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About La Grande evening observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1904-1959 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 7, 1958)
WEATHER : Fair today and tonight. In creasing high clouds Friday. High today 90-95 and Friday 80-86. Low tonight 46-54. , Daily oxcopt Sunday LA GRANDE, OREGON, THURSDAY, AUGUST 7, 1958 Prlea S Ctnta Tankers Collide In Fog Killing 15; 36 Hurt Quick Action Oh UN EmergencyMeetSeen UNITED NATIONS, N.Y. (UPI) Western diplomats predicted the U.N. Security Council would act quickly today to set up an emer gency session of the General As sembly on the Middle East begin ning Friday. Indications were the session would be on U.S. terms. The council, summoned by Rus sia, was scheduled to meet this afternoon. , It had two resolutions to consid er, one by the United States and the other by Soviet Russia, both calling for an emergency convoca tion of the 81-member assembly. C Of C Seeks Improved Air Service A variety of topics were re viewed at yesterday's regular meeting of Chamber of Commerce directors. Chamber President Averitt Hic kox reported that the Chamber's request for improved airline ser vice and renewal of La Grande's air service certificate will be mailed this week to Oregon Con gressmen, West Coast Airlines and the Civil Aeronautics Board. John Groupe was appointed chairman of a special, committee to develop a welcome for new Eastern Oregon College students. On recommendation of the Na tional Affairs committee, the board authorized that telegrams be sent Senators. Morse and Neu bcrger, urging that no changes be made in Social Security bene fits, taxable wage base, or , tax rates, and ;lhat 'no '- benefits ! .be added until the Advisory Council reports to Congress on the eco nomic soundness of the changes. The board also approved Chamber support of H.R. 3, designed to curtail Federal preemption of state authority. The board decided to table plans far- a goodwill tour to Wal ' Iowa county, and to tabic efforts to obtain county zoning to pro tect La Grande's highway entran ces from "eye-sores." Hickox reported that a drive-up mail box has been ordered for the local post office and' that the Chamber will ask the cily to pro vide curb space. During the meeting. Dick Brad shaw, West Coast Airlines agent here, presented a certificate to Ronald Waite, La Grande high school student, in recognition of his being a finalist in an airline contest which offers a $6,000 aeronautical engineering scholar ship. . Sheriff Reminds Fou.rth Quarter Taxes Due Aug. 15 H. A. Klinghammer, Union county Sheriff, reminded taxpay ers today that August 15 is the final date for fourth quarter pay "ments of all real estate and per sonal property taxes. After, this date interest will be charged on the unpaid balance. Klinghammer said $1,57(1,254.20 in tax monies has been paid to Die county treasurer Elizabeth Hun gerford to date, which amounts to 90 per cent of the $1,796,469.89 to be collected. Raybum WASHINGTON UPI The House Rules Committee today, un der pressure from Speaker Sam Rayburn, revived a self-financing plan for the Tennessee Valley Au thority. The committee Wednesday vot ed to table the Senate-passed mea sure which would authorize the power-development agency to fi nance part of its expansion acti vities with bond sales rather than congressional appropriations. Rayburn, who regards the leg islation as urgent, communicated his displeasure to the committee which controls all bills going to the House floor. This morning, the committee held a closed-door ses sion and canceled the tabling ac tion to keep the measure alive. But Chairman Howard- W. Smith (D-Va.) said no decision was made whether sto clear the meas ure for floor action. The U.S. resolution will be tak en up first and appeared certain to be approved by the 11-mcmber Security Council. The Russian res olution was as certain to be re jected. There can be no veto on the vote. , Soviet Premier,,. N i k i t a S. Khrushchev dumped the Middle East issue into'thc lap of the Gen eral Assembly in a sudden shift in, tactics, apparently a result of his talks with Chinese Communist leader Mao Tse-tung in Peiping last week. In so doing, Khrilshchev reject ed Anglo-American proposals for a summit meeting within the council which he denounced as a tool of the United States. But Soviet and Red Chinese propaganda machines were going all out to put the blame on the West for torpedoing the summit talks. The official Communist Par ty newspaper Pravda asserted Russia "has emphasized that in the present tense situation the swift summoning of a conference of the heads of government