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About La Grande evening observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1904-1959 | View Entire Issue (May 11, 1959)
WEATHER Mostly sunny with variable clouds today and Tuesday; high today 55-60 and Tues day 60-55; low tonight 30-36. Established '1896 . -Daily except Sunday LA GRANDE, OREGON, MONDAY, MAY II, 1959 Price 5 Cents 0 6 n ess. ,w PONY EXPRESS CARRIES MAIL Mrs. Elton Berry Passes mail Pouch to daughter Donna Berry -at a way station between La Grande - and Union as part of Pony Express Mail run through here yesterday. Both are Union Range Rider club members. The La Grande Mavericks carried the mail from Kamela to junction of Highway 30 east of La Grande and the Range Riders took the mail on to North Powder through Union. The run is expected to return from Independence, Mo. through Union on the second day of the Eastern Oregon Livestock Show, June. It is part of centennial celebration. (Observer Photo) DANGEROUS OVERCONFIDENCE Continued Aid Is In WASHINGTON (UPI) Slate Department officials told Con gress today that continued U.S. aid is vital in thwarting Commu nist aims in both the Far East and Africa. ; Walter S. Robertson and J.C. Satterthwaite, assistant secretaries of state, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Commu nism's. b!ggcst objective is to drive the U.S. and its western al lies out of the key areas. Chairman J. William Fulbright (D-Ark.) made public their 'pre pared testimony, as the committee resumed closed-door hearings on President Eisenhower's foreign aid request for $3,900,000,000. Robertson said Communist China is showing increasing arro gance toward the rest of the world and "appears to care less about the opinions of outside coun tries." He said the Red Regime is "developing a dangerous over confidence.". Satterthwaite said the immed iate Communist objective in Afri ca "is the liquidation of all west ern, and particularly U.S. Influ ence." Aid from this country is giving Africans "a sound basis to hope for meaningful progress," he added. Other congressional news: Jobs: Sen. Styles Bridges K N.H.) said unemployment "is not the major problem" that some sources picture it. The GOP policy Thwarting GOVERNMENT REPORT NOTES APRIL UNEMPLOYMENT -DROP WASHINGTON UPI Unem ployment fell by 735,000 in April to 3,627,000, the lowest level since December, 1957, ' the government reported today. The number of persons working climbed to a record April High of 65,012.000. - Brisk hiring in construction and manufacturing and. a seasonal pick up in farm work lifted the April employment total by 1,185, 000 from March. Both changes were twice as good as was expected on a sea sonal basis. They dropped the pro portion of the labor force out of work from 5.3 per cent in March to 5.3 per cent in April. The Commerce and. Labor de partments said in a joint report "the job recovery accelerated in April" and the favorable deve'.op meant that two thirds of the un employment bulge attributed to the Communism leader said in a Senate speech that the United States is "riding the wave of a massive economic recovery." His speech coincided with issuance of a Labor Depart ment report showing that unem ployment dropped to 3,627,000 in April a decrease of 735,000. Development Bank: President Eisenhower- asked congressional approval for the U.S.; to join in the establishment of an Inter- Hoover Seeking Sterner Measures For Delinquents WASHINGTON (UPD FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover has asked the courts and local com munities to use "sterner meas sures" on "savage.. .brutal" juve nile delinquents contributing to (he rapidly rising crime rate. He also requested from a House appropriations subcommittee mon ey to hire 50 new agents "for the purpose of strengthening our in vestigative efforts in the security and criminal fields." He noted an upsurge in bank robberies, one of the crimes under FBI jurisdiction. He said there were 631 bank robberies, burglaries and larcenies in the year ended June 30, 1958. He said that "not since the gang era of the 1930s" had there been more than. 600 violations of the bank robbery act in a 12-month period. 1957-5H business recession was wiped out. Average factory earnings rose 63 cents from March. This gave factory workers $89.87 a week in April. 