Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About La Grande evening observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1904-1959 | View Entire Issue (May 16, 1959)
WEATHER Partly cloudy today and Sunday with a few showers in mountains; high both days 55-60; low tonight. 35-40. Established 1896 231st Issue 63rd. Year LA GRANDE, OREGON, SATURDAY, MAY 16, 1959 Price 5 Cents o ssssy m YOUNGSTERS IN HARMONY The combined fourth, fifth and sixth grade choruses of Greenwood and Ackerman schools presented a concert for parents and teachers yesterday afternon. Above, a small portion of the group, .which consisted of 150 students; breaks forth into song. 1 - (Observer Photo) DEMOCRATS PASS OWN BILLS DESPITE EISENHOWER'S REQUESTS WASHINGTON UPI Presi dent Eisenhower scolded the Democratic - controlled Congress this week for not acting on his "very badly needed" proposals to solve the housing, highway and wheat problems. The Democrats reacted by stamping committee approval on , their own housing, wheat and aid to-schools bills. In a rare special message to ; the Senate and House Eisenhower called for passage "tif ' his recom mendations to boost the gasoline tax 114 cents a gallon, add money to the government's dwindling authority to insure home mort gages and cut the giant wheat , surplus by reducing price sup ports. The next day the House Rules Committee approved a $2,100, 000.000 Democratic housing bill containing the mortgage funds the President asked. But the measure also has a number of public housing and other provi sions Eisenhower opposes. A coalition of conservative Re publicans and Democrats hoped to trim the measure by $800,000, 000 when the House takes it up ' Tuesday. Eisenhower had pro posed a $1,650,000,000 housing plan. 1 OK'd Wheat Plan The House Agriculture Com mittee okayed a plan to cut wheat planting allotments 30 per cent in 1960 and 1961 and in crease price supports to 90 per cent of parity from the current 75 per cent. The Senate' Agriculture Com mittee voted to let farmers choose between a similar scheme which would cut plantings 20 per cent and boost supports to 80 per cent of parity, and a rival idea in line with Eisenhower's think ing which would keep present wheat acreage and crop supports to 65 per cent of parity. The House Education Commit tee approved a four-year, $4,400, 000,000 Democratic program which would "provide federal grants to the states for school ALMOST BREATHTAKING PICTURE H-Bombs A Better SAN FRANCISCO (UPD The United States gave the world to day an almost breathtaking pic ture of how the earth can be made into a better place with the help of H-bombs. This picture was contained in 55 scientific treatises at the sec , ond Plowshare Symposium, a meeting of 500 enthusiastic, youth ful scientists. It was sponsored by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. The papers included detailed in formation never before made pub ' lie or only circulated piecemeal in restricted circles. Altogether the papers suggested construction and higher teachers salaries. Ended In Tumult As for the President's plea for a bigger gas tax to put the fed eral highway building program on a pay-as-you-go basis, there appeared no chance for approval. The Senate Commerce Commit tee hearings on Lewis L. Strauss' appointment as commerce secre tary ended in tumult after 16 sessions. A sbouting woman spec tator was ejected by police from the final hearing after she ac cused Strauss of financing the Russian revolution. Chairman Warren G. Magnuson (D-Wash.) said he hoped to take a vote Tuesday. The .confirmation of another Eisenhower appointee. Undersec retary of State C. Douglas Dillon, hit an unexpected snag. A vote was postponed until next week after Sen. Russell B. Long (D- JUDGE RULES MISTRIAL IN LOCAL DAMAGE CASE W. A. Allen of Milton-Freewa- ter was awarded a $2,692 verdict by a Circuit Court jury last night but Judge Wesley F. Brown ton threw the case out of court because of "improper statements" made by Aliens attorney during the closing minutes of the case. Allen, who had asked $6,092 di.magesr sustained leg injuries when a car, driven bv William H. Bohnenkamp Jr. crashed into a pickup on which Allen was out- ling cnams during the Feb. 9, 1958 accident on the Elgin-Wes ton highway near Spout Springs. As a result of the midnight rul ing by Brownton the case will, be tried again. The 10-2 jury deci sion was brought in about mid night following seven hours of deliberation. S. H. Burleigh, Allen's at torney, in his last sentence of final arguments before the jury made reference to payment of Gm Make World Place ways of