at a summit level is ' particularly nee essary." Red Chinese newspapers sup ported Khrushchev's opposition to a summit-council meeting and criticized the United States for in sisting the assembly should dis cuss its resolution ahead of the Soviet resolution demanding with drawal of U.S. and British troops from Lebanon and Jordan. There were signs, meantime, in Washington and Moscow that the "crisis" atmosphere in the Middle East was dissipating. The U.S. Navy disclosed it had called off t(ie four-hour "alert" put into effect in both the Atlan tic ap$j Pacific fleets. Immediately after the Anglo-American troop landings in Lebanon and Jordan. And in Moscow, Soviet newspa pers published a report from the Ministry of Defense announcing the conclusion of military maneu vers in the Caucasus and Turke stan which border on Turkey and Iran. The maneuvers began July in at the height of the Middle East crisis. Under United Nations rules, an emergency session of the assem bly must be convened within 24 hours after the council votes such a call. ' U.S. sources said th'ey expected the assembly to be called into ses sion Friday afternoon and sit for "about 10 days" in an emergency meeting which is expected to bring a Western plan to guaran tee the integrity of the Middle East countries with the excep tion of Russia. Both U.S. Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge and Soviet Ambassa dor Arkady Sobolev submitted res olutions calling for an emergency session of the General Assembly before the council adjourned de bate on July 22 to allow time for' the eventually fruitless negotia tions for a meeting of the heads-of-government. The Soviet resolution was re vised Wednesday to eliminate ref erence to American and British "intervention" in the Middle East. But it still called for the "imme diate" withdrawal of the Anglo American troops from Lebanon and Jordan. The U.S. resolution called for the emergency assembly session to consider the plight of Lebanon. The United States planned to re vise the measure to put a broader Item on the Middle East question before the assembly. Urges Self Elsewhere in Congress today: Goldfine: Rep. August E. Jo hansen (R-Mich.) accused New England textile millionaire Ber nard Goldfine, friend of Presiden tial Aide Sherman Adams, of try ing to "butter up" assistants to congressmen with his "true facts" letters to 400 members of the House, in the latters, Goldfine urged the legislators not to cite him for contempt as a result of he recent Goldfine-Adams influ ence inquiry. . Adjournment: House leaders said prospects for early congres sional adjournment were looking dimmer, Democratic ueaaer John W. McCormack (Mass.) said he does not think the House can wind up its work by Aug. 16. Speaker Sam Rayburn said that now seemed likely. Move Made To End Crisis LONDON (UPD Prime Min ister Harold Macmillan made an all-out bid today to end three years of bloodshed on Cyprus and head off the threat of war be tween Greece and Turkey. Macmillan was flying to Athens for emergency talks with Greek Premier ' Constantine Karamanlis on means to halt the costly inter communal disorders on the stra tegic island colony in the Medi terranean. About 450 persons have been killed since the underground Eoka launched its anti - British campaign three years ago. Britain has some 38,000 troops tied down on the island because of the fighting between Cypriots of Turkish and Greek descent. From Athens, Macmillan may fly on to Ankara for similar talks with Premier Adnan Menderes, with whom he discussed the Cyp rus question during the '' recent Baghdad Pact meeting in London. U. S. .diplomatic troubieshooter Robert Murphy also is scheduled to fly from Cairo to Athens today. Sources in Athens speculated Murphy may take part in the talks which they said could re move "a major" obstacle to -the Western alliance in this part of the world." Airlines Cancels Night Flight Due ; At the City Cotnniirsiwy rneeUng last night, ;'a - letter was ' received from A. C. Hickox, president of the La Grande-Union County Chamber of Commerce stating that ' landing lights at the La Grande Airport have been out for several days, and that the evening flight has been cancelled until the lighting system is reactivated. He also said, "This condition, no doubt, is unavoidable. How ever, it is particularly distress ing, at this time, in view of our efforts to obtain additional flights and to effect the renewal of our air service permit." Ron Bayes Leaving For Greenland Ron Bayes, La Grande, form erly director of information at EOC, who has been doing special graduate work in speech on the campus here this summer, leav es: for Sondrcstrom, Greenland