1 Seymour Wolfbein, the Labor De partment chief job expert, noted as "a most encouraging sign" that 450.000 of the unemployment drop included married men with fam ilies "a critical sector where ft really counts." The unemployment total was clown 1,100,000 from December, in-, dicaling that after a sluggish win ter the job picture brightened markedly in the spring, the report said. But unemployment was still more than 900,000 higher than in April, 1957, when the Jobless rate was only 4.0 per cent. A year ago, at the bottom of the reces sion the rate was 7.5 per cent and Vital American Development Bank, which would provide a means of furnishing economic aid to South America. Eisenhower reported to Congress on a tentative agree ment among 21 nations, under which this country would original ly subscribe 150 million dollars. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee reported it would hold hearings on the request as soon as possible. Hoover s closed door testimony was made public Sunday, the 35th anniversary of his appointment as head of the FBI. Hoover told the subcommittee '.hat preliminary estimates indi cated the number of serious crimes in 1958 was 11 per cent higher than the previous record of 2.796,400 set in 1957. He said youths under 18 accounted for al most half the arrests. "As tragic as the spiraling crime wave is," Hoover said, 'more serious is the terrifying pace of youthful lawlessness accompany ing it." He called for an end of the practice of keeping secret the names and otherwise giving spe cial treatment for juveniles ac cused, of serious crimes. unemployment totaled 5,120,000. Wolfbein said that long-term un employment was "still a prob lem." The report showed that the long-term unemployed, those out of work 15 weeks or more, dipped by 150,000 from March to an April level of 1,400,000. This was 500,000 below the recession high but still double the level of two years ago. Wolfbein said "it looks very good" for unemployment to fall to three million by the end of the year. Labor Secretary James P. Mitchell has promised to eat his hat publicly if it does not. The drop in the number of job less workers was the greatest monthly decline since before the recession. It was especially wel comed by administration officials who have been concerned about the failure of employment to keep pace with the general business upturn. POSTAL CLERK MAKES DEBUT NEW YORK (UPI) A 44-year' old postal clerk leaped from a studio audience onto television screens across the nation Sun day night and proudly announc ed: "I finally made It for moth er. What the hell you gotta make a splash." Cornelius McConnell was tak en to Bellevue Hospital for phychiatric examination after his unscheduled appearance on the TV panel show "Whafi My. Line." The show continued after his brief interruption. Master of ceremonies John Daly said it appeared to be lust "one of those things that happen In the spring." McConnell had leaped from the audience to the stage while the blind-folded panel was ques tioning mystery guest Milton Berle. Twisters Hit In Six States With Violence United Press International Tornadoes struck in six states Sunday night. At least 20 persons were injured In twisters in Texas, Oklanoma, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Wis consin. Property damage in Texas alone mounted toward the half- million-dollar mark. Virtually an entire Iowa village was blown away by -one of the tornadoes. Two persons were killed in a Texas traffic crash blamed on a blinding rain storm. A twister Saturday night killed five persons in Oklahoma. Texas bore the brunt of Sun day's weather violence with twist ers lacing a volley of wind, rain and hail storms across hundreds of miles. Six farm workers were injured when a twister smashed homes and barns south of Hearne. A tor nado bouncing along the ground for about -six miles north of Aus tin levelled .hymes and destroyed factories, causing an estimated $250,000 damage. A twister tore through a family reunion on a farm near Sallisaw, Okla., injuring three persons. In Iowa, a tornado practically demolished the small community of Fanfler northeast of Guthrie Center, injuring one person. About 10 homes and the village store were destroyed or badly dam aged. Three Martins Still Missing HOOD RIVER (UPI) Sheriff Rupert Gillmouthe said today a search by professional divers for the missing station wagon of the Ken Martin family of Portland probably would not be made until Tuesday. Three members of the Martin family which vanished last Dec. 7 still are missing. They are the father, mother and daughter Bar bara. The bodies of two daugh ters. Sue, 11. and Virginia, 13, were found In the Columbia river last week. Professional divers of the Fred Devine salvage group planned to search the lock area of the old lock canal at Cascade