Fire Danger Stays High; East Oregon Flames Controlled IDAHO FIRE BUftNS 10,000 ACRES; THREATENS HOMES Mop-up operations are underway on the fire that blazed through. 400 to 600 acres of timber Sunday above Upper Perry bridge. Seventy men are still at work on the area confining flames to the lines put in yesterday morning. The fire is now under control and crews had no difficulty during the, night. "The mop-up is going as planned," said V. M. Curtis, LA OBSERVER 292th Issue LA GRANDE, OREGON, TUESDAY, AUGUST 4, 1959 Price 5 Cent mprovement Is Noted V Tax Bill Petition Is Filed SALEM HTD Oregon's ma jor state income tax bill today was referred to the people for a vide in the.lWO general election liy a group known as the Citizens Committee on Economy and Equitable Taxation. William Gwinn, Albany, presi dent of the Committee', filed some 30.000 signatures with the secre tary of state's elections division about 10:30 a.m. Law requires 21.070 votes to refer a legislative measure to the people. Present when the petitions pre sented were Secretary of State Howell Appling and Elections Chief Jack Thompson. ' The bill referred for a vote would raise state income taxes, especially in the middle income brackets. This would be done by juggling rates and eliminating the federal offset for state income taxes paid. Effect Problematical However. Gwinn said that no initiative would be needed for a new tax bill as the state "will still have surplusses under the old tax law." The Elections Division will check the petitions which have been certified by county officers and require expense statements from the Committee.. The State Tax' Commission re search division has indicated that the state can make it through the 195941 biennium even if the ref erendum is successful, although it added it was difficult to fore cast revenues. Rigid Economist" asked Gov. Mark Hatfield said the state could make it if "rigid econ omies" were practiced. Successful referral of the bill would cost the state approximate ly 10 million dollars in tax rev enue. The Commission does not be lieve it likely that a state prop erty tax would have to be levied in 1960-61 if the referral is success ful and Gov. Hatfield has no plans at present to call a special ses sion of the Legislature to consid er tax problems State Finance Department offi cials have said that if the people should defeat the new tax law, it will be harder to find sufficient revenues in 1961. Three Children Burn To Death In Idaho Blaze NAMPA, Idaho (LTD Three small children burned to death .'Monday afternoon when a fire flashed through a flimsy play house at their home here. They were Cathey, 6. Mark, 5 and Mary Jo, 4, children of Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Bryant of Nampa The wooden playhouse, which was about four feet high, was badly burned before the Fire De partment could arrive. The fire was discovered by Wil lard Bradburn, a next-door neigh bor. The Bryants had six children Canyon County Coroner William Talley said there would be no in quest. SWING BACK TO Hawaii s Nixon As SAN JUAN. Peruto Rico (UPD Gov. William Quinn of the new state of Hawaii said today that Vice President Richard M. Nixon at this time looks like the winner of the 1980 Republican presiden tial nomination. He was unwilling, however, to commit himself yet to either Nix on or New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller. Quinn told a news conference at the 51st Governors Conference 1 District warden. In addition to the increased number of men the forest service has put a 2500 gallon tank truck into operation. Th truck hauls water from the river and then transfers it to smaller four-wheel drive tank trucks. The small trucks are assigned to each section of the fire. Take Some Time Mop up operations will take "some time." They ore mopping 150 feet at a time on the perimeter i of the fire making it almost im possible for the fir? to spread again over the quenched area. i Damage costs will run high but forest service officials are not able to give an exact estimate' yet. A specially trained 25-man crew from Corvallis was called to fight the fire along with logging crews and regular forestry men. Fire danger in Eastern Oregon continues to remain high although forest and range fires were re ported under control. The State Forest Service classified yesterday as Class six, a very hot and dry condition. Conditions Better A- Forest Service spokesman said that conditions wer better now than a few days ago. No lightning storms are apparent. Forest Ser vice officials wished to caution the public to be extremely care ful with fires, lighted cigarettes and matches. The 1.500 acre Deer Creek canyon fire southeast of Baker was reported contained Monday