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About La Grande evening observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1904-1959 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 7, 1959)
WEATHER Partly cloudy today through Thursday. A few showers at times. High both days 40-45. Low tonight 28-33. o Daily xctpt Cong ress Faces Space, Economy -WASHINGTON (UPI) The new and bigger 86th Congress con vened today with a Democratic leadership pledge of "responsible service" and a Republican minor ity . operating under a changed command in both the House and Senate. i ' An economy challenge from President Eisenhower and a space challenge from the Russians were expected to dominate the first ses- Winch Used To Free Man .." BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (UPI) -A well-digger trapped in a cave for nearly 13.hours clawed-his way free from a steel and sand prison today with the help of a winch. ' Leslie Stafford Jr., 45, once given' up for dead, was trapped at the 20-foot level of a narrow four-foot diameter sump hole by a steel strip which pinned his ankle and prevented rescuers from' pulling him out after tons tif gravel had been removed from above him following the cave-in at. '3:22 p.m. p.s.t. Tuesday. "'Cramped conditions and fear of another cave-in made rescuers vir tually stop digging He dug with his bare hands for more than eight hours before he was freed arid was pulled from the hole at 3:57 a.m. today. 'The terribly tired man, who had been forced to forego pain-easing sedatives ..'so he would be alert enough to dig his way free, was carried in a stretcher to a wait ing ambulance and taken to Ba kersfleld HosDital.. Stafford's condition was report-.'. ' cu ..'Buiisiai'iury uy uuspuui .uw ters who praised the courage and stamina of the wiry 125-pound well-digger. , "'" : A large hook was lowered in the hole connected onto '. the metal Strip holding up tons of gravel and pressing on his ankle. A .winch to which the hook was at tached by a steel cable managed to -lift "the metal a few- inches. Girl Reaches Contest Finals - Ruth Elmer, Cove High school student and Union county repre sentative in the I Speak for De mocracy Contest," has reached the state finals of the contest, according to the Oregon Veterans of Foreign wars newspaper. The contest, co-sponsored by be VFW and the National Broad casting Company, is an annual affair. Miss Elmer won the coun ty and district contests. Her (apt -recorded entry will be judg ed at the state finals. ' She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Elmer of Cove. Sperling Named Toastmaster Prexy , ; Augy Sperling was elected presi dent of La Grande Toastmasters club yesterday to complete the term of Andy Gowen, who has moved to The Dalles. . : Gerald Strickler was elected educational - vice-president and , Milo Van Blokland was named ad- ,miiiistrative. vice-president. "Ten Years Ahead" was Don Jordan's topic and Kelly Moore ... spoke on "The Changing Labor Picture." Sperling was in charge of table topics with Ralph Beck as chief evaluator. - Ladies night. Is set for 6:30 p.m., A,January 20 with Ralph Ward in charge of the committee. Major Issues Face New Congress WASHINGTON (UPD Here arc major issues facing Congress ' Spending: President Eisenhower . has promised a balanced budget of about 77 billion dollars and a fight to hold down spending; some of his recommendations particu larly in his defense budget are sure to be too low to satisfy the Democrats. Civil Rights: The Senate prob ably will tighten Its anti-filibuster rule a little, but legislation in this field is unlikely this year. '$: Democratc leaders will prod the administration to move faster in space exploration, con tending that uew urgency was Sunday Challeng es sion of the most overwhelmingly Democratic Congress since New Deal days. But sparks were ex pected to fly on such issues- as efforts to curb Senate filibusters, civil rights and labor legislation. The Congress with which Eisen hower must deal in his last two years in the White House is the largest in history because of the addition of two senators and a House member from the new state of Alaska. . As the gavels fell in both cham bers for the opening, 64 Demo crats and 34 Republicans were on hand in the Senate; 283 Demo crats and 153 Republicans in the House.. Shortly before the Senate met, senate Republicans elected Sen Everett M. Dirksen of Illinois as their leader' and Sen. Thomas H. Kuchel of California as whip. This complotcd a GOP - congressional leadership revamping that began Tuesday when Rep. Charles A. Halleck of Indiana, ousted Rep. Joseph W. Martin Jr. of Massach usetts from the House leadership he had held for 20 years. Democrats operated under their long established leadership Speaker Sam Rayburn of Texas in -the House and Sen.. Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas in the Senate. The keynote of "responsible ser vice" was sounded by Johnson at a party caucus prior to the cere monial first session, Johnson called the new session the "starting of a new. era" for Democrats. '' Johnson cautioned Democrats against any intraparty fighting that may stem from -the antifili bustcr and civil rights issues. Johnson chided the Eisenhower administration's leadership, say ing, "there is between the people and their government a deficit of vigor, a' deficit of confidence, and a deficit of will." . ... The Republican leadership con troversy apparently resulted in a "compromise settlement. 