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About La Grande evening observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1904-1959 | View Entire Issue (May 18, 1959)
WEATHER Partly cloudy today and to night with scattered showers and snow flurries in nearby mountains; mostly sunny to morrow; highs 50-58; low 26-34. Ob Established 1896 232nd Issue C3rd. Year LA GRANDE, OREGON, MONDAY, MAY 18, 1959 Price 5 Cents i 11 V RUTH ELMER Valedictorian RUTH ELMER AND DIXIE BOMAN EARN T0P HONORS COVE Ruth Elmer, who Has a perfect 4.Q academic high school record has beon selected valedictorian, and Dixie Lee Bowman has been selected salutatorian for graduation ceremonies slated the last week of May. . Baccalaureate service will be held Sunday, May 24, 8 p.m. in the Cove Adventist church with the Rev. L. E. Orbert of the First Christian church of La Grande as speaker. ' Commencement exercise will be held at 8 p.m. Wed- nesday May 27 in the school gymnasium. Dr. Frank Bennett, Eastern Oregon College president, wiill be H . main speaker. Miss Elmer is the daughter of Mr., and Mrs. Harvey Elmer of lower Cove. In addition to a perfect school a s tic record she is editor of the school paper, a Union ..County Fair Maid and Eastern Oregon district winner of the "I Speak for Democracy" contest. Miss Elmer plans to attend business college in Eugene. Miss Bowman, is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William - F. Bowman pf Cove, she is editor of the school year book, a member of the Leopard Tracks, and plans on attending Eastern Oregon College. -. Other members of the class include Dale Brunson, Pat Cox, Pat Cullison,. Frank Fruitts, Eugene Hoffman, ' Connie Maynard, Tom Maynard, Dale Miller, Dallas Mil ' ler, Lewis Rees , and Steven Smith. Thomas S. Gates Jr. Named Deputy Defense Secretary WASHINGTON (UPI) Presi dent Eisenhower today announced his selection - of - Navy Secretary . Thomas S. Gates Sr. to succeed the late Donald A. Quarles as , deputy defense secretary. , Eisenhower , will submit Gates' nomination to the Senate Tues day. Gates 'resigned earlier this year as secretary of Navy, effective May 30, to return to the invest ment banking business. But ap parently after the death of Quarles the President and De fense Secretary Neil H. McElroy persuaded him to remain in gov ernment as deputy defense secre- tary. The announcement came soon after McElroy announced he had called in Adm. Arthur W. Rad ford, retired, as consultant dur ing the absence of Gen. Nathan F. Twining, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Twining is recuperating from a lung cancer operation. Radford was Twinuig's prede- Fincher Is Fined For Killing Elk Larry Lee Fincher, La Grande, was fined $100 plus $4.50 justice court costs this moring after pleading guilty to killing a cow elk out of season. Fincher appeared in Judge George Millers court on a State Police citation after a cow elk had been found hanging in his basement. FREE-FOR-AtL IN Oregon's New Primary Law Gains National Attention WASHINGTON (UPI "-Oregon's new presidential primary law is getting attention from politicians here because it seems to suggest possibilities for frec-for - all con tests in 1960. It could put unannounced but potential candidates for the presi-1 dency on the spot. Affected could be Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller of New York on the Republican side and Senate Democratic Leader Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas and Sen. Stuart Symington of Missouri among the .Democrats. The law contains an old provi sion allowing candidates to be en tered in the Oregon presidential primaries by petition. A new provision gives the sec retary of state "sole discretion" to DIXIE BOWMAN Salutatorian THOMAS S. GATES JR. to Succeed Quarles cessor as chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Gates' resignation as navy sec retary was announced Jan. 30. William B. Franke was nominat ed to succeed him. Gates, 53, a native of German town, Pa. has been in the Defense-Department since 1953 when he was made undersecretary of Navy. He has been Navy secre tary since March, 1957. Before joining the government, Gates was a partner in Drexel and Co., a Philadelphia invest ment firm. He is a Republican. 1960 ente rothcr candidates who are "generally advocated or recog nized in national news media throughout the United States." Once the state official has made that determination, a candidate can withdraw only by filing an affidavit "stating without qualifi cation that he is not now and does not intend to become a candi date..." ' , Among possible Democratic can didates, Sens. John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts and Hubert H. Humphrey of Minnesota are ex pected to be entered in state pres idential primaries. Oregon is re garded as a probable setting, along with Wisconsin, for a contest between them. On the Republican side, Vice Herter Rejects Red Proposal For Peace Treaty In Germany GENEVA (UPI Secretary of State Christian Herter to day reiccted the Soviet proposal for an immediate peace treaty between East and West Germany, saying it ,rholds the seeds of future discord and conflict." Herter made his statemtni after the Communists spell od out their formal rejection of the West's peace package nUn no iin,.mnrnhani:iha" anH "iimi-nol ' Thoir hint. ed, however; they might be rangement to preserve peace in, Berlin while the talks here go on. The West is preparing such a plan to safeguard western rights in Berlin under United Nations guarantee if the Big Four For eign Ministers Conference fails to produce an over-all settlement for Germany. Herter spake after Soviet For eign Minister Andrei Gromyko and puppet East German Foreign Minister Lothar Bolz faithfully fol lowed the line laid down last Sat urday by Soviet Premier Nlkita Khrushchev: That the plan put forward by the West is not ac ceptable as a package. Herter said the U.S. position is that, under international law, "the international entity known as Gr- many remains In ei-c. withstanding what has happened since 1945 as an incident of, four power occupation." The session today was the long est of the conference which now is in its second week. A West German spokesman de nied reports of a policy rut among the western delegations, "It is quite clear from the state ment issued in the name of all four western delegations includ- ing West Germany that there is no split, the spokesman said He also characterized as ridic ulous the talk of an alleged French and West German alignment against Britain and the U.S. since western policy was formed, unified and agreed on weeks ago. There has been no change since, he said. Herding s statement said "re ports that the western delegations have decided to break up the west ern peace plan and concentrate on a settlement of Berlin are incor rect. But the statement still left open the possibility that if the package plan has to be sent on to the summit for negotiation, .East and West might reach a "mark-time" accord which would guarantee peace in Berlin until final deci sions are reached The western powers had hot de cided when would be the proper time to discuss such an interim arrangement. 1 France had been respected es pecially dismayed at the prema ture disclosure of, the interim pos- sibility. Britain was believed more or less ready to follow the Ameri can viewpoint. Secret Conference Berding's statement was issued to combat the shock and dismay brought by the statement of an American official Sunday night that the U.S. would consider an "interim arrangement" on West Berlin if Russia firmly refuses to accept the peace plan as a pack age. Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko moved fast to take ad vantage of the allied difficulties. He asked for and got a one-hour secret conference with British For eign Secretary Selwyn Lloyd at the time Geneva was swept with reports of a western crackup. Gromyko met for an hour with Lloyd at the British foreign min ister's residence. Neither would disclose the substance of their talk. President Richard M. Nixon is an expected entrant in the president ial primaries. There has been no sign, how ever, that Rockefeller, Johnson, Symington or somef of the other potential candidates have any in terest in making a showing in these state contests. Yet they have backers within the party organiza tions and appear to be "recog nized in national news media" as candidates. While the Oregon Legislature's action this year may have broad eied the field for the presidential primary in that state, Minnesota and Montana put an end to presi dential primaries. Their legisla tures repealed their presidential primary laws. ready to accept a stop-gap ar : ; I .'" zju iriurea When Bleacher Falls At Rodeo MAYETTA, Kan. (UPI) The top section of a newly-built bleacher caved in Sunday at the close of the Mayetta Rodeo, in juring more than 250 persons, 23, of them critically. The critically hurt, some of whom suffered broken backs, limbs and head injuries, were hospitalized at nearby Topeka and Holton. Another 130 persons re- eoivod emergency treatment at ' 'Hals. About 100 suffered cuts jand bruises but did not go to hospitals. The accident occurred as a crowd of about 4,000 persons was getting set to leave the annual Mayetta Rodeo and Indian Fair in this northeast Kansas community of 247 persons. 1 A steel girder cracked and the top section of the C-shaped bleacher collapsed, sending some occupants tumbling 15 feet to the ground. A tin-roofed concession stand beneath the bleachers help ed break the fall of others. Concessionaire Frank Hess, of Topeka, said he was cooking hot dogs over gas stoves when he heard a sharp crack that sounded as though "someone had thrown a pop bntle on the roof." - "Then . I heard wood breaking and steel cracking and saw a body fall," Hess said. "Then . I ran." llii helper, Tom McBridc, 13, said he was getting change for a customer, turned around "and there it came." "People were falling through the air and hanging by the rail ings," me youtn said. "If we hadn't had this stand here, it would have been worse than it was. The stand broke the fall of some. First Christian Names Pastor The Rev. Wallace N. Hastings of Sheridan, Indiana, has accepted the call to the pastorate of the First Christian Church in La Grande. Rev. Hastings has been in the ministry for 15 years, serv ing the first Christian Church in Sheridan for the past 5 years, while he attended Butler Uni versity in Indianapolis to secure his bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts Degrees. A native Oregonian, Rev. Has tings was born at Dufur, Oregon, and graduated