afternoon after firefighters built two miles of fire lines by hand. The blaze, cooled down Monday night and mop-up operations were underway today. Fire still burns inside the perimeter. Mr. E. Davis of the Bureau of Land Management in Baker said that although the fire was under control a large sized crew would work on mop-up operations be cause of the difficulty ff the ter rain. End of Week Davis felt it would be the end of the week before the mop-up operations would be complete. Davis emphasized the fact that the rangers still feel the country is dry and that a lightning storm or carelessness could be extremely dangerous. ' For a time helicopters were used to land firefighters at more difficult spots in Deer Creek canyon. The blaze was in an area so inaccessible that heavy equip ment could not be used. Another fire, in Dark canyon, was reported in fairly good shape. It had covered 2,100 acres includ ing some timber and involved BLM land as well as that under the supervision of the State Forest Service. An overcast condition eased the danger along the coast and in northwest Oregon but the weather bureau said danger remained high elsewhere. 20,000 Acres Burned Major range and forest fires today had eaten their way through and estimated 20,000 acres of grass and timber and were still blazing out of control in Idaho. Four large fires were still con sidered extremely dangerous in the forests of north Idaho. A fire which has burned its way through range and timber near Boise threatennig several ranches, sum mer homes and a business estab lishment was termed "explosive." See FIRE DANGER On Page 3 THE REPUBLICANS New Governor Sees Nomination Winner that at the moment it would look like Nixon will be the Republican candidate in next year's presiden tial race. Quinn credited the strong GOP showing in last month's Hawaiian election to his good, sound Repub lican administration in the terri tory and said it also could reflect a national swing back to the Re publicans. Territorial governor by presiden tial appointment, Quinn was elect tin j vj 7 i , - , . : -. ; " - ' .MM M II I 1 ' I II I V lll'l I II ll 1 I W. M. Curtis, District Warden for Northeastern Oregon, timekeeper for the fire, the exact location of the Sunday map. The fire was under control today. Rackets Group Report Levels Blast At Hoffa's Activities WASHINGTON UPI The Senate Rackets Committee assert ed in a new report today that teamsters President James ft. Hoffa "will successfully destroy the decent labor movement in the United, States if his power re mains unchecked. The committee outlined a 21 point indictment against the con troversial boss of the nation's largest union in the first sec tion of an interim report based on its 1958 hearings. It charged that Hoffa has formed, or is attempting to form, alliances with elements of crime, corruption and Communists both within and without the giant truck drivers' union. ' The section of the report deal- General Motors Bids For Defense Dollars DETROIT UPD Election of Dr. James R. Killian Jr., to the Board of Directors of General Motors, was viewed today as a bid by GM to get a bigger share of space-age defense dollars.. Killian, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was for mer chairman of President Ei senhower's Science Advisory Com mittee. He also has held several other government posts, and has been since 1956 a member of the Two La Grande Men Arrested Two La Grande men were ar rested on charges of disorderly conduct by La Grande police last night. Kenneth Scott Bray, 507 Adams, and Dale Ward McKee, 1423 X Ave., were picked up by police at Chestnut and Adams at 11:05. Bray's ball was set at $50 and a hearing scheduled at three this afternoon. McKee posted $50 bail and his hearing was scheduled for 3 p. m. Wednesday afternoon. ed .first governor of the state. He said President Eisenhower is expected to issue the statehood proclamation in mid-August, allow ing time for the new members of Congress to be seated before Con gress adjourns for this year. Earlier, a five-governor commit tee proposed to the conference a combined federal, state and local effort to provide civilian protec tion against radioactive fallout as "a major contribution to peace." THIS IS THE SPOT ing with Hoffa was expected to be filed in the Senate later today. Parts dealing with three other unions will be filed Wednesday and other sections will follow la ter in the month. Cie Ties With Racketeer-V The committee lambasted Hoffa and his associates on a half-dozen points, including his "faithless ness" to his own union, his "cal lous repression of democratic rights" and his ties with racke teers. The committee recalled that it had called Hoffa's union leader ship "tragic"' in an earlier report