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b
Partly cloudy through Fri
day; few snow flurries over
mountains today; high today
40-47; low tonight 18-24; high
Friday 36-43.
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LA GRANDE, OREGON, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1958
Price 5 Cents
California
To Launch
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE
BASE, Calif. (UPI) Scientists,
engineers and construction men
worked feverishly here today to
ready this huge new Air Force
base for "Project Discoverer," a
program aimed at putting a man
carrying satellite into space.'
I lie Defense Department an
nounced Wednesday that the first
shot in the program to find out
how to put a man into orbit and
get him back safely will be fired
in about 30 days.
The biggest U. S. satellites to
date will be launched. These even
tually will include a five-ton artifi
cial moon which is much bigger
than anything Russia has put into
orbit so far. Mice and monkeys
will go first, probably on the fifth
or sixth launchings about the mid
dle of next year. When enough
information is obtained, a man
will be launched, but not in 1959.
Spokesmen explained one reason
Vandcnberg was chosen for this
project is its location on the Pa
civic missile range, the world's
largest, from where it is clear
Red Stand
Blasts
Ban Hopes
GENEVA (UPI i Hopes for
an effective ban on nuclear test
ing faded today when the Rus
sians announced they will insist
on the .right to veto decisions of
the organization set up to police
the ban.
Radio' Moscow, violating a
pledge - of secrecy, 1 broadcast a
detailed account of Soviet propos
als to the nuclear-test conference
here revealing for , the first time
thfit- 'Russia- will not 'accept ma
jority rule in the control group.
The broadcast re-affirnied the
Russian demand that tests must
be banned "for all time," but at
the same lime expressed "strong
objections" to the idea of setting
up permanent inspection teams to
police it.
The combined effect of the So
viet declarations probably will be
to doom the conference on testing
to failure.
At the same time. Radio Mos
cow served thinly-veiled notice on
the United States and Britain that
Russia reserves the right to re
sume testing at any time and to
continue it until agreement on. a
ban is reached.
The slated goal of the prospec
tive resumption of Soviet nuclear
tests was to "match the total
number of U.S. and British ex
plosions since March 31, 1958"
when the Russians announced
they were suspending tests.
Plane Crash Fatal
To Four In Denver
DENVER I UPI i Four persons
died in the crash of a private plane
on takeoff into a snowstorm here
today.
The dead were identified tenta
tively as Preston Joe Burkhart,
39, his wife. Columbine, 30. their
daughter, Sandra Lou, 14, and
Mrs. Kathleen Morrison, Burk
hart's sister.
The party was bound for Woods
field. Oho. where Burkluirt's
mother suffered a heart attack
Wednesday.
Burkhart was an insurance
agent and an expert on guns. He
was an experienced pilot, accord
ing to his employer, John Price of
the Travellers Insurance Co.
LaborSeeksMinimumWage
WASHINGTON UPP Organ
ized labor and its allies launched
a major drive today to obtain an
increase in the federal minimum
wage and extend it to include mil
lions of workers not now covered.
New demands for Congress to
revamp the Fair Labor Standards
Act were expected to result from
a two-day conference marking the
20th anniversary of the minimum
wage law.
The AFL-CIO and the National
Consumers League, joint sponsors
of the meeting, lined up such
new deal headliners as former
Secretary of Labor Frances Per
kins and economist Leon Keyser
ling to address their conference.
The Labor Federation was on
record in favor of a 25-cent boost
in the minimum to $1.25 and ex
tension of coverage to nearly 10
million additional wage and salary
AF Base
Satellites
shot to the South Pole, the di
rection in which all launchings
from here will be made.
"In the Pacific, there is plenty
of ocean in which to recover the
satellites and many islands which
can be used as tracking stations,"
a spokesman said.
Other reasons:'
Experts believe the jutting
section of coast may be the only
place in the U. S. where it is pos
sible to launch satellites into Po
lar orbits. It is only in a Polar
orbit' that a reconnaissance sat
ellite such as the Air Force Sen
try could view the entire surface
of the earth.
The installation is close ' to
"most manufacturers involved in
production of missile develop
ment" and to headquarters for the
Ballistic Missile Division of the
Air Research and Development
Command.