Sunday. Bayes, who will teach with the Extension of the University of Maryland as lecturer in speech, English and literature, will stop in Washington, D. C. for a series of conferences at the University's College Park campus, just out of the Capitol. His new job calls for the Eng lish teacher to move frequently. He will teach in Bermuda from January through May then move on to Iceland's Keflavik Airport to teach next year's summer ses sion. Bayes is a iormer pari- timc Evening Observer staff mem ber. - Financing Trade: President r Eisenhower appeared on the verge of a major victory as the House prepared to vote on a four-year extension of the 25-year-old reciprocal trade program. -Welfare funds! The ' House passed a bill to force public oper ation of employe welfare and pen sion funds after beating down a Republican move to exempt management-run plans. The bill now goes to the Senate which passed a different welfare fund disclosure bill last April. Farm': Republican leaders lost a gamble when they engineered defeat of a new farm bill which would have provided some of the price support reductions the Pres ident wanted. They pushed for a quick vote on the measure in hope of getting action later on a bill containing even more concessions to Agriculture Secretary Ezra T. 1 V Zi HUMAN TORCH Frank Kierdorf, Teamster Union official, stag gered into a Pontiac, Mich., hospital, with 85 per cent of his body severely burned, after being doused with gasoline and set afire. Klerdorf died today. Here he is shown being questioned by an Asst. Prosecuting Atty., in the hospital. He had refused to give hospital personnel his name, and had to be identified by his fing erprints. (NEA) To Lights C. OaVitLtk Sijuyht,-ctt8i'lei' stated that after testing the light ing systemi -repair parts were being installed by workmen at the present time. . ', . . Mention was made that August 26 is the last day for candidates Lto file for commissioner in order to be included on the November ballot. Three vacancies, two for four years and one for , one year are open for terms starting January,-1959. Other business included grant ing of permission to. park, not to exceed five, unoccupied trailer houses until May 1, 1959, on a lot owned by Albert True at 1109 V Ave.. . . ... Harold Schwebke, new owner of Stockman's lunch, asked for park ing space near his place of busi ness. He stated that unloading on the present plan was a hazard to traffic and a handicap to custo mer parking. This request? is to be re-checked by the chief of po lice. Another request to hold a Youth Activities Dance on the tennis court at .Pioneer Park was ap proved. The city engineer's report, No. 1876, for district 238 plans and specifications , for Improvement was adopted. . . Elgin Jewelery Store Plans Opening Day Fete ELGIN (Special) The Wise Jewelry Store will hold a Grand Opening at the new store on Sat urday, August 9. Over $200 in door prizes will be presented to visi tors. Coffee will also be served. The store is located on Tollgate highway and Market Road west of Elgin! For TVA Benson's demand for lower price props. But Speaker Sam Rayburn said no new farm legislation would' be considered this year. . Debt: The House voted to grant President Eisenhower's request to raise the temporary national debt limit from 280 billion dollars to a record 288 billion dollars and the permanent ceiling from 275 billion to 285 billion, ine measure now goes to the Senate where it seemed certain to pass. Defense: President Eisenhower signed the defense reorganization bill and hailed it as a major ad vance in our organization for de fense." The signature ended one of the hottest disputes of the cur rent legislative session between Congress and the administration. The final version gave Eisenhow er most of the power he wanted to streamline the Defense Depart ment. Human Torch Dies; Witness Cites Arson, PONTIAC, Mich. (UPU-Human torch Frank Klerdorf died today at St. - Joseph Murcy Hospital on ly hours after police produced a witness' who saw a Flint arson job on which he was believed to have been burned. Doctors said Kierdorf's heart apparently stopped beating at 9:25 a.m. p.d.t. but ho wasn't pronounced dead until 9:30 a.m. The 56-year-old ex-convict who was business agent for a Flint Teamsters Union local, had stag gered into the hospital early Mon day with burns over 85 per cent of his body. He said he had been turned into a human torch by two unidenti fied men who "took me for a ride," but police have been break ing down his story, piece by piece. State Attorney General Paul Adams early this morning con firmed that police had in protec tive custody a witness to the ex