then, it said, testimony of "even more sordid nature" has de veloped. The report did not touch on the President's board of consultants on foreign intelligence activities. His election to the GM boa-d parallels another recent move by the giant automobile corporation. Less than two months ago. Har old L. Boyer, corporation execu tive considered an expert in avia tion and missiles, was assigned the job of attracting more defense contracts to GM. During World War II and the Korean War, General Motors was one ' of the nation's top defense contractors, ast year, however. GM re ceived only 1.2 per cent of the Pentagon's contracts. Its two big gest competitors in the automotive field. Ford and Chrysler, have made long strides into government business. Ford recently made Aeronutron ic Systems. Inc., a California firm it bought three years ago. a divi sion of the Ford Motor Co., and also has received contracts for development of highly mobile mil itary vehicles. Chrysler is a big missile pro ducer, manufacturing the 1 1 etl -stone and the Jupiter. Ike Is Sending Gift Of Cattle To Khrushchev HELSINKI, Finland (UPD Three cows and three bulls, a gift from President Eisenhower to So viet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, arrived here today on their jour ney to the Soviet Union. The animals, presented to Khrtishchev during the visit of First Deputy Premier Anastas Mikoyan in the U. S. earlier this year, arrived on the Swedish American Lines Bo-eholm and and were transferred to a Soviet railroad car for transportation to Moscow. The animals will arrive in the Soviet Union Wednesday. They will be transported to a Ministry of Agriculture farm outside Moscow where they will become progeni tors of an American breed of cat tle in Russia. riyht, shows Gene Manock, blaze on the Forest Service (Observer Photo) recent hearings involving Hoffa. Those findings will be included in its final report expected to be pub lished next January. In l'.i.'iS, it said, "ignominy was piled on ignominy as the testi mony wove through stories of vio lence, financial manipulations, cal Urns repression of democratic rights and racketeer control." In the face of this "ugly sit nation," it said, Hoffa and some of his union underlings appeared to take the attitude that "they are above the law." "Betrayed Union Members" The report said Hoffa sought to "justify his outrageous behavior by claiming he was acting in the best interests of his union mem bers. But. it said, "he has betraved these members so frequently that it has become absolutely clear that Hoffa's chief interest is in his own advancement and that of his friends and cronies a great number of whom are racketeers. ". . .These examples serve to destroy . Hoffa's self-painted pic ture as a steadfast champion of working people." Among its findings, the commit tee concluded that Hoffa had: "Used union funds for his own benefit and that of his friends. "Consistently -supported the interests of racketeer friends over those of his own members." "Connived with and maneu vered union insurance to racketeer friends, bringing these friends gi gantic profits." Made attempts to consolidate the Teamsters Union with unions expelled from organized labor for Communist domination. "In the history of the country it would be hard to find a labor leader who has so shamefully abused his members of his trust, the rexrt said. Steel Wage Bargaining Talks Fail To Make Deadlock Break NEW YORK (LTD Negotiators met with federal mediators today in the third joint bargaining ses sion since the start of the 3-week old steel strike. There was no in dication of any break in their deadlocked pos. lions. either union nor industry rep resentatives would comment on the salvo of charges fired by each side Monday night. Federal Mediator Joseph F. Finnegan also declined to com ment on the charges. At the Governors Conference in Puerto Rico, six Democratic gov ernor introduced a resolution culling foe a speedy settlement of the strike and for the appoint ment of a committee of governors to meet-with President Eisenhow er and explore possible remedies Sponsors of the resolution were Govs. Foster Furcolo of Massa chusetts. Orville L. Freeman ol Minnesota, Albert D. Rosellini of Washington, Gay lor A.' Nelson of In Red - UN Talk Nikita By Expected WASHINGTON UPD Soviet Premier Nikita S. Khrushchev probably will address the United Nations General Assembly when he visits this country next month but there is little chance he will address Congress. These and other details of the historic 13-day visit, which begins Sept. 12, were learned today. News of Khrushchev's visit brought mixed but generally fa vorable reaction from American leaders. The reaction from veter an Washington