Locks. De vine planned to move one of his diving barges to Cascade Locks from The Dalles today but said it might not be in a position for div ing until Tuesday. A search also was planned in the Wind river on the Washington side tonight, using searchlights. The White Salmon and Lower White Salmon rivers were hunted without success. College Student Will Stand Trial For Second Time OHOVILLE. Calif fllPli Chi- co Stale College student- William A. Cameron will stand trial a sec ond time on charges he mutilated and murdered the wife of an Army sergeant A jury of 10 women and two men dclihcrnfprf OR hnnre n hnnr longer than the attorneys had tak en 10 iry me case, over a penon of three days, but failed to reach a verdict. . Foreman Francis L. Murray told Superior Judge J. F. Good Saturday evening that "It's hope less.. .It's impossible for us to reach a verdict." ThO iUflffA Hismlccnrl ihn nntipl and said he wnnlH sot a now trial date Friday. Although jurors would not re veal hOW thoV hart itntaA It learned that n mninrirv inancd toward acquittal on the last three nniiots. w estern Diplomats To Accept Russian Demand Negotiating Teams Seek Steel Harmony NEW YOKK iL'PD-Kight men sit down to brass tacks bargain ing for a new steel industry labor contract today with 50 days be tween them and a threatened crippling strike. David J. McDonald, president of the United Steelworkers of America, said he would seek to make "practical measures for un employment security" the first order of business in talks with the four-man negotiating team representing (he biR three of the steel industry U.S. Sleel, Beth lehem and Republic. McDonald said that security could be achieved, in the union's view, by "a balanced program of reducing hours, increasing pur chasing power by improving wages and other benefits, and ap propriate revisions in our pen sions" and seniority agreements. R. Conrad Cooper, executive vice president of U.S. Steel, head ing the industry team which rep resents the three big steel firms and, indirectly, nine other major steel producers, enters the talks with a mandate from all 12 com panies to resist any demand for wage increases. In the face of this apparent deadlock, the weekly publication SOCIAL SECURITY LAW CHANGES BEING SOUGHT WASHINGTON (UPI I Sen. Joseph S. Clark ID-Pa.) today provjosed legislation to end the "financial penalty' imposed by the social security law on retired persons who work after they are 65. ' Clark proKscd letting employes who continue to work after 65 pile up credits to be added to their social security benefits when they retire. The program would be paid for by a V of 1 per cent additional social security tax on employers 'and employes. The present law requires per sons between 65 and 72 who earn more than $1,200 a year to for feit social security benefits. The restriction goes off at age 72. As a result, Clark said in a statement, many useful workers Plane Crash Kills 9 Men OAK HARBOR (UPI) Nine of 10 men aboard a Navy P2V-5 Neptune Patrol Bomber were kil led today when the aircraft crash ed and burned after taking off from the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station three miles north of here. A Navy spokesman said the plane's right engine caught fire as the bomber was making its take-off run. 'The tower saw the fire and tried to warn the pilot," the spokesman said. "But apparently the plane left the ground at about the lime of the warning, and it was too late. The nilot then lost conlroj and the plane crashed." Ihe one survivor of the crash, pulled from the burning wreckage by crewmen at the air station, wds reported to bo in critical condition. The Navy said the names of the dead probably would be re leased lale today after next of kin have been notified. ' The bomber, attached to Ihe Heavy Attack Training Unit, Pa cific, was going out on a routine training mission, Naval officers said. The Oak Harbor Fire Depart ment was called upon to assist base crewmen in fighting the lire. J lie plane crashed in a brushy, swampy area about a mile south of the runway. Lynn Wheeler Tapped By Oregon Honorary UNIVERSITY OF OREGON, Eugene (Special) Lynn Wheeler was one of eight sophomore and junior women tapped by Oregon Beta chapter of Phi Chi Theta, national business women's scholas tic honorary. Formal pledging will be held May 12. - Miss Wheeler, a sophomore ma joring In business administration, is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Clark Wheeler, 1610 K Street, La Grande. Steel Magazine said today that manufacturers' attempts to build steel inventories against the