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About La Grande observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1959-1968 | View Entire Issue (July 16, 1959)
LA GRANDE OBSERVER WEATHER Sunny Friday; high Friday 87-92; low tonight 45-50. 278th Issue 63rd Year LA GRANDE, OREGON. THURSDAY. JULY 16. 1959 Pric 5 Cnt Sec. Herter Suggests U.N. Help Berl Truce olice in nW srrfc I Mr ' SVt ''i" -V" CONSTRUCTION CONTINUES Mic Fullerton and Charlie Taylor are at work putting up false-work in preparation for constructing the columns of one of the bridges being built for the new highway between La Grande and Pendleton. (Observer Photo) Argentine Now Men Threaten BUENOS AIRES (UPI) Argen tine navy rear admirals and cap tains have threatened wholesale resignations unless President Ar- turo Frondizi fires Vice Adm. Adolfo Estevez as secretary of the navy, informed sources reported today. j The sources said 12 of the navy's 15 rear admirals had voiced the threats to retire, and captains with high commanding posts would follow them. ' The afternoon newspaper Cor-i reo de la Tarde said Frondizi's refusal to ask for Estevez' resig nation had creat&d a "serious sit uation" in the navy. The newspaper, edited by for mer naval Cnpt. Francisco Man rique, said Adm. Vicente Barojn. t chief of the joint general staff, presented the main complaints to Frondizi at a meeting Tuesday night. The newspaper said another of . ficer at the meeting. Vice Adm. Al berto Bago. newly appointed chief of naval operations, told Frondizi bluntly they feared Communist pressure on the President to weak en the armed forces. Jets Blamed For 'Blasts' SALEM tUPIi Blasts, various ly estimated as from one to four, shook the Salem area Wednesday evening and swamped police and press switchboards. They were believed caused by jet planes breaking the sonic barrier. Minor cracks in concrete and plaster were reported by resi dents. No broken windows were caused, but residents in northeast Salem were sure some small cracks in plaster walls, driveways and sidewalks "were caused. Belgian Airline Pilot Says Red Plane Nearly Crashed Into Him BRUSSELS. Belgium UPI-A Belgian Sabena airlines pilot said today that one of four Communist MIGs that forced his plane down in Hungary Wednesday nearly crashed into him. The airliner, a DC6. was carry ing M passengers from Athens to Vienna. The Communists let the plane continue after questioning tlie pilot on the ground. Capt. Georges Rolin, the pilot, 3 -r 4 SHOVELING Tom Perzell is working the shovel for the construction crew on the highway west of La Grande. The new highway will probably not take many miles off the trip to Pendleton but should eliminate many dangerous curves according to the State Highway Department. (Observer Photo) FALL OPENING TO BE HELD IN CONNECTION WITH FAIR Frank Cook chairman of the Kali opening announced at the Retail Merchants luncheon yes terday noun that the annual event will be August 26 in con junction with the Union County Fair. Events slated for the program include a hay scramble for $35, window decorating contest, parade and dance. Committee chairman selected for the Fall opening by Lorcn Hughes, president of the RMA, are Cal Batrick, publicity; Bob Turner, dance; Bill Cummings, hay scramble; Bob Fallow, public address system; Web Hickman, ballot counting; Lee Reynolds, said he had to leave the recog nized air corridor in an attempt to get around a storm and veered north toward the Hungarian frontier. "I do not think we left Yugoslav territory," he eaid. Rolin said four Hungarian MIGs suddenly swooped on his plane and waggled their wings- to indicate he should follow them. Some of their dives at me K i """ 77 .. 5V Mi. ( t' kid's pet parade. Hughes announced also that John Groupe and Alan Keffer will be chairmen of the Christ mas program. Group said that they planned to use the Candy Lane theme again this year. He said that they found it necessary to pur chase four more canes. Four teen green cedar garlands are also on order. It was also announced that the Centennial Wagon Train will be in La Grande, July 29. Several riding clubs plan to meet the train and escort it to town. It will be staying over night at Pio neer Park. were really dangerous," he said. "One MIG zoomed up just a few feet in front of my nose. I thought we were going to collide." The MIGs forced him to land at Veszprem. He said the Hun garians told him their radar In dicated his plane was over Hun. garian territory but added that "if you leave the corridor in fu ture because of weather just ask our permission. , Tremendous Explosion Spoils The Launching Of Satellite Rocket CAPE CANAVERAL. FW. JPI) An Army Juno II rock et with an "all-purpose" scientific satellite exploded in a tre mendous cloud of smoke and flame today in what was sup posed to have been the most complex data-gathering trip in to space yet undertaken. I On ienition. a huee Duff of smoke primteil from (Kip rnrk. Jet. " fnsfpaft nf liffinfj frnm thi Defense Contracts Under Fire WASHINGTON (UPI) The Defense Department was under fire on two congressional fronts today. One House armed services