security men was unanimous, however it will be tough job guarding the leader of world communism whose barbed verbal attacks on the United States have been legion. No details of President Eisen hower's return visit to the Soviet Union this full were immediately available. Menthlkov Aids Planning Soviet Ambassador Mikhail A. Menshikov is taking a lead in working out arrangements for the visit Nothing definite has been de cided on Khrushchev's trip and pro bably won't be for several weeks. But preliminary talks indicate the Soviet leader's itinerary probably will include: Two days in New York City, including a speech to the U. N. General Assembly which convenes Sept. 15. An appearance on a nation wide television broadcast, most likely a speech. This may be his talk to the U. N. Assembly. A cross-country tour including visits at least to Detroit and San Francisco. Trjls would follow the pattern set by Khrushchev' Dep uties Anastas I. Mikoyan and Frol R. Kozlov on their tours earlier this year. Khrushchev has expressed a particular desire to see San Francisco. Attendance at a college foot ball game, or a baseball game if the football date cannot be ar ranged. Nixon To Clear Picture Much will depend on the Soviet premier's desires. A clear idea of these will be available to nego tiators when Vice President Rich ard M. Nixon returns later this week from his trip to Russia and Poland. Nixon talked with Khrus hchev about the visit while he was in Moscow. Union Pacific Train Tied Up For Six Hours BAKER UPI) The Union Pacific main line was tied up for about six hours Monday when one car of a west-bound freight train derailed 16 miles east of here. There were no injuries. , A railroad spokesman said a bearing failed and one car of the loo-car freight left the track at 7:10 a. m. -Crews had the main line clear again about 1 p.m. The east . bound streamliner Portland Hose was delayed for six hours at Baker 'and a west bound mail and express train was also delayed six hours. Main engineer of the freight was Ray White of La Grande. Wisconsin, G. Mennen Williams of Michigan and Edmund G. Brown of California. After Monday's meeting, Finne gan said: "The status quo is still quo as far as their positions are con cerned." The union and 'industry state ments Monday were in a sense answers to Secretary of Labor James P. Mitchell who castigated both sides Saturday for failing in their responsibilities to bargain. But they wound up as slaps at each other, and an apparent stif fening of the antagonistic posi tions which Drought about the nationwide strike. The industry statement, issued by R. Conrad Cooper, head of the four-man team representing 12 major steel companies, said "it will take more than mere, meet ings and discussions to end this strike. It will take a change of union attitude.. .When Mr. Mc U.S. Relations ESCAPE ARTIST BACKS UP BOAST WIGGINS, Miss. (UPI) Au thorities today searched for an escape artist who they teid picked a lock to 9t out of the city jail, sawed three bars to free his wife from the county jell, then picked an auto dealer's lock to steel a pickup truck. C. B. McNair, 29, of Hat tiesburg. Miss., had boasted earlier "there ain't no jail that can hold me." Nixon Pays Visit To Cathedral WARSAW UPI Vice Presi dent Richard M. Nixon paid a surprise visit today to the War saw cathedral of Stephan Cardi nal Wyszynski. but the Polish primate was "on vacation." The official explanation for fail ure of Nixon and the cardinal to meet was given by a vice presi dential spokesman, who said that Wyszynski went on vacation Mon day. However, Nixon himself had said Monday he had no plans to meet the cardinal, but that no request had been made on his behalf for such a meeting. Western diplomatic circles here had said in advance of Nixon's arrival Sunday that they felt a visit by the vice president to the cardinal would be diplomatically unwise. Wyszynski, spiritual leader of 25 million Polish Roman Catho lics, remains the storm center of troubled church- state relations. Diplomatic sources felt a visit by Nixon to the cardinal would be impolite to his official hosts, Po land's Communist government. Destroyed by Germans Even more important, they felt, was that a meeting with Nixon would seriously weaken Wyszyn ski's precarious position here. The cardinal has managed to keep the church strong in Poland even through the last harsh years of the Stalinist era. Even though the cardinal was "on vacation," a huge throng gathered across the square out side the medieval brick cathedral which was destroyed by the Ger mans in World War II in reprisal for the Warsaw uprising. It was later rebuilt. - Nixon also drew big and enthu siastic audiences on visits to the ruins of the Warsaw Ghetto: to