.Observer, La Grande, Ore.,
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4Boom A-Borning
Tossing Sen. Hubert Humphrey's name into the
Democratic presidential hopper was a pretty per
functory gesture until he returned from interviewing
Soviet Boss Khrushchev. Now, evidently, some people
are getting serious about him.
Seldom has a politician gotten more mileage out of an
J interview than Humphrey is getting out of this one.
He. had a long chat with President Eisenhower about it,
vit.hi appropriate fanfare. Magazines have been giving
hirn a good spread. He's got both feet inside the chalked
i circle on center stage.
J ., Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt says she thinks he's
cfcisest of anyone to having the stuff the next president
J will need. There have been some other muiTnurings in
the same key.
i - No one imagines that Mrs. Roosevelt packs any great
J "political weight. But sometimes she reflects what
others of her markedly liberal persuasion are thinking.
, iThis could be a sign that the militant liberals among the
'Democratic party see Humphrey as a man of rising
i stature.
u .There was a time when no seasoned professional
. would have mentioned him as presidential timber. As
the man who led the pro-civil rights fight in the 1948
convention at Philadelphia, he was considered totally
! unacceptable to the South, part of which revolted at that
time. , .
' Then .Humphrey made a rather , poor beginning in
the Senate. He was talky, and the phrase "boy scout"
was sometimes heard in description.
Over-the years, however, he has acquired substantial
experience, and impresses many today as a man of re-
. sponsibility. In 1956 it was evident he had even man
aged to make a good many friends among southern
" politicians.
Just how fully the South would embrace him today
has not been-shown.; All aside from civil rights, he's
pretty, liberal for many, southerners.
.'..(,-. Perhaps .the northern liberal interest in him suggests
a conviction that this wing of the party after the
recent fileQjlqns is now strong enough to ride over
the South'sobjections, if they exist. In any event, it
certainly indicates that Humphreys is no longer just a
stray name in the presidential hat.
All Get Into The Act
.).'. v.- ' ,.v
ivThis is .the age, of participation. Tlie old days when
we just watched or listened to a few specialists perform
in sports, music, etc., are fading rapidly.
Even phonograph records are bending to this par
ticular wind. It's not just "Music by Stash" any more.
It's "Sing AJong With Stash." Then there are those
orchestral tidbits where they leave out one instrument,
say the clarinet, so you can tootle along with the en
semble. ."Music Minus One" covers that field.
With getting into the act the big thing nowadays, it's
probably only a matter of time before ideas like these
spread, to other realms. '
For example, there could be a "Politics Minus One.",
The record provides the crowd noises, the introductory
speeches, the chairman banging his gavel. But you
make the big campaign talk. . . s , -
, , Or it might be "Congress Minus One." The record
couM offer a lively Senate debate on some burning topic.
Accompanying charts would list 97 senators but leave
one big gap. You would fill this by vising to your feet
at an appropriate point in the debate to sound off. You
could also record your vote. ..(
Some of the boys who are already listed as profes
sionals in these categories could use this kind of prac
tice. .
Side
"George always puts off his resolutions till the
last minute!" -
Toes., Dee. 30, 1958 Page 2
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. . , o o i 7)7s d i
France Embarks On Austere Era
By ARTHUR HIGBEE
United Press International .
, PARIS (UPD France embarks
on the grimmest era ot austeri
ty in' living memory a life of
government enforced "truth and
severity." - - '
Not even in the dark days fol
lowing World War II . had this
country faced a program of such
financial stringency as that of
fered by president - elect Charles
de Gaulle and his government in
their, weekend adjustment of the
nation's finances. - t :
. Observers said France probably
would find a firmer financial foot
ing but the cost might well be a
loss by De Gaulle of some of the
Film Critics Name Guiness,
Taylor For Top
NEW YORK . (UPD " Alec
Guiness and ' Elizabeth Taylor
walked off with top acting honors
Monday in the annual poll of the
nation's film 'critics, by Film
Daily, the. movie industry's trade
paper... u ; . . "
Guiness was cited for his por
trayal of a British officer, in "The
Bridge on the River Kwai"
performance 1 for which he re
ceived -an "Oscar" earlier this
year. Spencer Tracy's perform
ance, in "The Last Hurrah" won
him runnerup honors.-
Miss Taylor' was honored for
her performance as "Maggie" in
Tennessee Williams' "Cat on A
Ousted Man
Denied Appeal
PORTLAND (UPD The Oregon
Centennial ' Commission has de
nied a hearing for Floyd Max
well, who was fired last week as
Centennial director: The decision
was taken in an 8-1 vote.