This base covers nearly 05,000
acres of a wild, beautiful Southern
California coastal area which ov
erlooks the "Valley of the Flow
ers," where 80 per cent of the
world's commercial flower seed
is produced. It is in the northern
section of the tri-service Pacific
missile range which extends from
Point Mugu, 35 miles northwest
of Los Angeles, to Point Sal here,
168 miles from Los Angeles.
The Navy has overall charge of i
(hp rnntfn urilh lie lia.irlmt.ii.t.ii.u ol I
Point Mugu an Indian name
meaning "place of landing," but
which is more properly "place of
launching." Joined directly to the
ocean range is a huge inland mis
sile rango a strip running 500
miles northeast across the moun
tains and deserts of California and
Nevada to the Army's . Dugwav
proving grounds in Utah.
Arrival of the space ace here
Il9E nrnrllinoil mam, tl.r.iintt nninn
some of them funny. The missile-1
men must schedule many of their
firings on tile basis of a Southern
Pacific railroad' timetable because
the :, SP's ; main coast line runs
through the heart of the.base. Pas
sengers on the Daylight train
which runs between San Francis
co ana Los Angeles can sec
shrouded Atlas and Thor missiles
as they whisk through.
Texans Record
Mystery 'Beep7
SAN ANTONIO, Tex. (UPI) A
moonwatch team here made a
recording of a radio signal from
space Wednesday night, noted its
period cycle, and concluded that
it must be coming from an uni
dentified, man-made satellite.
A day earlier scientists in Sun
nyvale, Calif., who first heard the
signal Nov. 26, reported it def
initely was not coming from any
known satellite now circling the
eartn.
Dr. Paul Scabasc, in charge of
the Trinity College moonwatch
team in San Antonio, said the sig
nal consists of a constant "beep
beep," in a scries of two each
siimlar to that sent out by the
first Sputnik.
Ho said the broadcast appears
to come in intervals of about one
hour and 40 minutes, "apparently
from an unidentified, orbiting sat
ellite." He added that the signal
is right on the Russian frequency
of 20.004.
The scientist said his team
picked up the sound twice on
Tuesday night.
A Defense Department spokes
man said Wednesday that the de
partment had not been told of any
"mystery" signal.
After the first announcement of
the signal by the California sci
entists there was brief speculation
that it was coming from a Russian
rocket, shot past the moon and
traveling out beyond Mars.
workers.
Secretary of Labor James P.
Mitchell, scheduled to speak today
did not commit himself on a higher
minimum or broader coverage in
his prepared remarks.
Mitchell said he would ask Con
gress to amend the act to author
ize him to sue an employer to re
cover back wages for an under
paid worker without the worker's
written permission as now re
quired. He said many workers are reluc
tant to give their consent even
though they have been paid wages
below the legal minimum.
"Any man (who) cheats his
employes will not be expected to
look kindly upon being dragged
into bourt by one of them." Mit
chell said. The cabinet member
asked more workers to complain
if their employers violate the
: Am
SKI CARNIVAL The annual Ski Carnival, co
sponsored by the junior and senior high school
ski clubs, will be held at the junior high school
starting at 7 p.m. tomorrow night, Harvey Car
ter, principal there, said this morning. Purpose
of the event is to secure funds for the school
ski teams, and to purchase additional equip
ment for unior. and hiyh school club mem
Y
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Tighter Fire
Law Promised
CHICAGO UP1 Cityoffi!ials
promised to tighten fire laws to
day when an investigation indi
cated lack of fire doors sucked
suffocating gases to the second
floor of a parochial school, killing
87 children and three nuns. ,
Investigators combing the
charred Our Lady of the Angels
Roman Catholic grade school for
clues to the tragic Monday after
noon holocaust believe the flames
broke out in rubbish under a
basement stairwell. ,
They said the flames and
smoke and gases swept up (he
open stairwell to the second floor,
killing the children in one searing
breath.
Most of the victims were found
in six classrooms on the second
floor. The first floor, protected by
a metal fire door, suffered rela
tively little fire damage.
However, the pastor of Our
Lady of the Angeles Catholic
Church and the janitor of the
school denied any implications of
negligence. The pastor, Msgr.
Joseph Cucussen, said as far as
he knew no papers or rubbish
had accumulated beneath the
stairwell.
wage-hour law.
Labor's arguments for a boost
in minimum standards were to be
advanced by AFL-CIO President
George Meany when he speaks at
a banquet tonight.