from Northwest Christian College in Eugene, in 1944. Rev. Hastings, his wife Cleo and two children, Kathleen and Jimmy will arrive in La Grande the first of September. Rev. Hastings fills the position as pastor, following the resigna tion of Gene Robinson, who ac cepted the pastorate of the First Christian Church in Billings, Mon tana, last March. L. E. Obert is currently serving as interim minister at the church. Missing Woman's Body Found At Depot Bay DEPOE BAY (UPI) The body of a Portland woman who disappeared from the coast May 9, was recovered near here Sun day. ' Margaret L. Gray, 37, and 10-year-old Julian Piers Sloan went for a walk on the beach near Fin istcrre Lodge and never returned. The boy's body has not yet been recovered. The two, on a vacation with the boy's mother, were pre sumed to have been washed out to sea by a large wave. Minor Car Accident Reported By Police A minor wto-car accident bun- day was reported by city police. The collision occurred at 10 a. m. on Depot street between Adams and Jefferson avenues, as Eddie Rr Hicks of La ; Grande was backing out from a parking meter. Driver of the other car was identified as Cleo Chadwick, also of La Grande. GLIDER PLUNGES TO EARTH Glider above, with smashed nose and broken wings, lies near glider path at base of Ladd Canyon five miles east of here where it plunged into the earth from height of 200 feet Saturday afternoon. Walter Parker, 40, pilot of La Grande sustained many fractures from crash. (Obseiver Photo) GLIDER PILOT INJURED IN CRASH NEAR HERE Walt Parker, 40, La Grande businessman and glider pilot, was in "serious" but not critical con dition this morning recovering from injuries suffered about 4:30 p.m., Saturday when his glider plane crashed at the base of Ladd Canyon five miles cast of here. Parker suffered fractures of both ankles,1 a crushed right heel, fmcture of one leg in two places, a iractured pelvis and "numer ous" rib fractures, according to his physican at St. Joseph's hospital. Lorcn Blanchard, 48, La Grande, driver of the tow au tomobile for Parker, said the gild Enraged Father Injures Child ROCHESTER, N. Y. (UPD-An enraged father who went to the aid of his 3-year-old son faced as sault charges today for seriously injuring a neighbor boy. Police said Charles Gocbcl, 28, picked up the neighbor boy, Mi chael Sorcc, 6, and three him to the ground. Hospital officials said the victim might not live. When young Sorce struck the ground a stick he was holding pierced his left eye. Later, Hos pital physicians said the instru ment had entered the youngster's brain. Officers investigating the case said Goebel looked, out of a win dow of his home and saw the Sorce boy scuffling on the ground with George Goebel. The father came out of the house, picked up Michael and threw him, ap parently in a fit of anger, police said. Goebel is a physics professor at the University of Rochester, police said. Marjorie Cantor Dies Of Cancer HOLLYWOOD (UPI) Come dian Eddie Cantor's eldest daugh ter, Marjorie, 44, died Sunday of cancer. , The famed comedian, who has been ailing for several years, was placed under sedation. Miss Cantor and her four sisters had provided a running gag for Cantor during his radio-television days when he would lament that he had no sons. But his affection for his five daughters was well known. Miss Cantor had suffered from the disease the past two years and entered Cedars of Lebanon Hospital last March 26 for the second time within a year. Motorcycle Accident Fatally Hurts Man MEDFORD (UPI) Richard Lee Jolliffe, 24, Butte Falls, was fatally injured Sunday when his motorcycle left Butte Falls road about 23 miles northeast of here and plunged down a 12-foot em bankment. State police said apparently there were no witnesses to the accident. Jolliffe's body was found lodged against the - post of a barbed wire fence. , - j . .. '4 ". i-r'u" ..,. j v11 er pilot, trying a new typo of re lease cable, reached an altitude of 200 feet after a short tow when, seeing his air speed and altitude were not sufficient, turn ed to land on the glider two path, stalled out and then plunged nose down 200 feet into the. ground. Blanchard extracted Parker from the smashed craft and then summoned the Don Dcmpscy am bulance which took the, injured pilot to the hospital Tho craft's nose was crushed, pinning Parker in the cockpit, and both wings were broken. Parker, a licensed glider pilot, was alone in the cngincless plane, Blanchard said the glider ordi narily reaches an altitude ot- 700 to 800 feet before the cable au tomatically releases itself from the plane but on the tow Satur day the craft had reached an al titude of only 200 Of slightly more feet before Parker turned, pppartly in an attempt to land the craft on the tow path, locat ed on a .hill above the state high way building about five miles cast of La Grande. The plane crashed about a quarter of a mile- from Highway 30. Blanchard said the cable had not released before the nlanc crashed. Paker is an experienced glider pilot. Pilot's use the air currents near the mounains to sustain long flights in the air. Ho lives at 2705 N. Fir street here with his wife and two chil dren. Parker is owner of the W. L. Parker Sheet Metal Works. Many Are Hurt In Train Crash CHICAGO (UPD-An elevated train smashed into the rear of another between