Only C. Howard Lane of Port
land, who also voted against Max
well's discharge, voted in favor
of a hearing. , ....
Maxwell had asked for a chance
to. defend, his record before a
meeting of the full commission,
but the commission -turned him
down and instead expanded the
authority of his successor, Port
land Broadcaster H. Quenton Cox.
The commission put Cox in
charge of publicity and promotion
under W. W. Marsh, the depart
ment of state coordination under
Ted Halloek, and a new depart
ment of finance. A finance direc
uv is yet to ;be named.
The . publicity and promotion
Jepnrlment and the. department
.... ,
of state coordination previous y
imu ukku uiKiutt-u i..ulUIi,u,,
of Maxwell
The commission also revised
the -administrative setup under
which David Duncan, who had
served as executive secretary to
Chairman Anthony Brandenlhaler.
will servo as executive assistant
to Cox. ., . , ..
. Cox's salary was fixed at $1,250
a month, the same as Maxwell
had been paid.
Maxwell had said in a press re
lease Sunday that . his discharge
came at a meeting of the com
mission attended by only six of
nine members, and that the re
moval was forced by only four
members.
RECOGNITION
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (LTD An
essay on Shakespeare by Univer
sity of Tennessee English Profes
sor . Dr. . Alwin Thaler has been
chosen as one of the best pub
lished in 75 years. Thaler's article
was Written' in l'S2".
. Winter Sport
popularity which swept him Into
power this year as the new strong
man-president of the Fifth Rcpub
, The prices of gold: and gold
coins rose in moderate gains when
the Paris Bourse opened. Monday
but there was. no panicky buying
and government officials said there
scorned to be no sudden rush on
gold because of the 17.55 per cent
devaluation.
The-'buslcrily program effective
Monday was forecast by De Gaulle
in a "blood, sweat and teams'' tel
evision address to the country
Sunday night. He said in blunt
words he was going to put France
"on a basis of truth and severity."
Honors In Poll
Hot Tin Roof.
"The Bridge , on ' the River
Kwai" also swept top honors in
three other categories in the poll
of more than 2,000 newspaper
movie critics for direction, pho
tography and screenplay.
The performance of Red But
tons as airman Joe Kelly . in
"Sayonara" won him top honors
as the best supporting actor,
while Hope Lango garnered com
parable honors among actresses
for her performance as Selena
Cross in "Peyton Place."
David Ladd, son of actor Alan
Ladcl, was named top juvenile
actor on the basis of his- perform
ance in "The Proud Rebel," his
movie debut. Patty McCormack
was honored for the best perform
ance by a juvenile actress for
her portrayal in "Kathy O'."
She won the same honor two
years ago for her acting in "The
Bad Seed." .
European actress Maria Schell,
runnerup to M'ss Taylor in the
best actress category, was cited
as "find of the year" on the basis
of her performance in the french
import "Gervaise."
.For their work on "The Bridge
on the River Kwai," David Lean
was honored as the outstanding
director; Jack Hiklyard for the
best photography, and Pierre
Boullc for the best screenplay.
Foster Parents
Claim Orphans
PORTLAND (UPD-Ncw foster
parents from -22 states were on
hand at Portland International
Airport Saturday to pick up Ko
rean orphans they have adopted
from the latest Harry Holt waif
airlift. .
The 107 orphans, of American-
iMJiriiii (juii-uiaKi-, cm imiiyuu in
yo0(J he.lUh aboard a Supcr Co).
. ,, .,, (rom Seou .
The orphans that arrived Satur
day boosted the total number of
Korean waifs brought to the Unit
ed States by Holt, a Creswell,
Ore., farmer, to 1,176.
SUDAN SEEKS REO AID
CAIRO (UPD Sudanese Premi
er Ibrahim Abboud has asked Mos
cow to send a delegation to Khar
toum to discuss Soviet economic
aid, the Middle East News Agency
reported.
A Mena dispatch from Khar
toum quoted Abboud as saying:
"Our acceptance of American
aid does not mean we will not
take Soviet aid. We are ready to
accept aid or a loan from any
country provided it does not in
fringe on our independence and
sovereignty."