The present SI an hour mini
mum went into effect March 1,
1956. Mitchell proposed expanding
coverage to include 2,500,000 more
workers at the last session of
Congress but no action was taken
to amend the law.
About 24 million employes in
900,000 firms now are covered by
the act, which provided for a 25
cents an hour minimum when it
first went into effect on Oct. 24.
1938. Of the 20 million wage and
salary workers not covered, about
13.500.000 are not considered in
volved in interstate commerce.
The other 6..()0.0()0 ;irc exempt for
various reasons.
A II' "tUjmi iV-J
Local Firemen
To Do City Hall
Paid and volunteer firemen ap
peared en masse at the City Com
mission meeting last night to ob
ject to an order now in effect
thai firemen must do the jani
lor work in the city hull building.
Fire Chief Ray Snider said the
firemen met yesterday without
his knowledge to discuss the or
der issued effective last Monday
by Citv Manager Fred Young.
Snider, however, said that since
(he men object to the janitor
work order, he would buck up
his men on the objection because
such work will impair the effi
ciency of the fire fighters and
Fire Nearly
Under Control
MAL1BU. Calif. iUPD The
huge Malibu brush fire which has
destroyed 40 homes and black
ened more than 20.0(H) acres was
reported almost under control to
day but still extremely danger
ous. More than 2.000 men remained
on firelines. concentrating mainly
jin hot licks of flame which en
dangered a populat ed section
near Webster School and two
other hot spots along a five-mile
perimeter on the east and west
lines.
A fleet of airplanes dropping
packs of a watcr-borate solution
bombed the area, especially the
hot spots and the inaccessible
sections in the rugged canyons.
The fire by night looked like a
million bonfires from a distance.
But the stench qf destruction
could be smelled from miles
away.
Residents returning to sections
which already have been wiped
out and no longer offered any
thing for the blaze to feed on,
were faced with a terrible scene
of desolation.
The blackened hillsides which
only two years ago fed the disas
trous Malibu fire that claimed
one life. 45,000 acres and 60 mil
lion dollars worth of property
were once again littered with the
carcasses of animals.
bers. At the carnival a queen from each school
will be selected. High school queen candiates
(top picture) are from left, Patty Parker, Donna
Dodge and Cresta Shaw. Junior high queen can
didates are from left (bottom picture) Bonnie
Scott, Carol Easley and Susan Cunningham.
The public is invited to attend the carnival.
(Observer Photos)
'1
Protest Order
Janitor Work
lower the morale of both the paid
and volunteer firemen
A number of paid and volunteer
firemen spoke on the subject,
stating thai a few minutes lost
getting back to the fire hall from
washing windows or mopping city
hall floors mighl be costly in
fighting a fire. Also, Ihey said.
we are proud of being firemen
and that they did not want to be
doing janitor work. They said
they would do anything in the line
of work to increase the efficiency
of the fire' department. .
Commissioners said they would
meet with Young to discuss the
janitor work order. Young was
home in bed with the flu last
nighl and did not attend the reg
ular commission meeting.
Commissioners last night also
discussed the possible sale or
lease of the Morgan lake prop
erty to the State Game Commis
sion. Commission directed Young
to get together with William
Brown of the game commission
to see just what arrangement
could be worked out.
The game commission wants
the lake so trash fish can be kill
ed and the lake stocked with trout
next year.
Commissioner Gordon Clarke
said he would like to hcur some
opinions from the public on what
they think should be done with
the lake property which the city
can buy from the California-Pacific
Utilities Company for $7,
500. Details on the purchase are
being worked out between city
and utility company officials.
Man Fined, Sentenced
On Check Charge Here
Jack 0. Webster, arrested Tues
day by city police on a check
charge, was fined $50 and sen
tenced to 30 days in the county jail
yesterday by Justice Judge George
Miller.
Judge Miller suspended 20 days
of the jail term, providing Webster
paid the $50 fine and the $25 for
the check cashed in La Grande.
Webster pleaded guilty to the check
charge, District Attorney George
Anderson Jr. reported.
iirv n
Dime
'Copter
WASHINGTON (UPI I Surviv
ors of a helicopter crasli that took
one life and injured nine other
persons told today of a harrowing
four-hour wait for rescue from
the chill waters of the Potomac
River.
Coast Guard and Washington
harbor police rescued the pas
sengers from' the fog - shrouded
river Wednesday night, and at
first it was thought all had been
saved.