sub committee was investigating char ges that armed services enlisted men have to do "degrading" jobs as servants of officers. And Hep. F. Edward Hebert D L.A.l. chairman of another sub committee looking into defense contracts, charged that the Penta gon was trying to sidestep the problem. . . Charles C. Finucane, assistant secretary of defense, told the man power subcommittee that the use of enlisted meo as officers' aides "is based on a definite need and on justifiable customs and tradi tions." He denied there is any thing "demeaning or degrading" in the work, and said nun)f GIs seek sucn Jobs; . v4 There have been complaints that enlisted men have been pressed into such jobs as baby-sitting and housework. Hebert 's subcommittee has been investigating charges that retired military officers and former gov ernment officials employed in de fense industry have exerted in fluence on behalf of their employ ers. It also has been looking into alleged waste in the defense pro gram. Hebert said the Defense Depart ment is trying to keep reports and records from the General Account ing Office, which oversees govern ment spending. "If there is noth ing wrong, why cover up?" he asked. Funds Denied For Sewage Treatment The State Sanitary Board has denied La Grande's request for federal funds for the construction of lagoon sewage treatment ponds at least temporarily. in a letter read to the commis sion last night, the Board said that tentative assignments of prior ities have been made. The appli cations on file with the state agency total two and a half to three times the amount of funds expected to be made available. Congress, according to the letter. has made no appropriations for the year gs yet. The anticipated funds, the letter continued, were not sufficient to include an allocation to-La Grande. The letter also recommended that the city proceed with the proposed bond etection on Oct. 2 so that if sufficient funds do become avail able for a federal grant the city will be able to proceed with con struction without delay. City Commission OK's Resolutions The city commission approved the adopted resolutions 1712 and 1713 at the city commission meeting last night Resolution 1712 modifies sec tions 3. 8, and 7D of "Pay Plan" Resolution No. 1681, series 1958 This resolution was held over from, last week's meeting pend ing study of the commission. The second resolution, 1713. was adopted for the purpose of releasing certain property from lien of assessment in improve ment district No. 3 15. Part of the property in the district is being sold and in order to give clear title to the purchas er the present owner will pay the assessment in the amount of tl 18.82 on the part of the prop erty being sold. l:nmihino nnH Ilia i-,u-bit u.ic enveloped in a mite ball of fire. Il was nut known whether the rocket uctuully left the ground. Several fragments of the 76-foot rocket could be seen urotiml the launch site. The white smoke soon turned black and a tall smoke col umn rose into the air. The Juno rocket was to have carried the Army's Explorer VI satellite toward space on a mis sion to bring back information ran ging from the origin of weather to obstacles man will face in inter planetary travel. Pieces of the flaming rocket landed only 50 yards from the blockhouse, but all military and civilian perso'.iiel inside were re ported unharmed. The explosion occurred at 10:38 a.m. p.d.t. An Air Force officer said the "cause of the malfunction will not be known until all data have been collected and analyzed." A large corps of newsmen and high ranking military and civilian officials watched the rocket blow up, dashing hopes of sending a 91.5 pound "miniature laboratory" into orbit. Cjty Manager Makes Reports To Commission City Manager Fred J. Young reported to the city commission on the delivery date of the new fire engine at the commission meeting last night. Young reported that the truck would be delivered Saturday and that formal testing of the unit would be done on Tuesday. R. P. Gorman of the Oregon Insurance Rating Bureau will be on hand to conduct the test. Gorman will meet wh the city officials next Monday night to dis cuss the proposed rerating of La Grande. The testing operations will begin at 8 Tuesday morning and continue until 3 p.m. The city will not officially ac cept the equipment until it has been tested and approved although it will be in town Saturday. A small ceremony is being planned by the commission. The city manager also reported that the road to Morgan lake has been improved by both city and county on their respective parts of the road. A small parking lot has been dozed out to provide fishermen and picnickers with adequate space. Silver Dollars Mark Anniversary ungntly polished silver dollars will mark one phase of the La Grande Fruit Company's 20th an niversary observance starting today and ending Saturday, Aug. 15, Robert Howard, owner-man ager of the food distributing firm, said today. The company's 22 fulltime em ployes will be paid each week for month s period in silver dot lars especially polished for the event by the Sacajawea Hotel's coin polisher. McKay Reported As 'Fairly Good' oALtM mm condition oi former Interior Secretary Douglas McKay. 