plosive burning of a dry cleaning establishment at Flint. He also disclosed that Kier dorf's missing uncle, Herman Kierdorf, was a "definite suspect" in the arson job. Elsie Cauthorn Found Dead In Her Home Today Mrs. Elsie Cauthorn, 73. who lived at 1907 2nd St. here, was found dead in her home this morning by La Grande Fire Chief "ay Snider and city police of ficers. Union County Coroner Norm Daniels, after investigation, re ported that Mrs. Cauthorn appar ently died of natural causes "sometime in the last two days." He said she had been ill. Her husband, Carter, died early this year. Snider, who lives next door, said he had not seen Mrs. Cau thorn for two or three days, and knocked on toe door this morning to see if she was "all right." After no reply, he contacted city police. They found Mrs. Cauthorn dead, Union County Welfare depart ment said she was born Dec. 8, 188S at Sheboygan, Wis. SHOT REPORTED City Police said this morning that Mr. and Mrs. James Evers, who live on Foothill Road on the outskirts of La Grande, reported a bullet pierced their home on the South side, probably during the night or early this morning Police are investigating the inci dent. 9 Convicts StagePrison Break MONROE, Wash. (UPD Nine convicts who escaped the Wash ington state reformatory here Wednesday night after beating two guards into submission were still at large today. Ernest Timpenl, superintendent of the reformatory, said the nine men. from among the "tougher element" of the institution, made their break when they were re turning from their evening exer cise period about 8 p.m. They overpowered the guards and worked their way through a light well in cell block one," Tim pani said. "Once through the light well, they were on the roof where they must have dropped to a low er level, then let themselves down over the walls on bed sheets." The guards, Robert Fifield and Lester Sain, were treated at the reformatory infirmary and Fifield was taken to the hospital here for observation. Fifield suffered cuts about the face and head and a fractured index finger. Sain was knocked unconscious but suf fered only head injuries'. Both guards were unarmed. ' About three hours after the break-out, Mrs. Dorothy Brain, 27, wife of a reformatory guard, was slugged on the head by one of the escapees who broke into her Arlington home. Mrs. Brain said her. assailant was Elvin Gllroy, 19,' of Seattle Tlmpanh said an automobile stolen in the Monroe area was found abandoned at Snohomish, seven miles from the reforma tory; The Interior of the car was spattered with blood, indicating one or more of the inmates was injured &iHrig ;theiriatrugglo with' (he guards. v opi-v k -; . Local Red Cross Chapter's Dinner Meet Set Tonight Raymond E. Vcster of Port land is scheduled to present the main address at the annual dinner of The American Rcd Cross chap ter here tonight at 7 p.m. at the Sacajawea Hotel. The dinner and meeting is open to the public. Vester is chairman of the Port- land-Multnomah United Fund and will serve this year as the nation al fund vice-chairman of the Red Cross in Oregon. He is a past chairman of the Portland-Multno- mah chapter of the Red Cross and was national fund vice-chairman in 1956. Ann Johnson Will Chairman Local Fall Showing Ann Johnson, of Ann Johnson Ladies Ready-To-Wear, has ac cepted an appointment as general chairman of the Retail Merchants Association's annual Fall Show ing. ' RMA President Harold Laurence said plans will be developed later this month for the annual com munity event. The Showing will probably be scheduled in mid September, he added. EARLY MORNING CRASH Thre persons were killed when this light plene crashed In a street- of Paceime, Calif., while trying for e landing at nearby Whitman Air Park. On of the victims was Identified as James E. Hook Wreck Spills Crewmen Into Firey Sea Today NEWPORT. R. I (UPI) Two tankers, one loaded with a mil lion gallons of gasoline, crashed in flames in thick fog today,, kil ling at least 15 men and injuring 3(i. At noon (9 a.m. p.d.t.), five hours after the collision, nine bod ies were found entombed below decks in the larger of the two ships. Six other men died when they leaped into the fiery sea af ter the collision off Fort Adams. Of the injured, 31 were held in hospitals for treatment and five were released. Several of the hos pitalized were reported in critical condition from burns. The ships, the 10,000-ton S. S. Gulfoil out of Philadelphia, and the coastal tanker S. S. Graham, collided in a half-mile channel at the entrance to Narragansett Bay. The collision occured within sight of the still-beached wreckage of the Norwegian freighter Vebte ville, which ran nground Inst Sep tember. . : -, ... .. Tht Gulfoil skipper, Ca'pt..M. Eden, Port Arthr, Tex., perished with his ship,, which' later, went agonmd off Fort Adams. Flames and smoke spewed from both ves sels five hours after the collision, punctuated by a rocking explosion. The Graham burned . fiercely at the southern tip of Rose' Island in Newport Harbor. At one time, the heat, was so intense that fire boats could not get near the ves sel and it' had to bo- towed off the shore. . --...' -i ' ' .