But early today harbor police
found the body of one man float
ing near the marsh like crash
scene two miles south of here.
lie was identified from papers
Lost Plane
Search
Continues
PENDLETON (UPI) Wreck
age of a light plane, believed
to be one missing since Mon
day with two men aboard, was
spotted on a mountaintop to
day, a search official here re
ported. CONDON, Ore. (UPI) Search
resumed in central Oregon today
for a light plane missing since
Monday on a flight from Spray,
southeast of here, to Seattle.
Aboard the craft were William
Kelsey, 25, Seattle . and Richard
Jacobs, 32, Kent, Wash.
An all-day aerial search Wed
nesday failed to produce a sign
of the craft.
There was a report Wednesday
night that a logger had ' seen
what he boUeved to be airplane
wreckage about four or five miles
northeast of Kin.iia, which Is be
tween Condon and Spray. Bruce
Mercer, a local businessman, said
he and eight other men searched
until 2:30 a.m. in the rugged area
without finding a trace of wreck
ago. He said they hunted an area
1 1-2 miles long by 500 or 600
.( I yards wide.
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Bureau of Acrondutics, said in
Salem the search was being con
centrated' today on an area 15
miles wide and 30 miles long from
Spray to Kinzua. Ho said about
four planes would search this
area. Other aircraft will search
a triangle with Spray, Boardman
and The Dulles as the points.
Snyder said il was raining -when
the pair took off from Spray Mon
day morning and thai the search
was being concentrated south of
the Columbia river in belief the
plane did not make il into clear
weather north of Condon that day.
He said this possibility was not
being ruled out, however.
Police Probe
Double Murder
PHOENIX (UPI) Police inves
tigating the throat-cutting double
murder of gambler Gus Green-
baum and his wife today soughU
a former employe who once
served a prison sentence for steal
ing from Grecnbaum.
Milncr Jarvis was wanted for
questioning on his whereabouts ul
the time of the brutal slayings.
Police said Grecnbaum signed a
complaint which led lo Jnrvis' ar
rest and conviction of stealing
$45,000 in 1048 from the Las Vegas
Flamingo Hotel owned by the
wealthy gambler.
Jarvis was sentenced to 2 to
14 years in Nevada State Prison.
He wus released before his term
expired and less than two weeks
ago was seen in Las Vegas.
Police emphasized Jarvis was
not a suspect but that he was
sought as a mailer of routine.
A $10,000 reward was being
offered for the killer.
Grecnbaum, 65, president of the
fabulous Riviera Hotel on Las
Vegas' strip, was found in his
home Wednesday with his throat
slashed.
Mrs. Grecnbaum, 64, fully
clothed, her hands tied behind
her with her husband's bow ties,
and her throat also cut, was dis
covered 75 yards away in a den.
DIRECTORS REELECTED
Stockholders of La Grande In
dustrial Promotions at the fourth
annual meeting of the corpora
tion last night, re-elected Duvc
Buum, Dr. Fred Otton, and John
Sullivan to serve three-year terms
on the board of directors. Cor
poration officers will bo elected
within the next two weeks at the
annual board meeting.
2)yr
as M. A. Thralls, 41), a civilian
employe of the Fail-child Camera
Co.. Syossol, N. Y.
The papers indicated he lived
at Convent Road and Fourth
Place, Syosset, N. Y.
The nine men rescued were six
Marines and sailors and three ci
vilians. Tlie helicopter. a Sikorsky
HR2S. was on a routine turn
around flight to Anacostia Naval
Air Station here from Patuxent
Naval Air Station about 50 miles
away in southern Maryland.
One of tile civilian survivors,
Clarence Chick, 2!). of Lexington
Park, Md., said the helicopter
"was flying along when all of a
sudden water rushed in. and metal
started flying." He said he found
himself hanging upside clown by
his seal safety belt.
Another passenger. Navy avia
tion machinist's mate Clavton
Akers, 2li, of Pulaski, Va., said he
Translator
Power Hike OK
The Federal Communications
Commission has ruled thai tele
vision translator systems can use
up to 100 watts of output power,
officials of the Grundc Rondo
Television Association reported
this morning. ,
The local system has been lim
ited lo 10 watts output power at
the translator until now, accord-
ing to Harlow A. Spcekhart.
