Weather
Data for 24 hours at 7 a. ni.
Temperature:
Maximum "
Minimum M
, Oregon: Clear tonight unci
't uesduy.
A Community
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For Every
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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.