blasting harbors in un developed areas, turning deserts into gardens, making chemicals inside the earth and producing electricity from nuclear explosions underground. Jack W. Reed of Sandia Corp., Albuquerque, N.M., said at the meeting's close Friday , that bombs, launched by submarines, could be used to change, the course of hurricanes. A more spectacular scheme was offered in a paper by Lester Machta. U.S. Weather Bureau, Washington, D.C. He said bombs might blow moisture into the tro posphere to form a permanent cloud over polar regions, thus ft La.) threatened to use "deliber ate,- dilatory tactics" to delay the confirmation unless he was given time to explore Dillon's role in the foreign aid program. - Other congressional news this week: States rights The House Judi ciary Committee approved a broad states rights bill aimed at nullifying a Supreme Court deci sion which held that sedition, and oerlain other laws wwe Exclusive ly, a federal responsibility. Fair trad The House Commerce Committee approved a "fair trade" bill "to permit manufactur ers to set minimum retail prices for their products. ' Unemployment The House Ways & Means Committee tenta tively rejected a labor - backed prosposal to set federal 'minimum standards for the amount and duration of state unemployment payments. any damages by Bohnenkamp's in surance firm. Bohnenkamp's at torney immediately entered an objection and later made a mo lion for a mistrial. Ruling on the motion was not made until just after the jury verdict was re turned. I he question of an insurance firm being interested in the case first became legally known when Helm questioned Allen about pic turcs taken at the accident area by an insurance adjuster follow ing the accident. Allen had de nied that such pictures had been taken. Burleigh in his final statements said Allen had been "warned about saying anything about in surance and for this reason had at first denied the picture taking episode. Just before he sat down Burleigh made his statement about, possible payments for damages , by an insurance com pany. - To Live melting glaciers, warming the earth and evening its tempera tures. The purpose of the meeting was to acquaint businessmen with what the bombs could do In the hope they would think up new pos sibilities. "We're telling them how holes can be dug and obstacles re moved," said Dr. Wilson J. Frank of the Llvermore, Calif., radiation laboratory. - The AEC scientists invited busi nessmen to buy bombs tor ap proved projects, explaining that an A-bomb only costs $500,000 and that H-bombs cost $1,000,000 each "in small quantities." Serious Research On Issues NEW YORK (UPD. Steel wage negotiators, under Washing- ton pressure to come up with a peaceful, non-inflationary 'pact, to day began some serious home work on basic contract issues. The negotiators four from each side recessed their joint bargain ing talks until Tuesday .to give them time to prepare arguments and counter-arguments. The "brass tacks" bargaining talks which began on Monday have produced no apparent pro gress on a new contract covering 500,000 steelworkers. The present three-year agreement expires at midnight June 30. At a joint press conference Fri day, the negotiators told reporters they would spend the next three days doing some "serious" . re search on basic contract issues. Union Wants Increases Neither side has given an inch on the stands they took prior, to the start of the joint talks. The industry wants a one-year" con tract extension as a means of halting inflation. The union wants substantial increases in wages and fringes and says the industry can afford to grant these demands without resorting to a price hike. President Eisenhower has called upon both sides to come up with a new pact that will not neces sitate a price increase. The in dustry said there is only one way to accomplish this: freeze wages. The union called , this suggestion economic nonsense. 