Translator system associations ov-l
er the nation have been working.
several months to gel an increase
in Ihe allowable power.
Speckhart said that since ". . .
many home in the valley have
been shaded by trees, buildings,
etc.. the Grande Rondc Television
Association has been. , actively
promoting 100 waits 'output be
fore the Industry and the FCC in
order that it might provide an
adequate .signal to all homes in
the valley proper. Union and La
Grande particularly have been
hampered by the attenuation of
signal within their towns."
Speckhart said il would be im
possible lo modify the Grande
Rondc Valley station before next
spring because of winter weath
er conditions. The modification
would cost between $18,000 and
$20,000 for ull three channels
here, Speckhart said.
, Because of the cost involved,
members of the board of direc
tors of the local translator sys
tem said it will be up to the
association members whether or
not the wattage is increased here.
There are now 740 association
members, Speckhart said.
Speckhart said "The advantag
es of 100 watls output are that
every home in the valley proper
would have no trouble getting a
snow-free picture and television
sets would nol have to be kept
tuned lo a peak in order to ijive
satisfactory reception."
V -J -
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iWiiimii " J n u... . I
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RADAR EDUCATION State Police officers Sgt. D. J. (Casey)
Catiato and Frod Carpenter, this morning explained and demon
strated the use of radar equipment In checking speeding to Lai
Grande high school driver training classes. Casiato explained the
legality of the equipment and assured the students that you eart'l
"beat" the radar by the use of aluminum foil in hubcaps er "y
timi" for blocking the radar rwjdings. Carpenter drov a police
car past the radar equipment so the students could check hit speed
on the equipment. High school Instructor Harry Mondale it hown
above at left, with Casiato in uniform at right near the police car
and radar equipment. (Observer Phot)
guessed the plane hit a sandbar.
Akers, who suffered minor cuts
and bruises and exposure, said
some of the passengers and crew
stayed in the overturned helicop
ter and some clung to it in the
water.
The accident happened withiii
hailing distance of shore. But the
men's plight went unnoticed until
residents of a large nearby apart
ment in South Alexandria, Va., fi
nally heard their cries and alert
ed harbor police who sped to the
rescue.
The survivors were in the river
for nearly four hours after the
plane went down about 6:30 p.m.
e.s.l.
Chick said most of those aboard
stayed in the helicopter after. the
crash. "The tide came in and we
were about knee deep in water""
he said. -",'
Akers said there was no imlica
tion of trouble until the helicopter,
hit. : ...
"Alh of a sudden there I Avas in
the water," he ' said. "It was.
pretty cold." .
Akers said he slioj two flures
to attract attention. , .But police
said their search was hampered
by fog even after the apartment
dwellers notified them of t h -crash.
r-
The Navy said the helicopter
was piloted by Marine Maj. Wil
liam Quick 37, of California, Md.
$100;000Jewel
fi , i-j , I
j MOlt KepOTteCl
,r . . .,
, NIrW ,0RK Vt V-m,
000
jewel robbery the third East
hide haul in two weeks was re
ported Wednesday nightly social
ite yachtsman John Parkinson.
r,...ir;nP,n (..ii tun. n...
gems,,.. including his wife's. $25,000
diamdnd necklace. ' disanneared.
from his whole-floor Fifth Av
enue apartment sometime be
tween Monday and Wednesday
noon. There were no signs of
forcible entry.
Parkinson, a broker, said the
jewels had been in a drawer in
a bathroom closet adjoining the
master bedroom of the 12-room
apartment. He said that in addi
tion lo the necklace, a diamond:
nnrt un nmprnll na wnrlh 19 -
ouu eucn, a jw.uuu pean neoKiocc,
nnrl ft; Finn flinmnnH nnrl cnnnhlrA
bracelet were missing. -, . :.
The Parkinson -Spartinent f'is
five floors belowy-tnat . of, fits.
Julius Ochs Adler, jwidowl of the
vice president andgeneral' man
ager of the New' York Times,
who reported' ' $12,000 worth of
gold jewelry missing ' from her
apartment Tuesday. '
Authorities are still searching
for clues to the theft of $35,000
worth of jewels and furs from
the Hotel Plaza suite of Porflrio
Rubirosa, Dominican playboy
diplomat, and his wife Nov. 21.
The hotel is eight blocks down
Fifth Avenue from the Parkinson
and Adler apartments.
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