two northwest side stations during the morning rush hour today, and more than 130 persons were treated or ex amined at hospitals for shock and injuries. The trains were on tho Logan Square branch which taps Chica go's northwest side. Both were jammed with Dasscngers, and the impact threw standees to the floor in struggling heaps. Some' of those .aboard said they knew the collision was com ing, but were .unable to got a warning to tho train crews in time. MISSILE LAUNCHING DELAYED BY WALKQUT OF MACHINISTS VANDENBERG A F B, Calif. iiipii An nnsfhodiiled walkout of machinists employed by Con vair here may delay the firing of an Atlas missile 24 hours. The machinists walked off . the inh inrlnv in nrotcst over failure to obtain living allowances from the company. ' The Atlas had been scheduled to be fired from this West Coast base Thursday or Friday of this week. nrrirtalK nf the International Association of Machinists said the walkout was not approved in any way by the union. They said they MAN IS RESCUED FROM 'HOT CAR' BY 3 POLICEMEN PORTLAND (UPI) Thrte policeman took a chance on death here Sunday when they pulled 4S-year-old man from an automobile surrounded by hot electric wires. A car driven by Francit A. Fuoere.Vsruck and broke off an electric - pole. The pole landed on top of the vehicle ' and was carrid about 33 feet before the car came to a stop. No wires touched the car, but were hanging around it. "We told him to stay In hit car," Patrolman Louie de Giovanni said," or he would be a dead man." , Helping de Giovanni were patrolman Reginald Bowles and John Traver. Voltage in the wires was estimated a 8,300 by PGE and PP4L spokesmen. Both companies had wires on the pole. Mrs. H.S. Truman UndergoesSurgery KANSAS CITY, Mo. (UPD Mrs. Harry S. Truman, wife of the former President, underwent surgery tor an undisclosed ail ment today at Research Hospital. There was no indication as to the nature of the operation or the length of time it would require. Mrs. Truman, 74, entered the hospital last Thursday for tests and a "routine checkup." The troublesome condition was dis covered during the diagnostic tests. Although the nature of the sur gery was not revealed, Dr. Wal lace Graham, tho family doctor and White House physician when Truman was president, earlier said that Mrs. Truman would be in the hospital "quite a while." , McKINNIS TO SPEAK State Representative Donald McKlnnis of Summcrville will be the main spaker at the La Grande Rotary culb luncheon Tuesday. McKinnls will talk on the recent ly concluded stato legislatvlo ses sion. had assured Convair ilnst week that they would not authorize the work stoppage. Union members said tho walk out would last one day only and was in the nature of a protest. They said they felt they shodlu be given the extra living allow ance the same as workers for Radio Corporation of America and other companies on this mis sile launching base. Members said they had been attempting to reach agreement with the company for more than nine months. Roger Brown, industrial super Chinese Reds Shell Matsu TAIPEI, Formosa (UPI) A Chinese Communist bombardment of Matsu Island in the Formosa Straits Sunday apparently was designed to strengthen the So viets' hand at the Geneva foreign ministers conference, informed sources said today. ' .". The Communists, making their first large scale bombardment of Matsu, killed three persons and wounded eight as they hurled 444 shells in 90 minutes. Matsu, one of the offshore islands in the American-patrolled Formosa Straits, is 150 miles north of the frequently shelled Quemoy Islands. It is far enough off shore to have been relatively untouched in past bombardments but ' the Communists have been bringing in bigger guns. Chinese Nationalist sources have predicted stepped-up Com munist activity in the Formosa Straits to coincide with the Gene va East - West meeting and said there might be new assaults against the Quemoy Islands hit by more than 600,000 shells lust sum mer. . Truck Driver Held In Oregon Slaying RENO (UPI) Edward J. O'Conner, 38, a truck driver from Giltner, Neb., was held for ques tioning today in connection with n mnrrlnr In Rnmfl Hrit The victim, Thomas Potter, 62, San Francisco, was found beaten to death in a Rome motel Satur day. The motel register showed that O'Conner and Potter checked into the motel Friday, according to Oregon authorities. O'Conner was arrested late Sat urday when he attempted to cash several travelers checks bearing the victim's name. Police said they found Potter's car aban doned near Winnemucca, Nev. Oregon authorities said Potter, a Southern Pacific Railroad em ploye, may have been killed with one of the specimens of rock which he collected as a hobby. O'Conner hod several rocks in his pocket when he was arrested here, but he refused to comment on the slaying. visor for Convair here, said ho did not know how many machin ists cither failed to report to work this morning or did report and then left their jobs. He said last week that as many as 500 machinists might be effected by a walkout. . . Brown said the walkout will not effect operations at the base. However informed, sources said that since Convair is attempting to get an Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile ready for firing, the walkout would delay this proj ect at least 24 hours.