'DirKsen, an ' old guard . nominee,', defeat ed Sen. John S. Cooper (R-ky.)', the nominee of a liberal bloc, Kuchel, however,, came from the liberal group. He defeated Sen. Karl E. Mundt (R-S.D.) by the same 20 to 14 margin which Dirksen had. ' Dirksen takes over the duties reviously held by Sen. William F. Knowland of California who lost a governorship bid last November. Before the opening gavel sound ed in both chambers, Eisenhower and 'top members of the admin. istration joined legislators of both parties at a special prayer and communion service at the National Presbyterian Church. Rev. Fred crick Brown Harris, Senate chap Iain, offered special prayers for the President and Congress in their efforts to achieve world peace and provide for the nation's welfare. OSC Honor Roll Lists Local Boys OREGON STATE COLLEGE Five La Grande students are listed on the fall term scholastic honor roll. They are Larry 'b. Phillips, Phillip R. urbrick, Denis L. Gray, Virgil L. Chaote and Morris F. Richardson. . To be eligible for honor roll listing, students must make at least a B plus average for the term. Richardson was singled out for special recognition as one of only 81 . students -making , straight-A grades. He is a senior in the school of pharmacy. His home address is 601 N Avenue. Phillips is a sophomore in agri culture. His home address is R.R. 1, Box 232. Zurbrick is also a sophomore in agriculture. He lives on Route 1, La Grande. Gray is a sophomore in science. He lives at 1705 Cedar street. Choate is a graduate student in agriculture. His home is at 2004 Oak. given by the Soviet "lunik." Foreign Policy: There will be the perennial congressional fight over cutting the foreign aid pro gram; Senate committees will be busy investigating disarmament and other administration policies. Labor: Both parties Want new laws to combat corruption in un ions, but there will be rugged bat tles over specifics. Homing': Democrats want a far reaching housing bill with slum clearance and other provisions to rculace the measure stalled by the administration last year. Farm: There will be a search for ways to keep the farmers hap Urrutia's Men Take tee HAVANA (UPI) President Manuel Urrutia's ministers report ed to their offices for the first time today to launch the revolu tionary government's program of reconstruction and reform. Urrutia held his first formal cabinet meeting Tuesday night, just a few hours after he had dis solved the Cuban congress and an nounced he would rule by decree for the next 18 months. The new president has empha sized in his talks with newsmen hat his government would concen trate on: a broad program to raise Cuba's living standards, especially ! in the rural areas. He planned to implement the 26th of July Movement's land re form program calling for breaking! up of the state-owned lands into five-acre parcels which would be deeded to the tenant farmers now working them. The government also planned a road rebuilding program designed to assist the sugar industry in making its 1959 harvest. Another project would facilitate the devel opment or the mining industry, es pecially Oriente Province. Informed sources sam mesaay night's cabinet meeting discussed plans to dissolve all political parties tnat grew up in me Ba tista era and to disqualify for pub lic office all candidates who ran under the Batista banner in the recent elections. Urrutia's peace-making visit to Havana University Tuesday to honor student members of the Revolutionary . Directorate appar ently solidified the divergent mi nority factions .and left him and Fidel Castro free . to concentrate on government administration and policy. ';',. ',!.'. .-' , . : YouthActivities Proaram Starts 1 The local Youth Activities winter program will ' start in the La Grande Junior- High school, at 7:30 p.m., today and. will be held each Wednesday through January jmd February, according to the co directors, Mrs.' Bernice Meppen and Mrs. Barbara Goss. This is the annual Hobby Night for. students, to take up a hobby and recreation. They will meet in the large gym and from there be dismissed to the various classes. At 8:30 p.m. they will again return to the gym for an hour of recrea tional dancing, being dismissed at 9:30. All classes are under super vised leadership. ' ' - The final night, March 4, will be parents' night. They are being invited to attend and observe the activities at that time. ' Hobbies available will include several new ones; beginning knit ting, photography, drama, archery, and trampoline. Others still on the list are; beginning and advanced dancing, charm for girls, boys cooking, fly tying, leather craft, model planes, science, and rifle. Mystery Blast Wrecks Station ,. ROSEVILLE, Calif. (UPI) Fire officials were at a loss today to explain what caused a mysterious explosion that shattered a Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Com pany repeater station, interrupting transcontinental communications for an hour. The blast took place Tuesday at 