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About La Grande observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1959-1968 | View Entire Issue (June 29, 1959)
LA GRANDE OBSERVER 264th Issue 63rd Year LA GRANDE, OREGON MONDAY, JUNE 29, 1959 Price 5 Cent, mmi.. n hip n n j i 4 mx";. Ask".?-' r ' m!M:W -AlVS? :;:';v:?;:-;. UNVEILING George R. Lyman is shown here unveiling the LDS Church marker, Friday afternoon, sponsored by the Daughters of Utah Pioneers. He also gave a re sume of church history, of which he has played a large part. The marker commemor ates the first LDS Church in La Grande. (Observer Photo.) River Playground Is Scene Of Flaming Death, Injury MELDRIM, Ga. UPI Skin-. divers probed the murky depths of the Ogeechee River today for more victims of an explosion that sent flaming butane gas cascading down on a river playground Sun day afternoon. At least 17 were dead, some of them children who had been swim ming, boating and fishing with their parents and friends at the popular recreation spot near Sa vannah. Scores were injured, some of them horribly burned. -Many persons were unaccounted RAILROAD GROUP OPENS NORTHWEST MEET HERE The introduction of national officers and visiting dignitaries was first order of the business in this morning's joint session of the B. of L. F. It E. and their auxiliary. The Pacfic Northwest Union meeting convened Sunday and the meetings will close Tues day with a barbecue at Wallowa Lake State Park. At the Monday morning meet ing Sharon Noyes, Misss Union County, welcomed the Brother hood and urged them to get out and see, "our beauiful coun try." The master of ceremonies presented Sharon with a dozen red roses. A large basket of flowers was , then presented t the Women's society by the Brotherhood, and Mrs. T. V. Sherwood, president of the La Grande Woman's group ac cepted the flowers. S. C. Phillips who is the as sistant president of the National Brotherhood was introduced. Phillips has his headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio. .Lilliam Kmp who is the Na tional president of the Auxi'iary was also introduced and presented with a corsage by Mrs. Sher wood. The National President is 'MENTALLY I'M AT Gov. Long Ends Week End At His little Pea Patch' WINNFIELD, La. UPD -Gov. Earl K. Long wound up a lazy weekend in his "little pea patch" today, climbed into his aircondt tioned Cadillac with his psychia trist, and headed back across the state to- the motal at Covington he is using as a temporary capi tol. Long . announced Sunday he plans to divorce his wife of 27 years for getting him into a men tal hospital. He also said he is go ing to fire at least one more offi cial for helping his wife, Blanche. Long was wearing a farmer's hat and sitting in the front seat with David Bell, his chauffeur, while the psychiatrist and state Sen. B. B. 'Sixty) Rayhurn. a crony, sat on the back seat. Bell was administrator of vet eran affairs until Long got ex cited and fired him la.t month. Long took over the biggest part i i r iinniiimiiT' 1 ii ! I."1- -1 - ,.?. - for but it was impossible to com- pile any accurate number. About a hundred were at the spot when the accident happened. A carefree summer's day turned into a hell-on-earth when 14 cars of a mile-long freight train plunged from a wooden tres tle into the crowd of swimmers and picnickers. Two cars filled with butane, an inflammable gas, exploded apparently touched off by the gaily-winking camp fires of the victims-to-be. A overheated "journal bpx," from Tacoma, Wash., but her main headquarters are in Cleve land. Following the joint meeting the groups will reconvene in separate meetings. Aside from the scheduled trip and barbecue at Wallowa Lake, the buffet dinner set for 7 p.m. this evening will be a highlight of the convention. At this Din ner a special presentation of pins will be made. Those who qualify for their 40 year pins are S. G. Coleman, Ba sil B. Collins, James C. Green. Henry K. Hickey, Melvin G. Hutchens, Ralph Potter, Melvin E. Young. Thirty year pins will be given to Peter Arnoldus, Clyde C. Charl ton, Ernest L. Root, Edward Streiff, Joseph Ward, Adam D. Woods. Those receiving 25 year contin uous pins are Fred Leach, John W. Mullikan, and Porter Waldo. Cumulative 25 year pins will be given to Charles Klinghammer. Twenty year pin will to to Irvin G. Hanlen. Women receiving 40 year pins will be Grace Streiff, Helen Lake, and Louise Ryan. MY BEST' of the Covington motel last Friday for a temporary jjate cap itol after using his executive pow ers to get out of a nearby mental hospital, the third he has been in since May 30. Long, 63, voluntarily submitted to the care of a team of psychi atrists af'.er he regained his free dom and promised them to stay in the motel at least until Fri day. It was not certain what time he will leave today on the 200 mile trip. He arrived late Satur day night at his tin-roofed, frame farm home in Winnfield. He calls it his "little pea patch.'' Long announced his intentions to get a divorce to reporters on his back porch Sunday while his psychiatrist. Dr. Paul Pratt, tried