66, remained about the same today according to attend ants at Salem General Hospital. McKay spent a "good night" and was out of his oxygen tent at meal times. The former Oregon governor suffered a recurrence of a heart ailment Monday and was hospital ized. Since then his condition has been listed as "fairly good" with no change reported today. Currently McKay is chairman of the joint U S -Canadian Water Commission. GENTLEMEN IN DIRE DISTRESS ST. LOUIS. Mo. (UPI) At least two gwttlemen in the cast of "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" at the Municipal Opera Wednesday night pre- . bably would have preferred to have been somewhere else. In the first act, dancer Lar ry Merrirt's pants split down the back when he did a bend-over. In the second act, dancer Robert Pageant's pants came loose while he was dancing with a partner. Typhoon Ravages Formosa United Press International Typhoon Billie drove thousands of persons from their homes on Formosa Wednesday night. In Southern Japan flood waters from drenching rains receded slowly, leaving 45 dead. An air and sea search was launched for 43 crewmen of a Jap anese ship which broke its anchor in 100-mile an hour winds and went aground off lshigaki Island, northeast of Formosa. The crew of the 3,692 ton Mansei Maru took to lifeboats. Searchers were hampered by high seas. Most of Taipei. Formosa's cap ital, was covered with water rang ing from a few inches to rooftop level. A housing unit for an Amer ican military mission was evacua ted with residents wading to safe ty in waist-deep water. The U. S. Military Hospital near Taipei was evacuated and 42 of the more variously ill were Mown to Okinawa, some 800 miles away. In the midst of the confusion of evacuation, an Army doctor deliv ered a daughter to Mrs. Irving W. Lyind). Seattle, wife of a Navy chief boatswain's mate. She and the infant were reported in good condition. The typhoon swung its hardest punch at Taipei, bringing 10 inches of water in 24 hours, then veered northwest to the China mainland. In Kyushu, Japan's southern most island, flood water from three days of drenching rains re ceded somewhat, but authorities kept disaster units on the alert in case Billie again veered east across the island. School Board Appoints New Committees At a regular monthly meeting of School Dist. 1, committees were appointed for the school year. They are Ned Jones and Norma Noyes, finance; Forrest Masters and Charles A. Reynolds, trans portation; Ned Jones and Forrest Masters, labor relations; Ned Jones and Charles A. Reynolds, building ings and grounds; Charles A. Reyn olds and Norma Noyes, community and public relations. Bids on teaching supplies were reviewed by the board and the superintendent was directed to pur chase according to low bids. A tow bid by Van Petten Lumber Co. for the replacement of the roof oif the junior high school gymnasium, Riveria and Willow gymnasiums of $5,223.00 was ap proved by the board. Approval of the plans for the Greenwood School and the Riveria addition was read and the board approved July 21 for the review of the plans in order that bids may be opened In the middle of August. Trespassing Charge Is Against Oregon Wagon KING HILL. Idaho fUPD The On to - Oregon wagon train was cleared today on charges that it trespassed on private land be tween Glenns Ferry and Mountain Home in Idaho. Justice of the Peace Lynn Sher man of King Hill dismissed the charges for "lack ef evidence of criminal Intent." 'Appearing before Sherman were Gordon (Tex) Serpa and his wife Louise, leaders of the train, and Conn Sevaney and Eldon Thomp WARNS ANOTHER BERLIN CRISIS COULD MEAN WAR GENEVA (UPI) Secretary of State Christian A. Herter today proposed calling on the United Nations to help police a Berlin truce agreement. He warned that another Berlin crisis flareup might plunge the world into war. Herter appealed to Kussta Big Four conference table to U.N. staff into Berlin. The staff, with free access would report on propaganda act- ities that might disturb the pub lic or seriously affect the rights bf others. Herter described this as a form of "international scrutiny" over one aspect of Berlin's life. Herter delivered the appeal as the conference headed towards whut may be a crucial east-West showdown on Itussia's Berlin de mands. The key item in the Soviet pro posal is establishing of an All German Committee in which the Communist East Germans would have an equal voice with the West Germans. Warning From Rustia The western powers fear such a commission ultimately would re sult in handing over all of Ger many to Communist domination. Gromyko already has warned the Soviets will not sign a Berlin truce agreement unless the West accepts the demand. The Big Four foreign ministers held their third plenary session since the conference resumed Monday after a three-week "cool ing off" recess. The gloom over the deepening deadlock at the conference table was slightly lifted when Gromyko lifted his veto on secret talks. British Foreign Secretary Sel wyn