'Sen. Jacob Javitis (R-N.Y.) Fri day again urged the White House to call both negotiating teams to wasnington in the event thefr fail to reach a new agreement or if they come up with a pact that threatens to increase inflation A Look Towards Washington The negotiators are conducting their crucial contracts talks with one eye cocked on Washington in ltftb, white House pressure was responsible for ending a 34 day strike and bringing about a three-year agreement which lias given steelworkers a 62.5 cents an hour increase in wages and iringe items, ine industry says that contract was a primary fact or behind the last wage-price spi ral. Informed industry sources said the President will keep pressure on both sides during the negoti ations but will interfere directly it ne can neip It. ' The industry has taken the gov ernment s interest as a mandate to hold the line on employment costs and prices in 1959. But the union insists its demands are not inflationary. , Neither David J. McDonald. president of the United Steelwork ers Union, nor R. Conrad Copper, chief industry negotiator has given any clue as to what they have discussed or what progress has been made. , Wheat Surplus Problem Faces Congressmen WASHINGTON (UPD Con gress faced a two-week deadline today in its effort to agree on a program acceptable to President Eisenhower to reduce the nation's mammoth wheat surplus. Eisenhower signed a stop-gap congressional resolution Friday extending from May 15 to June 1 the final date for the Agriculture Department to announce 1960 acreage allotments and market quotas under the current wheat law. He called on the Senate and House to use the two weeks to enact "realistic and constructive" wheat legislation, and not a mere stopgap plan. The President signed the exten sion as the Senate Agriculture Committee approved a bill to give farmers a choice between the ri val wheat programs of the Eisen hower administration and demo cratic farm leaders. Under the measure, wheat farm ers would be given their choice of these two programs for their 1960 and 1961 crops: Farmers who choose to con tinue plantings at present levels would receive price supports ot w per cent of parity instead of the present 75 per cent. Farmers who cut plantings 20 per cent below present levels would receive supports at 80 per cent of parity. PRESIDENT TOURS WASHINGTON (UPI) Presi dent Eisenhower flew to Colorado today for a quick tour of the Air Force Academy and to visit with his mother-in-law. The president took off at 7:59 a.m. cdt.1 - ' ! W 7 l 'Kjf'7 La. DAVID B. COLLINS Is Nominated. David B. Collins Is Nominated For Fellowship David B. Collins. Eastern Ore gon Co'lego senior, has been nominated for a $2500 . fellowship to the University of Washington," according to C. Leo Hitchcock, the University department of botany executive officer. Collins, who will receive his de gree from EOC in June, will study plant genetics. He is the son of J. E. Collins, Milton-Freewatcr, and a 1951 graduate of McLoughlin high school. Previously, Collins was an nounced as the recipient of a graduate assistantship to Wash ington. The new grant, under a program of National Defense Education Act Fellowships, would supply $500 per dependent in addi tion to the $2500. in lieu of the original assistantship. Youngsters Die After School Prom MATTOON, III. (UPD Seven youngsters on their , way , borne from a high school prom were killed today when a Chicago-New Orleans passenger train plowed broadside into their car. Six of the car's eight occupants, all clad in party formals and din ner jackets, were pronounced dead on arrival at Memorial Hos pital here, including three girls and three boys. A fourth girl, Dorothy Thomas, IS, died at the hospital several hours after the crash. The boy believed to have driven the car, Ivan Moon, 22, remained unconscious and in very bad shape," hospital authorities said. lhe victims bodies, some hurled 100 yards, were so badly mangled Shelbyville High School Principal C. R. Sogley Said he could not even recognize Girls' dresses he' had seen at the prom a few hours before. The six apparently killed in stantly were identified as Jerry Hill, Iff, llene Moon, 16, Lyle Pfieffer, 18, his sister Loraine Pfeiffer, 17, Judy Keen,' 18, and Jerry Ray Hays, about 19. No one was injured on the southbound Illinois Central train that struck the car at an unguard ed country road crossing two miles north of here. Coles County Deputy Coroner J. E. Caudill said frenzied confusion spread through town when police and hospital personnel, attempt ing to identify the dead, called parents to ask if their children had, arrived home. FLYING HIGH Dave Carman, junior broad jumper, flies high at the district Class 7A-1 track meet this morning. Carman didn't fly high enough and took a fifth in the finals. Finals in other events will be held this afternoon. (Joe Diehl Photo) FRIENDS FEAR DULLES LOSING ILLNESS FIGHT WASHINGTON (UPI) Friends of John Foster Dullei expressed fears today that ho may lose his battle with cancer in a matter ot days. Those friends said his strength was slowly ebbing. They said he was growing weaker daily In his suite at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Reliable sources gave this information following an an nouncement Friday by the State Department