to calm him down. "She raised more hell than the man who fired the shot beard which contains wheel bearings. was blamed by some officials for the train's derailment, but others said the cause would not be known for some time. But Harvey's Fishing Camp, lo cated two miles west of the small town 18 miles from Savannah, has become a name of horror. It is a place where small children screamed and died as a searing sheet of flume turned the quiet waters of the Ogeechee into a flaming river of death and blast ed almost 300 acres of land. For almost two hours after the explosion smoke-blackened ambu lance attendants and rescue crews were unable to get closer than 1,000 feet to the scene. Ambulances and Army and Ma rine Corps helicopters were used to transport the badly-burned vic tims to hospitals in Savannah, where one tragic scene followed another. A mother, burned herself over her face and shoulders, ran screaming through the corridors of Memorial Hospital in a frantic search. "I want my little boy." she cried. "I want my little boy.' A doctor caught her gently and told her that her son was dead. The thin voice of a child came through the doors of the hospital emergency room "I want wa ter, water, water." Girl Bitten By Dog While Riding Bike Susie Carlson, 8, was bitten by a large, brown dog Saturday about 4:50 p.m. while riding through the alley in the rear of the Liberty theatre and Tropidara. The girl was bitten on the calf of her right leg. She was taken to Grande Ronde hospital for treat ment. There have been several complaints in regard to this dog according to police authorities. 'round the world." Long' said of his wife. "I've put up yith her as long as I can and I'm going to get a divorce now. I'd have gotten a divorce long ago if I hadn't been in politics." Long already has sued for legal separation from his wife. Blanche. He blames her for com mitting him and says she is "the most jealous woman God ever created." Mrs. Long left the state Tues day, but was reported Sunday to have returned to her home in Baton Rouge. She could not, how ever, be located. Long, sitting in his pajama tops with a sheet thrown over his legs, brought reporters at his farm home up to date on the other re cent developments and decision. IT WAS A SAD DAY FOR PUPS Evtry do has its day. Saturday, two La Grand pups had theirs but there was no ice cream or candy awaiting Hi strays. A small, black and whit puppy was picked up in front of 1112' Attorns fay police in th afterneon. H was wearing red harness but th license was missing. Later, a small, black, bob tailed pup was picked up at th corner of X nd Ash. He, unfortunately, didn't have any identification either. Beth dogs were impounded. Seme Dayl Tension Is Easing In Steel Talks NEW YORK (UPI)-Chances of a peaceful settlement of the steel wage controversy brightened to day, with tension between the ne gotiators eased as o 'result of President Eisenhower's interven tion. Taking advantage of a two week truce which moved the strike deadline from Tuesday midnight until 12:01 a.m. July 15 The four man negotiating teams of labor and management have agreed to step up their efforts to reach a I settlement. Beginning Wednesday, when the negotiating teams resume their talks, the joint eight-man confer ees will hold morning and after noon sessions until further notice. Althoughvneither side shows any immediate signs of making major concessions, indications are that "realistic" collective bargaining wll take place in the near fu ture. No Furnace Banking All talks of steel mills banking blast furnaces and making other plans for a work stoppage died off after both sides bowed to President Eisenhower's appeal on Saturday to bargain "without in terruption of productioa" for an other fortnight, if necessary. The two negotiating teams, headed by R. Conrad Cooper for management and Union President David J. McDonald for labor, got together in friendly fashion on Sunday, went through the formal ity of extending current agree ments until 12:01 a.m. July 15, and recessed until Wednesday. McDonald, meanwhile, will meet behind closed doors today with the union's 33-member executive board, and will confer later in the day with his 171-man Wage Policy Committee. In spite of the revival of hope that both sides are about to buckle down to give-and-take ne gotiating, management continued to argue its cause. Cooper Issues Statement Cooper issued a statement call ing upon union leaders to "give ear to the public interest" and help combat inflation. "Whether inflation in America is to receive another push from the current steel negotiations is the issue between us and the lead ers of the steel union," he said. "By the union's own proclama tion steel wages are now at the head of the wage-inflation parade. The Steelworkers could now, if they so choose, rest on their oars and give ear to the public inter est." McDonald called Cooper's re marks "a rehash of the same old mish-mash." Firemen Rescue Woman From Fire PORTLAND (UPD Firemen rescued a woman from a blazing house here early Sunday morning. The woman, Mrs. Clara Mc Pherson. 