INCREASE TRADE
STOCKHOLM (UPD Sweden
and the Soviet Union will increase
trade under terms of an agree
ment signed here.
1 Tim announcement probably was
the first g at disillusionment for
the- VJ poi cant of the electorate
who voted liim. mear i dictatorial
powers in the constitutional refer
endum last Sept. . 28. Ironically,
those same powers prevented the
voters from doing anything about
it even if they become disenchant
ed with the austerity program.
Gone are the days when a cap
ricious National Assembly could
topple governments practically at
will. The current parliament does
not meet until Spring and by thei
Pe Gaulle and Pinay hope to havi
gone far towards making the frani
respectable once mpre. .fc
To do so they need help fron
the man in the street.: Frenchme:
traditionally shy : away' from ;th
word austerity and any attempt' t
raise, taxation on . the' basic nec
essiti.es. of life' The new- prograr
calls . for .higher -jjrjces for wine
cigarettes; consumer j goods' such
as . television ' sets t-antl. washing
machines and for subway and rail
way travel. . .
Withdrawal of state subsidies
from such items-almost led to a
split in the cabinet. Socialist mem
bers led by Guy Mollet announced
the working masses would . not
stand fori price hikes that were
not matched by ' wage increases-.
The- Socialists; appeared likely to
form the main parliamentary op
position to the plan. ,
One group, of Frenchmen who
did welcome the new program was
the tourist trade. With the dollar
worth 493.70 francs instead of 420
they predicted an increase in the
number of . American and British
tourists. And . Americans visiting
here wore delighted they can get
17.55 per cent more for the same
amount of francs.
SAC Missil&meh Elated
OMAHA, Neb. (UPD Missile
men at. Strategic -Air .Command
headquarters here are elated over
the successful firing. Dec. 16 of a
long-range Thor ballistic missile
from Vandenberg Air For Base,
Calif. . , '-.
But it's the men involved not
the missile that have the sacmen
excited. i. .
It was the first time a. military
Inland Broadcasting Firm
Purchases New Station
WEISER. Idaho , (UPD Inland
Broadcast C o m p a n y: purchase,
subject to FCC approval, of the
Radio Mid- Columbia Corporation
which operates Radio Station
KRMW at: The Dalles, Ore., has
been announced.:".' m nvi
The announcement came from
Mcrvin - Ling,' Inland president
who owns and- operates stations
KWEI in Wciser and KAYT in
Rupert. ; -' ' ' ' v
Farrell Peterson, who has been
on: the staff of KWEI, has been
named manager- of KRMW- and
will assume his duties there when
the FCC approves the transfer.
Duck Hunter , Injured,.. ,
When Shotgun Explodes
PORTLAND (UP1 jtaipn
Murphy. 30, Troutdalc. was acci
dentally wounded in the left arm
Sunday When the breech- of 'a
shotgun exploded while he was
duck hunting between Mud Lake
and Blue Lake. He was rushed to
Providence hospital - here -where
attendants said his condition was
satisfactory.
If Russia's 7-Year Plan Works
Citizens May Be Better Off In '59
BY HENRY SHAPIRO
United Press International
MOSCOW (UPI1 If Russia's
new seven- year plan to be
launched next year succeeds, the
Soviet citizen will be somewhat
better off in 1959 than he was in
1958. ; '. ' -.'
He will ' have : more food and
clothing,, shorter work hours and
more-' elbow-room. . His children
will have only eight instead of
ten years . of compulsory school
ing so they can-start to work at
the age of 15 with the opportunity
to 'continue their educaion in
night schools. '
; -At the' recent meeting of the
Communist Party's "Central Com
Currency Reforms May Boost
American Trade In Europe
.'WASHINGTON (UPD U.S. of
ficials have predicted : that the
ourrency - reforms ordered by
Western - European Nations will
stimulate-American trade abroad
and i strengthen the economy of
Europe. " " ' '
s-The action taken by Britain and
10. other European nations in eas
ing monetary restrictions - was
praised by -! the- international
monetary fundthe' State Depart
ment' and Members ' of Congress
. One source explained ; that the
move . will ' allow buyers to ac
quire dollars to- pay ' for u.&.
goods -without paying a discount
previously ; required for convert
ingToreign' currencies into dol-
Rights
PdcketReddi
WASHINGTON (UPD-The Jus
tice' Department has prepared a
highly i-secret -'package of civil
rights legislative proposals to Do
presented to the new Congress.