- ,,.'. The Graham: carried a crew of 12. '.-.;. Solon Urges Perjury Of Hoffa Tale WASHINGTON (UPI) Chair man John L. McClellan called to day for a Justice Department In vestigation of possible perjury' in Teamster., president James H, Hoffa's testimony before the Sen ate Rackets Committee. , , ,; The Arkansas . Democrat .' said conflicts between .. Hoffa's: testi mony . last fall and the sworn statements of former heavyweight boxer Embrel Davidson made nec essary an investigation "to deter mine who perjured, himself. , "Definitely, such conflicts could hardly be any misunderstand ing, McClellan said. He also observed that the, rec ords appeared to back up the story Davidson gave the commit tee today.- ;. ' , , '''. " "Either Davidson perjured him self or Hoffa was not telling the truth when he testified before, McClellan said. .'.,-.''" Davidson, billed as , a mystery witness, told the committee he drew $75 a week from the Team ster Welfare Fund while working for union Vice President Owen Bert Brennan, who was his man ager. , - , - .: - Committee . Counsel . Robert F, Kennedy ' quoted from the tran script of Hoffa's testimony last fall in which the Teamster leader said Davidson got no money from the union. . . . -4-. tens were sleeping, ine; Navy Chief Petty Officer Thorn, as Wright of the Newport Naval Base reported that a crew froii) the Navy oiler Salamone found the nine bodies below decks. He said the vessel still was burning at noon. Engineer Melvin J. ' Wroten,. aboard the fully-loaded Graham, said "it was like a stick of dyna mite. It was awful and it - was beautiful and, oh my God, I lived through it." Wroten was the last to leave the Graham with Capt. Karl An derson, Chester, Pa. He said the fire flashed along the port side of the ship, then gasoline- fed flames licked to the starboard side where the men were attempting to launch a lifeboat. "We all ran forward," he said. "and dove into the water. By the time the lifeboat hit, it was all aflame. But most of the men Were calm and all but one boy wore hfejackets. I got to him a . few minutes after we were in -the water. ' ''.,.'.' .' '" ' . ,."'' . "Fire was everywhere. I didn't even see the other ship.'.' . -,' ,-.. . Wroten said it was like watch ing my home go boom." He said after he was picked up by a coast guard boat, "I sat down on -.the deck and just shook, there -was nothing else to do." . ';.'. The Gulfoil, launched in 1943 at Sparrows Point, , Md., and, owned by the Gulf Oil Corp., delivered 120,ooo: barrels of oil' Wednesday at Providence and was sailing i-in ballast for: Port' Arthur,' Tex.-;r ,-; The' Graham, owned by the S'.Ei Graham Transportation Co.; Glad: uiunn- kft WD. a en naflDdm tn Capt. Clay T. Evans of the -fcr- fy , boat "Newport, whioh interrupt ed its run to Jamestown Island opposite Newport to pick up jsur vivors, said "there was fire all over the water. - . ; - . 'v'' 'You couldn't see more than 100 feet," he said, "the fog was . so hnit Thft (rnffin frnm thp'rpKouf. hnnts was terrific. We had to'' no tour around the. area,. '-There was so much fire but you Just couldn't tell how much' because 1 of that terrible fog." . . - ;.'i( First to reach' the scene .was the Coast Guard cutter Laurel from Castle Hill,, R.I. Other cut' ters from New Bedford and Woods, Hole, Mass., joined fire, Navy and Coast Guard cutters from Newport and other nearby bases. Army helicopters from Otis Alr Force Base, Mass., also were summoned. - More than an hour after the col lision, the flames were visible from the streets of this fashion able summer resort. Newport Navy Security Officer, Capt. Richard Ashman said a Navy fireman braved the flames and smoke to climb hand over hand up the anchor chain of the Gulfoil. The unidentified fireman crawl ed onto the deck and grabbed a seaman who was "badly burned from head to foot and in a state of shock." . The smoking hulk of the Uultoil sloshed on to the beach off Fort Adams. F i r e b o a t s snuggled around, ' pouring water on the stricken tanker. The Graham aU; so burned fiercely. er, 6, bolleved to be tho pllot. Th crash oc curred in the oarly morning hours, and Hi plane narrowly missed a home In which 1Q