57, became trapped In her bedroom adjacent to the front room of her home which was aflame. The fire, which firemen said was caused from smoker's care lessness, was reported by a neigh bor Walter P. Brown. Mrs. McPherson had tried to rise from the bed and had fallen on the floor. Her position below the heat line was credited with saving her life, according to fire men. Firemen Walter Nasmyth and Lt. John Mattson, entered the house. Nasmyth crawled to the woman and Mattson broke a win dow for an exit. The two lifted her through the window and car ried her to safety. WEATHER La Grande: Partly cloudy Tuesday with afternoon show ers in the mountains; high Tuesday 70-75; low tonight 10-43. Farm Aid Measure For Year w( 7 DISCUSSING FINANCIAL PROS RAM Peter M. Gun nar. Republican State chairman of Salem, and Forrest Masters (left), local chairman for Union County Repub lican Central committee, discuss the financial program for the 1900 campaign. GOP's Gunnar Praises Hatfield In Talk Here BY VIRGINIA ANDERSON Observer Staff Writer In a luncheon speech here Sat urday, Republican State Chairman Peter M. Gunnar, Salem, pointed out that "the emergency trans portation committee which was appointed in March by Gov. Mark Hatfield to help solve the boxcar shortage problem is just one of many programs being carried out by the administration to benefit th? entire state." Gunnar who spoke at a Union County GOP Central Committee gathering said "the "governor is fully aware thut we will soon enter Booming Guns Greet Queen TORONTO, Ont. UPI A bar rage of 21-gun salutes boomed ov er Toronto Harbor today to wel come Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip aboard the blue and white royal yacht Britannia. Thousands of persons lined the waterfront in sweltering 80-degree heat as the yacht steamed into the western gap. Royal Canadian Mounted Po lice and Toronto Harbor Police were on guard in the calm waters of the harbor to keep a flotilla of about one thousand small craft away from the royal yacht. The Queen unveiled a plaque at the waterfront. She was escorted by Premier Leslie Frost to the royal car which then drove to Kew Beach in the east end where the Queen greeted crowds of crippled children. The royal couple endured sum mer heat Sunday while listening to a sermon on Christian humility at a service in the Sydenham Street United Church in Kingston, Ontario. OVER SHE GOES A 1952 pickup driven by Jim McGuire, La Grande, went off of highway 30 about two miles west of town yesterday and into the ditch beside the road. Shelby Weaver, La Grande, was a passenger in the vehicle. (Observer Photo) ouse-Senate ' the period when our economy will be handicapped because of the annual car shortage." i "Therefore he took early action by naming R. J. Rogue, of Mod- ford, chairman of a group to study the problem and make recom mendations. 'That committee Immediately approved an educational plan to encourage shippers to improve the 'housekeeping' of box cars they use," Gunnar said. "Everything possible is being done to expedite the turn-around of cars which will carry lumber, grain and other Oregon products to market," Gunnar said. The GOP chairman also pointed to direct action taken by the gov ernor when he "spent many hours conferring with officials of labor and management in an effort to' find an equitable solution to the recent pile-driver's strike." During his informal luncheon talk, Gunnar concentrated par ticularly upon the financial pro gram for the I960 campaign em phasizing especially the need for well-trained party workers. "A party that is active in an off year will win the election in the election year," Gunnar said. In outlining a five-point pro gram that the Oregon GOP plan to use, Gunnar IncludVd workers, trained workers, financial aid, good candidates, and a sound statement of policy. According to Gunnar the party is beginning to organize Senior Republican clubs along with direct ing the young Republican group towards the high school level. Part of the job of the members of this youth group will be to seek out "first vofrs" and convince them to register and vote Re publican. He stated that the party definite ly needed "grass roots" support. If fiW Conferees OK COMMITTEE TONES DOWN SUPPORT LOAN PROPOSAL WASHINGTON (UPII House-Senate conferees today ap proved a compromise bill providing $4,688,600,000 for farm aid during the new fiscal year starting July 1. The conference committee also toned down a proposal that would have put a $50,000 ceiling on price support loans that any farmer could receive in 1960. The compromise would allow farmers to receive more than this if they agreed to repay all over that amount or to cut their production as much as 20 per cent. The compromise version also makes the ceiling apply to each crop separately, rather than to single farmers. Both the House and Senate had approved a firmer ceiling. The revised version also would apply only to crops in which sur pluses exist. Sen. Richard K. Rus sell (D-Ga. I, chairman of the Sen ate agricultural appropriations subcommittee, said this would ex empty sugar and wool