threatened strike are not pro gressing as rapidly as had been hoped. The magazine said that the heightened business, recovery has caused manufacturers to dip into steel supplies ordered as strike insurance. It said that at the present inventory build-up, a steel strike lasting three to four weeks may force some manufacturers to shut down.' A demand for federal interven tion to prevent a new inflationary spiral in the crucial steel agree ment was made Sunday by Sen. Jacob K. Javits (R-N.Y.) in a tel evision appearance. He called on President Eisenhower to summon both parties to the White House and "talk turkey to them" if it appears that wage increasos will lend to a new steel price boost. The industry has demanded and the union rejected a one year wage freeze to halt inflation. It has contended any wage In crease must bo passed on by the industry in price increases. The union has said the industry can afford to raise wages without raising prices. are lost to the labor force. He also said the forced retirement clause contributes to "demoraliza tion and physical and mental Ill ness" among many aging citizens. Under Clark's plan, persons earning more than $1,200 a year after 65 would not receive social security benefits while they work but would get them at a rate 4 per cent higher for each addition al year worked when they actually retired. , , For example, he said, a person who worked for throe years after age 65 would be paid benefits for the rest of his life at a rate 12 per cent higher than he would have received. A person 72 who kept on work ing would receive full benefits plus 28 per cent. Clark said the original law was designed to help combat unem ployment by encouraging older workers to retire. But now, he said, "we no longer need a na tional policy based on forced re tirement for those who have many years of active service remaining for their country and themselves." City Budget Planning Set City Manager Fred Young this morning said he is asking all city department heads to submit their requests for the 1959-60 budget. . 1 Members of the city commis sion and a five-member citizens' budget committee, along with Young, will be wprking the next few weeks drawing up the budget. Dates for the regular budget committee hearing and tho sub sequent public hearing have not been set. Tho new budget will go into effect July 1. WITH MIXED REACTIONS No Converts For Side In WASHINGTON (UPD-U.S. sci entists are examining with mixed reactions the latest mass of evi dence concerning radioactive fall out from nuclear tests. Testimony taken, by tho con gressional subcommittee on ra diation last week contains ammu nition both for those who think fallout is a matter for grave con cern and for those who minimize the danger. Neither side claims to have made any converts in the packed congressional hearing room. Each thinks the other is misleading the public about the danger of fallout to world health. NO EAST SEAT FOR GENEVA (UPI) A soviet be seated as a full member ference delayed the conference start by two and a half hours todav. Russia withdrew the demand in the face of stone wall western opposition. The to open at 10 a.m. p.d.t. it was agreed tnai Doin cast ana wesi uerman aeiega Uons would be admittted as "advisers." They will sit at two small tables close to the big one at which the u s., tsruisn, French and Soviet foreign minis ters themselves will be seated. The agreement was worked out at a meeting today between the western foreign ministers and Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko. They met at the villa of British Foreign Secretary Sel wyn Lloyd. Thus, the parley called to deal with the problems of Berlin and Germany started off with an ini tial western victory. Gromyko started the wrangle Sunday when he announced the demand that East Germany be ad mitted as a full and equal mem ber of the conference. Wt Rtiects Dtmand The West promptly rejected the demand, maintaining its position that It would be willing for East and West Germany to have "ad visers" present in the conference room of the Palais des Nations. The West does not recognize East Germany as a legitimate regime and has shown no inclination of being pressured into recognition here. Secretary of State Christian A. Hertcr, Lloyd and French Foreign Minister Maurice Couve de Mur ville held emergency, talks. Then they sent Lloyd off to try to chance Gromyko'i-oiind, f-- , He got nowhere. Lloyd saw Gromyko again and gave him two hours to reconsider. The deadline passed without a break. After Lloyd presented Gromyko with the West's final "no" on the East German representation ques tion, the four foreign ministers at tended a formal lunch given by the Swiss government. Following the lunch, the four gathered at Lloyd's villa for more informal talks. It was during this period that Gromyko gave in and agreement was reached to get the conference under way. Gromyko himself announced aft er this meeting that "complete agreement" had been reached. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Andrew Bcrding, acting as chief U.S. delegation spokesman to the press, confirmed the agreement. He said the two German delega tions would have the right - to speak, something to which the West had objected earlier. The Soviet demand Sunday that East Germany be seated at the conference table for a time threat ened to blow up the conference before it could begin. City Water Crews Repairing Main City water department crows are working to repair a water main leak on Adams avenue be tween Elm and Depot streets. The leak appeared over the weekend in front of the Topshop and a new service connection is being installed. One block of Adams avenue was blocked off to permit cutting into the pave ment and repair of the leak. Fallout Hearings One major development was a special report by the Atomic Energy Commission's General Ad visory Committee. On a basis ignoring strontium 90, tho principal menace, the AEC-GAC found that fallout's contribution to the general radio activity Is less than five per cent as much as that of medical X-rays. Dr. Ralph E. Lapp, an in dependent physicist, called the re port "less than candid." Other scientists talked of hun dreds of cases of cancer and tens or hundreds of thousands of here ditary defects, Including physical malformation and feebleminded- Refuse GERMAN TALKS demand that East Germany of the Foreign Ministers con meeting now was scheduled Hunt Pressed For Missing ' Crash Victims REEDSPORT, Ore. (UPI) Dragging operations in the Ump qua river continued today east of here for three persons missing after the twin-engine plane in which they were flying struck power lines and crashed in the river Saturday. Six persons in all were aboard. The bodies of the other three were located in the plane Sunday. Dead were the pilot, William B. Rogers, 34, Longview, Wash., and two of his passengers, Mrs. Sally Nimmo, Reedsport, and Mrs. Olaf Eong, 41, of Ft. Bragg Calif. Mrs. Nimmo was the wife of Reedsport policeman- Ted Nimmo and the mother of two children. Missing were Mr. Bong,, hus band of the dead woman; Mrs. Gerald Olson, and her five-month-old son, all of Ft. Bragg. - ' j The plane was a Piper Apache owned by the Aborigine Lumber Company of Ft. Bragg and Long view. Police said Rogers was tak ing the plane back to Ft Bragg from Longview via.. North' Bend, where Mrs. Nimmo planned , to deplane. . v Mrs. Nimmo and Mrs. Bong were returning after attending the funeral of their father, Lawrence Clark, at Woodland, Wash. Nim mo reported the plane overdue at North Bend after It left Longview at 2:30 p. m. Saturday. The wreckage was first dis covered by workmen of the Doug las County Electric Cooperative, who were called out to repair power lines. The plane was raised from the river with the use of a floating crane. One of the craft's engines had been torn loose and had a power cable wrapped around it, police said. State police said they were forced to cancel dragging opera tions about 2 p.m. Sunday be cause grappling equipment was damaged by boulders. Repairs were made and operations re sumed at 6 a. m. today. Island City Community Fair Tonight, 7:30 The annual Island City 4-H Community Fair will be held in the schoolhouse starting at 7:30 p.m. today. Various 4-H clubs will have displays on cooking, clothing, health and livestock and other groups will put on a variety of demonstrations. Club members will also be sell ing cake, candy and pie to raise money to send a club member to the 4-H summer school at Oregon State College at Corvallis, June 20-27. " Either . .,i'f!-; ncss that would result from fall out already injected into .the soil and atmosphere. v These scientists still said, how ever, that the percentage of tho fallout tragedies will be so small with relation to the total of hu man miseries that the difference probably never will be detected. There was solid agreement on one point if nuclear testing la is resumed at the 1958 or at an accelerated rate, worldwide radio active fallout can become a serious hazard to health. Many scientists fear failure of the -Geneva talks seeking a test ban would presage bigger nuclear experiments. - . i i . . j,