that thero had been "some further de cline" in the condition of the former secretary of state. State Department Press Of ficer Lincoln White said the pneumonia attack that Dulles suffered last week had not com pletely cleared up. The 71-year-old former Cab inet member has been confined to his bed for a week. Mem bers of his family were called to Washington last Saturday when the case of pneumonia was diagnosed. Doctors reported at first that he was responding satisfactori ly to the treatment for tha pneumonia. But more recent medical bulletins have report ed a decline In his general con dition. Woman Killed In Accident; Husband Hurt Mrs. Lola Jean Jensen of North Powder was fatally injured in a single car accident about 7 p.m. yesterday and her husband Buck ley E. Jensen, driver of the car. is being released today from a Raker hospital. Mrs. Jensen was killed instant ly when the car failed to nego tiate a curve on the Anthony Lakes road, a few hundred yards south of Highway 30. State po lice said the car skidded more than 200 feet on a gravel shoulder and 78 feet on the highway be fore rolling several times. Deputy County Coroner Ever ett C. Abbott this morning said a jury would be impanneled to view the body of Mrs, Jensen to day. Whether or not a full cor oner jury's inquest will be held to be determined after further investigation, Abbott said. Officials at the St. Elizabeth hospital in Baker this morning said that Jensen would be re leased. Mr. and Mrs. Jensen, according to North Powder residents, have trailer house parked on the John Davis ranch where they were working. The couple was on their way to the Durwood Hill ranch for dinner at the time of tho accident, area residents re ported. The car door on Mrs. Jensen's side apparently opened during the crash, pinning Mrs. Jensen in that section of the automobile, in vestigating police reported. This was the sixth Union county high vay fatality thus far this year ac cording to state police who com n.entcd that this is an unusally high number for Union county. Mrs. Jensen s body was brought to the Daniels Funeral Home where arrangements are being made for services by the Bcatty l' uneral Chapel in Baker. Jensen was taken to the Baker hospital in a Baker first aid car. Mrs. Jensen' is the former Mrs. Mike Kcmpfer of North Powder. Jensen is a former Wasco, Ore., rancher. Russians Western For German Peace GENEVA (UPI) Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev to day rejected the western "package" plan for Germany as a whole but said it contained some points that could be dis cussed. The Soviet leader spoke at a ceremony in Moscow at which he received the Lenin Peace Prize. The award came less than two weeks from the May 27 expiration date of Khrushchev's ultimatum to the western allies to get out of West Berlin, , an ultimatum which led to the present crisis atmosphere sur rounding Berlin and to the pre sent Foreign Ministers conference here His rejection of the package plan came as the foreign minis ters were in week-end recess and scattered amonc the capitals of Europe. Previous Predictions But it bore out previous predic tions that the Soviets were so anxious for a summit meeting with President Eisenhower that they would not reject out of hand western proposals and would keep the talks going. Meanwhile, American sources here said the West would be will ing to discuss Berlin as a separ ate issue but still would insist any settlement of the crisis over the former German capital must be tied in with the sweeping western package plan. In any event, this source em phasized, there is no question of the western plan being split up now to allow negotiations on Ber lin alone. These could come only later, if the Geneva Big Four conference ' becomes completely deadlocked, or possibly even at the , summit. Blazing Haystack Khrushchev said the western powers knew their package plan for Germany, linking' the Berlin problem, German reunification and European security, was unac ceptable to tussla"Tat, he said, they submitted it because they wanted to provoke sharp Soviet criticism and then blame the Sov iets for failure of- the Geneva Conference. Earlier," Moscow Radio had quoted Khrushchev as describing West Berlin as a "blazing hay stack which can start a fire." "The interests of East and West are Intertwined in Berlin, he said, "and in these conditions any friction leads to the aggravation of relations between them. 