Attorney General' William r.
Rogers has been holding almost
daily conferences at the depart
ment to work out the form of the
Vdministration proposals. He also
has 'rtade a 'number of trips to
.he Whiter House. J ' -But
" the attorney general has
lamped a lid on any discussions
)f the details. Department officials
aid they did not want a prema
ure announcement because some
iSasures are not yet crystallized.
The wraps will be taken off the
rogram by President Eisenhower
ft his State of the Union message
j' Congress officials said.
- They said-"anything that is pro
posed will-be With the serious in
tention of having it passed by Con-gressi"-
Some persons outside the
Administration have ' said they
do hot expect the department to
make any startling new proposals.
' '; The administration officials said
they were trying to avoid legisla
tion1 which might have a popular
appeal such as drastc anti-bomb-laws,
but which would not "legal
ly hold 'Water.'-' -' i. . '
Administration ' officials' ' have
said they would seek new subpena
powers for the Justice ' Depart
ment." Such powers; similar to
those held by the Internal Revenue
Service,- would give the- depart
ment easier access to records, in
cluding : voting registration rolls'.
In addition, the Administration
is expected to recommend that
Congress' prolong the life of the
Civil Right's ' Commission ' beyond
the September, 1959, deadline.
Launching
crow launched a 'ballistic missile
and marked a milestone in the
conversion of the giant rockets for
combat duty.
' ''Now we can use this thing,"
a SAC spokesman said. "One of our
own crews fired this one."
' All missiles' previously fired had
been launched by scientists for ex
perimental purposes. But missile
experts' noted that rockets which
could be launched only by scien
tists had about as much strategic
value as a machine gun which
could be fired only by its inventor.
SAC officials said they also were
pleased by. the initial success of
the Sac-trained crew in firing the
Thor.; . ,
They (rained for nearly a year
before the firing, partly at Vanden
berg but most of the time at the
plants where the various compo
nents of the 10.000-milc an hour
missile were made. '
The missile sailed 1.500 miles
out to sea along its planned course
on the soldiers' first try.
The SAC nu'litary teams have
also fired the Snark, a slower non
ballistic missile of greater range.
But the Dec. 16 firing opened the
door to the launching of other in
termediate range ballistic missiles,
like the Thor, and the longer
range intercontinental ballistic
missiles.
' SAC is said to be readying its
ICBM At'as bases and training
crews to fire the giant bird, which
recently took its place as the
world's larges manmadc satellite.
. The missile is expected to be
prepared for launching' by a mili
tary crew at Vnndenbors early
next year.
mittee, ordinary citizens, -were
promised an upsurge of agricul
tural and other consumer goods,
better housing and higher real
wages. ' I ' '
But the political developments
of 1958 in the USSR do not give
hope of lessening tensions in 1959,
with the constantly shifting focus
of crisis the Far East, the Mid
dle East and now Berlin. ' ,
Any agreement on disarma
ment, which doesn't seem to be
in the cards now, would material
ly aid Soviet economic progress.
Therefore, during 1959, the
Kremlin will continue to plug
disarmament and a summit con
ference as the solution to Berlin,
lars,
This source described the ac
tion as a major forward step to
ward' freer world trade and pre
dicted that other restrictions on
trade . will be cased within the
next year. '
The United States has suffered
two-major disadvantages in trade
since World War II the foreign
currency exchange barriers and
foreign licensing of U.S. imports,
he said.
With the removal of the cur
rency restrictions, he added, the
next major goal is a 'revision of
what he ' called discriminatory
quotas imposed on American im
ports.' .' i'-' v- 1
Sens. Mike Mansfield (D-Mont.)
and John J. Sparkman- (D-Ala.)
joined in hailing the European
move as a good economic omen
and a 'trend toward freer trade.
Mansfield, a member of- the
Senate Foreign Relations Com
mittee, said "it's a. move in the
right direction and should ! bring
about a better relationship with
our allies." '- -'
" Sparkman, a-member of both
the Foreign Relations and Bank
ing committees, said the net re
sult "should be to stimulate our
own trade" and "give greater
stability to the softer currencies
of Europe."
