pect to have the forest fire' on Little Minam river under control by this afternoon. Broakina out Friday after light ning had started the smouldar-... ing a day or so before, the fire' had spread to 700 to 800 acres. in extent by Sunday night, "it was slill creeping slowly today but had nearly been ringed by the 140 Tangers, brush crews, ranchers, hay crews, mill men and wuudsmen. -Soldier Also Mobilized, from the vicinity of Union, Baker and in Wallown county, the men are under the directions of L. E. Chapman,, Charles Arljngto, 'fire control as sistant, ul, Baker, said. - Residents in the vicinity of the lire also reported soldier' from,, Well Walla had been lent into ,lhe area to help, but their numbers were not ascer tained. It was said there was only a small detachment. The fire was entirely Confined to the Whitman national forest area and commercial value of the. timber there Is not high. Most of it is fir, spruce, tamarack and, lodgepoty pine. More Supplies Only hand tools can be used to encirclo the area with a fire line, Arlington said, because of the rugged, terrain. 4 Several truck loads of supplies sent to the Moss spring base of the forest service were "packed in" to the fired fighters. High humidity has aided the. fire fighters considerably and lack and wind has also been of service. But the humidity also held, the smoke low over the area and army fliers who surveyed the area were unable to make out the exact outlines of the flame covered area. Two planes cover ed the ravaged sections. Hold over The fire was started by light ning and is a "holdover" from the electric storms of about four or five days ago, Arlington said. The lightning started the fire to smouldering and when conditions were right the flames burst loose. A fire which was caused in the same way and covered 30 acres on Polo creek in the Pine ranger district ea&t of Little Minam was brought under con trol Sunday. The fire had broken out Saturday night. Cub Scouts Start Scrap Campaign In La Grande La Grande Cub Scouts today started in their campaign to en list us many residents here as possible in the tin can and scrap paper drive which will be cul minated Friday and Saturday in the pickup by the salvage com mittee trucks of packaged paper and flattened tin cans. The Scouts will call on house holders to remind them of the pickup and to give assistance. An estimated 2,000,000 pounds of scrap paper, value dat $15,000, and some 8U Ions of tin cans, were thrown into the fight against Japan as William A. Bnwes. Port land city commisisoner and gen eral chairman of the shrine hos pital salvage drive, revealed re sults from the largest combined scrap drive in Portland's history. The eek-end salvage drive, staged for the benefit of the shrine hospital for crippled chil dren, failed to reach the total of 1,700 tons of paper collected In a 1944 drive, which placed Port land into the lead nationally-on a per capita basis in the collec tion of scrap paper. More than 400 teamsters, 100 Vancouver barracks soldiers and troops of boy scouts aided. " OIL FROM PINE ROOTS CHUNGKING, July 23 (UP) A refinery for reducing oil from pine roots has been established in Ningtu to ease a shortage of motor fuels in Kiangsl province, the Chinese central news agency said today.