'We therefore propose that a start be made toward resolving the questions on which depends the elimination of such a danger ous situation." His remarks were made in an interview with R.K. Karanjla, Ed itor of the Indian newspaper Blitz according to the broadcast. Anthony Lakes Discussed Here Potential developing of the An thony Lakes area as a year-round recreation spot was discussed here last night with residents of Baker on hand to tell of their work on this 'project Jack Smith, Wallowa Whitman forest supervisor, was also 'on hand and V. W. McCormack of Pendleton, a member of the state park commission, was sclecctd to present a brief for development of the area to the state park com mission. Ed Bennett, Claude Anson and Kalph Gcrards of La Grande will bo working with a Buker com mittee to work up the brief. POLICE BELIEVED READY TO BREAK LYNCHING CASE POPLARVILLE, Miss. (UPI)- A break in the Mack Charles Parker lynching case was report ed imminent today. An authoritative source close to the FBI's probe of the three- I week-old murder said at least I seven Mississippians would be ar ! rested "pretty soon." The feeling was prevalent that the break would come this week-end. Activity ' has increased during the last three days by the more than 40 FBI agents here on the case. For the first time, unidenti fied persons were hauled to FBI headquarters. They were seen lying down in the back seats of automobiles and were quickly taken inside for questioning and photographing. , J. P. Walker, a garage owner at nearby Picayune, Miss., freely told a United Press International newsman the FBI, had accused him of being a member of the mob which lynched the 23-year- Reject Package Delegates Take Recess For Weekend - l GENEVA (UPI) Delegates to the East-West foreign ministers conference fanned out across Eu rope during a week end recess today, leaving technical experts to work on proposals for easing' the deadlock that developed during the meeting's first week. High American officials were still hopeful that the Russians would consent to substitute secret sessions for the publicized meet ings that have been held so far in the conference. Diplomatic observers said the West probably would moderate its demand for "all or nothing' ac ceptance of its package peace plan if Gromyko indicated in se cret sessions that he is willing to yield some ground. Secretary of State Christian A Herter flew down to Rome for the day for policy talks with Italian leaders, and French Foreign Min ister Maurice Couve de Murville flew to Paris for the week end. West German Foreign Minister Henrich von Brentano remained in Geneva today he is scheduled to dine wi'h Herter tonight but he was expected to lqave lata tv night or eaf iy 'Simday for Zurich to visit friends. East German Foreign Minister - Lothar Bolz flew to Berlin last night, and West German Press Secretary Felix von Eckhardt left early today for Bonn to brief Chancellor Konrad Adenauer on developments. Only two top delegates British Foreign Secretary Selwyn Lloyd and Soviet Foreign Minister An drei Gromyko were expected to spend the entire week end in Ge: neva. Guardsmen Leave For Fort Ord Five members of the local Bat tle Group of the Oregon National Guard left at noon today aboard an Air National Guard C-47 trans port plane for Fort Ord, Califor nia where they will undergo six months active duty training. These men are Charles H, Carper, Cove; Vernon O. Fisher, Union; John D. Clark, Lostine; Allan J. Fossum and Jerry D. Litteral of Baker. After completion of the train- ng which' includes basic training and advanced training in commu nications, personnel administra tion and infantry tactics these men will be assigned to these-positions in the new Battle Group organiza- lon. -, These men who will serve their country in the National Guard, chose Armed Forces Day, which being celebrated throughout the country today, as the day to. enter active duty training. old rape suspect April 25. 1 Walker, who is running for the office of sheriff, said agents ques tioned him several times and took him to a motel in Bogalusa, La., Thursday for additional interroga tion. He was the fourth person to make such a statement. "They treated me and talked to me like I was a nigger or a dog or something," Walker, said. The garage owner said he was in Poplarville the night Parker was abducted from the Pearl River County Jail, but he denied any implication in the case. He said he was only "politicking" and drinking coffee. Parker, awaiting trial on a charge of . raping the pregnant wife of a white guitar player in a hill-billy band, was removed from his cell three weeks ago to day by nine or 10 hooded- white men. His bullet-pierced body was found in the nearby Pearl River, the southern-most boundary be. tween Mississippi and Louisiana.