, ' :H
GOP Says Labor
Upped Demo Lead
WASHINGTON (UPD The Re
publican high command credits
organized labor -with producing
about half of the estimated six
million vote - majority that 'Demo
cratic ' congressional candidates
piled up in the 1958 elections.
' GOP strategists are convinced
that a Democratic trend would
have left them with a three mil
lion vote deficit in any event but
that labor's political activity vir
tually doubled the Democratic
majority. '-
Parly managers are groping
for some effective counter-measures
before the 1960 presidential
election.
Republican headquarters has
asked GOP House membe'rS who
were unseated why they!' think
they were defeated. Their replies
were reported to give less weight
to union political activity than
professionals in the national head
quarters think it deseryejs, , . .
Even so, some of the" defeated
members viewed labor- 'as ..a ma
jor factor in their losses More
specifically, some candidates
blamed their defeat directly on
the fact that the right tci work
issue was on the ballot m then
states. :';
t''iiiriiTliin'lW - tiliMriWWill'r
- t-'-J 1 i - ( j liaii
HYBRID HELICOPTER Combining features of both a
l.elicopter and a conventional airplane is the recently un
veiled Hiller X-18 "Propelloplane." Picture sequence above
shows its operation. With wings at a 90-degree angle, top, it
can rise straight up. As wings are tilted into level position,
center, it becomes a normal-appearing plane, bottom. The
16 '.i -ton research transport, powered by twin-engine turbo
Props, is clue for Us first flight in April. .
and mid-Eastern and Far East
ern problems, though there is lit
tle prospect of success.
The year 1958 was marked by
uninterrupted domestic, economic
and political triumphs for the
leadership of Premier Nikita
Khrushchev.
He has been an unchallenged,
dominating figure since the; June,
1957, Central Committee meeting
with the expulsion of the power
ful opposition group of V. M. Mol
otov, Georgi Malenkov, Lazar Ka
ganovich, Dmitri Shepilov and
Nikolai Bulganin.
The December Central Com
mittee meeting laid the ground
work for the forthcoming'-, Com
munist Party Congress in late
January with the final disgrace
of the opposition group and ' the
absolute consolidation of Khrush
chev's position and policies.
Communist Party control of all
instruments of Soviet power the
state apparatus, - armed forces
and security organs seems as
sured. Khrushchev made short shrift
in -1958 of the last challenger of
party control, Marshal Georgi
Zhukov, who's been easily thrown
into the limbo of forgotten men.
The party this year also tight
ened its control of literature, the
arts and sciences. This was evi
denced in the December. Con
gress of the Writers' Union, of
the Russian Republic which re
affirmed its principle that art, is
a weapon and writers - are the
Communist Party's .first assist
ants in the construction of com
munism. ' -
In science, T r o f i m Lysenko,
who audaciously criticized the au
gust Academy of Sciences from
the platform of the Central Com
mittee, will apparently again play
n important role during the com
ing' year.. . -. ..
Advocates of technocracy en
gineers, economists, technicians
who bade for increased political
authority a few years ago haven't
been much encouraged:
The key figures of the Presid
ium Central Committee's Council
of Ministers are all professional
party leaders, although' many had
engineering or economics train
ing, .''.'., ', v. '
One of the last professional
specialists to have headed an im
portant power organ was General
Ivan Serov, removed in Decem
ber as head of the security po
lice. His successor is Alexander
M. Shelepin, a young Communist
Party official. . . , ,
The 21st Communist Parly Con
gress in January probably will be
styled "the congress of conquer
ors." It will claim staggering vic
tories in the five year period
since Stalin's death in' economic
development, science, the growth
of ' international authority, of the
Soviet Union and the consolida
tion of the increasing power of
the Communist bloc, from China
westward to Berlin.
Portable Atomic
Reactor Suggested
LOS ANGELES (UPD Two
UCLA scientists have suggested
development of a portable atomic
reactor for sterilizing farm land.
Drs. Amos Norman and Samuel
G. Wildman said Sunday such a
device could destroy and prevent
reproduction of fungi, insect larva
and weed seeds which greatly re
duce agricultural yield,
hey said the reactor would -Tir
They said the reactor would ir
radiate the soil to a depth of
about six inches and cover ground
at the rate of six miles an hour.
- i