Lloyd conferred privately for two hours at lunch with Rus sia's Andrei A. Gromyko at the Soviet villa. t It was the first of a series of scheduled behind scenes get-togethers between Gromyko and the western foreign ministers. It indi cated Gromyko is ready at last for "coffee cup negotiations" with the western leaders after a four day filibuster in which he refused secret talks unless his East Ger man satellites came along, too. Tougher Soviet Terms But at the same time, he tough ened his stand on Soviet terms for a Berlin truce agreement. Gromyko warned the West in uncompromising terms that it will get no agreement to end the Ber lin crisis unless it accepts Rus sia's plan for an All-German Com mittee in which the East German Reds would have an equal say with the West Germans. The West fears such a set-up ul timately would hand over all Ger many to Red control. Gromyko delivered his warning to the West through Jacob Malik, Soviet ambassador to London. Malik conveyed-it to Britain's am bassador to Moscow, Sir Patrick Reilly, at dinner Wednesday night. The Russians already had intim ated that western acceptance of the loaded All-German committee proposal was their price for a Ber lin truce. But this was the first time they had voiced the warn ing in such unmistakable terms. Hold Third Session The West had a rival plan for setting up a Big Four committee with East and West German ad visers. However, western diplo mats had little hope that Gromyko would accept or even consider it. Licenses Approved ine city commission approved the application of Miller and Burton, Box 36, Elgin, for a mas ter amusement devices license at last night's commission meeting. The commission also approved an amusement devices license for the company on the recom mendation of Oliver Reeve, po nce cniei. son of Glenns Ferry, witnesses in behalf of the train. The action against the train fol lowed an allegation by King Hill rancher Jack Henley that the cavalcade had camped on his land without hia permission. Sevaney and Thompson testified that Serpa had obtained permis sion to camp on Henley's ranch from Jay Emery, foreman of the ranch. The warrant for the charge of trespassing was served by El more County Sheriff Earl Winters s Andrei uromyKO across tne consider bringing an adequate to both West and East Berlin, Reds Won't Start War Nikita Says KATOWICE, Poland (UPI I -Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev said today the Soviet Union is stronger than the West but will never start a war "never, nev er, never." He also said in a speech that Josef Stalin was right in signing his 1939 nonagression pact with Adolf Hitler of Nazi Germany.' Khrushchev said Stalin was cor rect "in this specific case" be cause Britain and France were trying to turn the impending war against the Soviet Union and Stal in had to buy time to prepare. In a one-hour pep talk on the class struggle to some 300 coal miners from 31 countries. Khrush chev boasted the Soviet Union was stronger than the West but') "I pledge solemnly we will nev er launch any war against ny. body else, never, never, never." The Soviet Premier said he felt the capitalist world was "growing a little wiser" and "so I can say to you there will not be a war." Delegates from South America, fU from the Soviet bloc, eave him a hero's welcome, cheering and shouting 'Khrushchev, Khrush chev" when he entered the hall. Zoning Board Report Not Presented The city commission was unable to make any further progress in conjunction with the proposed la goon sewage treatment ponds. A report from the Joint City County Zoning Board for the air port was not presented to the com mission as expected at last nights meeting. Bob Zweifel, chairman of board. was present at the meeting and stated that according to the regul ations of , the board it was not necessary for them to take any ac tion at this time. A permit for construction on the airport property must be obtained from the zoning board Zweifel con tinued. Until such time as that permit is requested the board will not deny nor approve any action. The city manager was directed by the commission to take the necessary steps for obtaining the permit. City To Rent Equipment ine city commission approvea a request from Jonnson ana Me loy of Salem, Oregon, for the rental of city equipment at last night's meeting. The construction company. which has been employed to re model the armory, requested the use of a compressor and jackhanv nier for approximately two days. The city will provide the equip ment, complete with fuel and driver, at the rate of $7.90 per hour. City Manager Fred J. Young said this equipment is the most requested piece of equip nient the city owns. Dismissed Cavalcade earlier today. Henley swore out the warrant when he charged the train had stopped on his land without hia permission. "No one asked my persmisslon and nobody has any authority to talk for me," said Henley. "We have a property protection prob lem out here and a-lot of people think they're privileged. They Just moved in and took possession." The train is headed for Boise and is expected to arrive hers Saturday,