11:45 a.m. p.s.t. It shot the roof of the repeater building 100 feet into the air. The root lanaea on the roof of the Fred Whitehead home nearby. The Whitehead family of four was eating lunch at the time. None of them was injured. The entire building, constructed of insulated rock wall and brick was scattered hundreds of feet, Windows and light fixtures in nearby homes were shattered py with a less expensive federal farm program. ' Inflation: A broad investigation is expected to hunt for measures to check rising prices and interest rates. Dtpreiitd Artii: New legisla tion probably will be passed to re place the bill vetoed last year to provide neip ior tnronicauy ae nressed communities. -Txti: Congress probably will agree to another extension of nresent corporate income and ex cise tax rates; it may be less eaeer to swallow me administra tion request for a US-cent increase to the gasoline ia. Established 1896 LA GRANDE, OREGON, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 1959 Education Plan ' 3CT5ffiUM!jSSJS2S If Iff 1 f 1. IH II nsriS V?1 f'J t Mite x!Lt'fx2 11 : a r t."- r iirll i m ii i'riii T irfl ' "li i i'T tnT'i ' ' lir' ff11'- SAFETY MEASURE Lorn Blnchard, Green wood school principal, is shown inspecting work on the second floor of the school to make the building less of a fire trap, in accordance with' demands of parents and the State Fire Marshall recently. Doors have been cut between rooms so students could make an exit without going out U.S. Chames Reds TrviLumber View To V 'Rewrite WASHINGTON (UPI), The United States today charged Rus sia with trying to "rewrite . his tory" to hide the' fact that the Soviet encouraged Hitler's mili tary, ambitions and cleared the way for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. ! It also renewed charges that Russia is responsible for the con tinued division of Germany, the crisis in Berlin, and the trouble and insecurity which has plagued Europe since the end of World War II. The U.S. charges were contained in a 53-page booklet released by the State Department to refute al legations in Soviet Premier Nikita Banners Tell RedGo Home' . CLEVELAND, , Ohio (UPI) -Soviet Deputy Premier Anastas I. Mikoyan arrived here today to spend the day as a guest of financier-industrialist Cyrus Eaton. The Soviet official and his par ty were welcomed with a warm handshake by Eaton, but banners on a group of 100 cars, which as sembled at Hopkins Airport two hours before Mikoyan's arrival from Washington, were not so cor dial. ."Mikoyan go home and take Eaton with you!" was one of the Fcntiments expressed on placards carried by six organizations in the protest demonstration. Conspicious in the crowd were life-size pictures of Mikoyan and Eaton, bearing the caption: "Poi son!" one banner read: "Miko yan mass killer!" More than 100 policemen were on hand to guard Mikoyan and the seven other Russians, includ ing Mikhail Menshikov, Russian ambassador to Washington, and Mikoyan's son, Sergo, but there was no indication of violence. Police Chief Frank Story said his men would not interfere with the protest demonstration unless laws are broken, and a spokes man for the protesting groups, meeting in a vacant store in the Hungarian district, stressed that "our demonstration will be com pletely lawful. There will be no violence." McKinnis' Go To Salem Donald McKinnis, elected Nov. i as a state representative from this area, and Mrs. McKinnis, left this morning for Salem. McKinnis said he and' his wife wanted to get settled in their Salem apartment and become ac quainted with some of the rou tine at the state capitot before the legislative session' begins next Monday. . . . , . into the second story hall and stairway, and a new stairway is being installed leading up from the gymnasium. Blanchard is shown looking at an old doorway from the library to a closet, which has been closed off to make room for the stairway. (Observer Photo) History' Khrushchev's Nov. '27 note to the western Big Three demanding they evacuate West Berlin. The lengthy Russian note, which the allies have rejected, contained a series of assertions that the U. S. and its allies had at' one time encouraged Hitler and then refused after the war to cooperate, with Russia to achieve European security and prosperity. Today's publication described as "an analysis" of the Soviet note, took up the Russian charges one-by-one and knocked them down by citing history and the state ments of Russian leaders. The State Department released the analysis shortly after Soviet Deputy Premier Anastas I. Miko yan left Washington following two days of talks with officials, con gressmen, businessmen and labor leaders. He left a trail of peace hints. The U. S. said that the Soviet Union, during the time that Hitler was in power, "not only main tained normal diplomatic and ec onomic relations with Germany but also assisted in building up a new German war machine." The document added that Rus sia's actions in every respect "tended to encourage Hitler's mil itary ambitions. The document also blamed Rus sia for playing a major role in starting the Pacific war. It said that "in April, 1941, the U.S.S.R, signed a neutrality pact with the Japanese ally of Hitler, thereby clearing the way