Palmiry. grave of many Polish intellectuals who were extermi nated by the Nazis; and to War saw University. Visits Grim Graveyard At the Ghetto, where 70,000 Jews were exterminated and from which another 600,000 were hauled off to their deaths, Nixon made a moving speech. Nixon was virtually mobbed by several hundred people, including a number of Polish war veterans, outside the cemetery. He told the veterans he would convey their greetings personally to American veterans when he visits the Amer ican Legion in Minneapolis Aug. 20 and the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Los Angeles Sept. 1. Donald Is willing to engage In two-way bargaining, and when he is ready to give up the idea of having the government make a settlement for him in response to the crisis he alone created, then a sensible, non-inflationary agree ment should be possible." United Steelworkers of America President David J. McDonald re plied that the industry had issued ."an ultimatum" to the union and "an ultimatum to the government of the United States." They "ar rogantly say the shutdown can be settled only on their terms,'' Mc Donald said. In Washington, Sen. Stuart Sy mington (D-Mo.) made a new appeal to President Eisenhower to sit tha negotiators down in the White House and make them bar gain. If this fail, Symington said, Eisenhower should name an Im partial public board to study the situation and make recommenda tions for settlement. World Reaction Favorable MOSCOW (UPD - The climate of Soviet-American relations im proved sharply and suddenly with the announcement that President Eisenhower and Premier Nikita Khrushchev will exchange visits. The mutual agreement, reached during Vice President Richard M. Nixon's tour of eastern Europe, effectively consummated Khrush chev's often-expressed desire for a face-to-face meeting with Eisen hower. The story was headline news from Berlin to Bangkok, and world reaction was generally fa vorable. Even those who held no high hope of agreement felt that it would be a good thing for Khrushchev to see the United States and gauge for himself its desire for peace. Khrushchev is a firm believer in the advantages of personal contacts between world leaders. There was widespread belief that his meetings with Eisenhower wi( be a prelude to Big Four sum mit talks. The enthusiastic reception that greeted Nixon on most 1 stops in his tour of Russia also was a fa vorable augury for the Presi dent's visit. The vice president was virtually unknown in Russia before his tour, but Eisenhower is still warmly remembered as a wartime ally. A sampling of man-in-ihe-street opinion in Moscow indicated a general feeling that "nothing but good can result" from the viska. It also revealed considerable good will be Eisenhower. Serum Saves ' Former Local Residents A serum flown into Idaho Falls has apparently saved the lives of Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth H. Nelson. They are two of the family of five stricken' with botulism poison last week. Aaron Gruwell, 7S. and Wanda, 15, have died, and Martha Nelson. 4, was hospitalized tor ob servation and reported all right. Kenneth Nelson is the son OT Horace J. Nelson of La Grand He was born here. His father flew to Idaho Falls as soon as he r ceivrd word Thursday. Horace Nelson returned home Sunday with word of Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Nelson's improvement. The Nelson family is from Kan sas City, Mo., and were visiting with the Gruwells. Mrs. Gruwella is his mother. The family ate some home canned beets Tuesday evening at Gruwell s farm, tour miles west of Idaho Falls. The stricken family members did not go to the hospital until Wednesday as they thought they had the flu. Anti-toxin serum had to be rush ed to the family from all over the nation. The largest shipment of 20 vials was flown to Idaho Falls from New York City in an Air Force Jet. Physicians said that the treatment takes three days and. that large amounts are needed to counteract the toxic effects pro duced by the botulism bacilli. Indians Exempt : From Taxes On Celilo Payments .- WASH1NUIUN (UPI) Indi ans of four Oregon and Washing ton tribes will not have to pay income tax on payments made by the federal government for the loss of their fishing rights at Celilo Falls. Legislation to exempt the $26 600,000 from state and federal In come tax haa been signed Into' law by Pres.x Eisenhower. The amount was credited to the ac count of the Yakima, Nex Perce, Umatilla and Warm Spring tribes and will later be distribut ed to the Individual Indians. - The fishing rights were lost when the Indian's fishing site at Celilo Falls was submerged by backwater from The Dalles dam. WEATHER T Fair through Wednesday: high 88-9; low 88-44.