from all of the limits on price support loans. The compromise now goes back to the House and Senate for final action. Other congressional news: Interest rates: The House Ways and Means Committee gave tenta tive approval to a new plan for lifting of interest rate ceilings on government bonds. As approved the Democratic-sponsored meas ure would give the President pow er to raise interest rates when he felt it to be in tne national in terest." This would place respon sibility for such hikes on the ad ministration. Eisenhower had asked for flat repeal of the cur rent ceiling of V't per cent on long-term bonds. Equal time: ' Chairman John "C. Doerfer of the Federal Commu nications Commission told a House subcommittee the- FCC'S; "equal m) congressional sentiment for time" rule should bi repealed bUroau spending. television or radio station to give equal time to a political candidate even though his opponents appear in a routine news broadcast. Doer fer said political programming should be left to the judgment of TV and radio stations. Board Chairman Robert W. Sarnotf of National Broadcasting Co. told the subcommittee the rule was "un sound in principle and harmful in effect. Tax extension: It appeared Con gress would ignore objections of some northern Democrats and re new special excise and corpora tion taxes for another year. Sen ate-House conferees voted down loop hole closing and tax-cutting provisions tacked on by the Sen ate. Unless the measure is passed before the fiscal year ends Tues day, the special rates would re vert to lower levels in effect be fore the Korean War. Rackets: The Senate Rackets Committee continued its efforts to show that teamster President James R. Hoffa has failed to clean up his giant union. A witness to day testified that one of Hoffa's friends has secretly gained con trol of a project to provide Flor ida homesites for retired team sters. The man was identified as Benjamin Dranow, -a former bus inessman in Minneapolis. Democrats Blame Ike For Prices WASHINGTON HIPH Demo crats charged today that tlie threat of new price hikes is caused by President Eisenhower's poli cies rather than any strong con gressional pressure for "irrespon sible spending" cited by a cabinet report. House Democratic Leader John W. McCormack i.Mass.) generally summed up his party's reaction to the report by accusing Eisenhow er of trying to blame the Democratic-controlled Congress for the fruits of his own actions. "The Congress always has ap propriated less money than Mr. Eisenhower wanted," McCormack said. "So if there is any exces sive spending, the President is re sponsible." He promised Congress would cut the President's budget again this year. The report, prepared by a spe cial committee headed by Vic President Richard M. Nixon, urged Congress to thwart a "se rious risk" of further price. In creases by enacting Eisenhower'! anti-inflation program. It sjkl the country is at a "critical juncture" because of inflationary pressures The report also himed that soma form of tax relief "can perhaps be realized soon." It did not spell out the kind of "needed tax re forms," saying merely that "stud ies are now underway with a view to proposing changes in our tax laws at the appropriate time.'' Sen. Paul II. Douglas (D-IU.), chairman of the Congressional Economic Committee which is making its own study of inflation and other economic problems, de nounced the Nixon group's report as "a thoroughly milk toast af fair." He said it ignored the adminis tration's opposition to "sound pro posals" for plugging tax loopholes which would have enabled the government "to reduce taxes in other directions, to make needed welfare and defense expenditures and to reduce the public debt." Warns Of Spending The report said that for Con gress to yield to strong pressure for "irresponsible spending . . either through appropriation for next year or through authoriza tions for later years, would create serious inflationary forces." The Nixon committee said it noted "an alarming tendency in the Congress to work toward only an illusory balance in the budg et." Two Men Cited In Truck Mishap Two La Grande residnt ur involved in a one vehicle nrrM,.m on highway 30 about two miles west of town yesterday. Jim F. McGuire. 1906 Fourth, and Shelby Weaver. 2214 Jeffer son, were returning from a fish ing trip when the pickup, driven by McGuire. hit the Ioosk on the shoudler of the road, police said. The vehicle turned over once before coming to a stop in the bottom of the barrow pit dividing the old road from the highway unaer construction. s McGuire was cited for vlnlnlinn of the basic rule and Weaver was issued a citation for being drunk on a public hishwav acenrriina In state police authorities. -. A hearing was set for-10 this morning in Justice Court? Jiutc Miller presiding. Overheated Oil Stove " Brings City Firemen ine ure department was called to 1902 Penn yesterday to check a hot oil stove In the residence of Mrs. Quebbman. ' ' No equipment was used in t.n." wer to the 2:30 call Firemen checked the stove to make sure it was safe before returing to the statin.