for the Pearl Harbor attack on the United States on Dec. 7, 1941." C Of C Group Will Broaden Activities Members of the National Affairs committee of the Chamber of Commerce tin's morning approved a proposal to broaden their scope of activities to include both na tional and state legislative mutters. During the past year, the com mittee, along with more than 1,000 similar Chamber committees throughout the country, has studied only national issues. Co-Chairman Ken Lillurd said the broadening of the committee's activities will require the appoint ment of several other persons to the" committee. He noted that anyono interested In national or state issues may participate in the committee meeting, the first and third Wednesday of each month. During the past year, the com mittee has studied national issues and has made recommendations to the Chamber board for the es tablishment of Chamber of Com merce policy. Oimisficf: : "A moderate; feeling of opt! ml.sm is evident in the logging and lumber industry with respect to 1959," Ernest O. Burrows, manager of the local employment agency said in his monthly report. Burrows also noted that unem ployment increased in December "at the usual rate for this season of the year.' He said unseason ably mild and wet weather caused curtailment of logging operations at . lower elevations. Weather conditions, also caused the shut down of three highway construc tion projects in the area with 90 men laid off. The holiday season and the opening of Albertson s grocery store resulted in a slight retail Irade employment gain, Burrows reported. There was little change in employment levels for service industries and transportation, he reported. 1 -' In connection with the opti mism in the -logging and lumber industries,, Burrows said a fore cast of a. 10 per cent increase in home building, which would increase the demand for lumber, is the reason for the. "renewed confidence" in the lumber indus try. . : :' Building permits issued in La Grande totaled $37,480 in De cember, compared to $1,900 in November and $2,150 in Decem ber, 1057. Burrows said he expects no increase in demand for workers during the next 90 days except on a replacement basis. He said 'hose replacements can be made ". . . . from the 800 qualified workers now registered with your State Employment Service office. Burrows also reported that new claims for unemployment in surance benefits in December in creased six per cent over Novem ber, and 12 per cent over uccem ber, 1957. Eight Injured In Bu? Upset ST.' GEORGE Utah (UPI) V Eight persons were inured, three of them seriously, early today when a Greyhound bus bound for San Diego hit an icy section of High way 91, 12 miles west of here and rolled off the road. Trooper Julian Fox of the Utah Highway Patrol said the south bound bus, carrying 15 passengers, landed In a borrow pit on the right side of the road. It traveled about 12 feet off the road and dropped some 20 feet into the pit. Fox said one of the more seri ously injured passengers was a woman pinned between a luggage rack arid the ceiling of the bus. It was necessary to cut into the luggage rack and remove It in or der to free the woman, Fox said. Subm Reorganization Group Approves School Goal Union county superintendents of schools last n;g-it proposed an "educational goal" for this county under the county school reorganiza tion committee's decision to pro pose putting all school , districts in the counly under a single ad ministration. Lyle Riggs, La Grande superin tendent, was sele.led by Ihe six counly superintendents to present the educators' plan to the reor ganization committee The four- School District Exchange Set A plan to put the Pontlosa school district in Baker county and North Powder elementary and secondary school districts and Muddy Creek District 17 in Union county was officially pro posed in a letter, to the Baker counly school reorganization com mittee last night. The plan puts into writing a verbal agreement between the two committees according to Thomas E. Lampkin, chairman of the Union county committee. The three districts under con sideration arc now operated as joint Union-Baker school dis tricts. Union county reorganization committee members made It clear in their letter that the Pondo sa school district would be turn ed over to Baker county for in corporation in their- reorganiza tion plan, provided only that Bak er county agrees that students In the North Powder and Muddy Creek (School District 17) area be made .a part of the Union county school; .district. . ; ... ., Union county committee mem bers, meeting at the court house last night, took considerable time discussing the exchange of the districts which could materially affect the school , reorganization nlans of the two counties, North Powder area residents reportedly not entirely satisfied with the school reorganization plan as; drawn up by the state legislature. The parents in that area would prefer to have their area set up as a separate school district,, because of small popula tion and high land valuation con siderations. Lake Lowering Set In Hunt PORTLAND. Oro. (UPI)-Army Engineers made plans today to lower the water behind Bonneville Dam to beiin a search with sonar equipment for a missing family that might have perished in the Columbia River. Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth R. Martin and their three daughters disap peared from their Portland home Dec. 7 after setting out to look for a Christmas tree. Col. Walter. Winegar, Portland district engineer, said the lake will be lowered from 73 feet to 68 feet at the rate of one-tenth of a foot per hour beginning at a.m. Thursday. The dam is 35 miles east of Portland. This in turn will lower the Co lumbia River, which flows Into the lake, and enable authorities to use the sonar equipment. The eauinment was flown Tues day to Portland by tho Marine Department of Bendix Aviation Corporation of North Hollywood, Bendix nlant manager Walter P, Rhea said the sonar eouinmcnl would detect any submerged ob ject, such as a station wagon. Deputies planned to go out in a boat Friday or Saturday with Ihe equipment. Meanwhile, a heli copter will scan the river from 'he air. ' .and rlnnlitlne frntn lx Oregon and Washington , counties rrm scarcii oy land., :The'only clue since the dlsaD Pcarance of the Martin family has ran a gasoline credit purchase receipt. II Hhnwu Murlin hmiahl five gallons of gas at Cascade Locks east of Portlund the day "io family vanished. RESERVATIONS COMPLETE All reservations have been completed for the "Ham" radio neetlng Friday nieht at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Clarke. , s Final plans havo been made '"r 'he potluck dinner In the uarke home where local amateur radio operators will gather for ihi0 " mee,,n8 and discuss things of .-.general interest to the hams. . . . Prica 5 Cant itted page report was drawn up at the request of the reorganization com mittee which had come up against a "stonewall" in connection with determining which students should attend various schools under a sin- ; gle district plan. The educators noted that "edu ; cation is a complex process," and they said they approached the problem by recognizing the need for sound education first, and taxa tion and other fiscal problems second. . .- The superintendents set up "goals for feducation" which they said would improve education in Union county. The. primary ob ectivc of a school, the said, should -be 16 foster ta'.sllectual growth.- : To carry out this idea, the super; y,., intendents suggested that all-, ills'- ' tricts should have grades through high school; the district should be large enough tp ; provide i "corps of competent . . . teachers J who are dedicated to their tasks".; ; tho district should . be wealthy enough to provide adequate in-.; struction materials, equipment and buildings: and the district should provide a competent administration , staff. -,,'. -; 'I: The superintendents also report- , cd that "Union county is falling many of its children and paying a .,' high cost for an Inadequate educa- j tional program. They said one and. ; two room schools ... . are provd-.; ing a meager Educational expert. ence for the children unless the; children have an unusually gifted) teacher." ' '; - . '; ; !';;' it There is a too "rapid turnover ( f j of teachers in small schools; corn-? . petent supervision is not now avail- " ' able fo small schools, ' and stu-V.. ;- r dents now lose interest in' hhth school ' because of their , lack .of,' . J preparation in some fields, making' It difficult for them to compete; with other pupils. ' : The educators also reported that ' the small hieh schools of Imbler. . Cove, and North Powder, present; problems of wasted money, .wasted i , talent, and wasted ability, her !' cause of some of the above listed ' problems. They also noted Dr. 1 James B. Connant's recommenda- . tion that high schools have at least ' 100 students in its. graduating class each year. Connant, who recently completed a two-year study, of American schools, is a recognized -authority In the field of education, In order to put the single counly school district into effect Ihe local educators recommended , that Alicel pupils be taken, to 7 Imbler, except those on Elgin or Cove bus routes. Palmer junction students should be transported to Elgin; Frultdale district should be , iplit between Island City and La Grande (with parents to establish -j the division line); Ladd Canyon ,.i pupils to be transported to La " Grande and Telocaset pupils con tinue at Union High School. : Some schools would need addi tional classrooms to put the plan into effect, the superintendents ' said. ' V ''Si' ' . Members of the school- reor- i ganlzation committee congratujat- ; ed the superintendents for their work in drawing up the educational plan and Les Keffer of La Grande, an advisor to the committee,- sug gested the reorganization- Com mittee use the educators' plan ; as a guide in the reorganization of a Union county scnool districts. All s members present voiced approval . .J of Ihe educational plan as outlined I by the superintendents. Red Guns Hurl Bqrrags TAIPEI (UPI) Communist shore guns hurled saturation bar rages at the Quemoy outpost Is lands today, reopening the "war of the Formosa Strait," the Chi nese Nationalist Defense MlnjMry announced. " ? f 'S i CAV jJ' Tail li A today in Distribution - And Trucking J , . NEXT WEEKg; . tfflCI MACHINI& suprtiM iouiwianir; Ml,i'i ' '' '