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About La Grande observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1959-1968 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 20, 1959)
OBSERVER WEATHER Partly cloudy with a few scattered showers Friday; high 67-73; low tonight 38-46. 304th Issut 63rd Year LA GRANDE, OREGON, THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 1959 Pric 5 Cent LA GRAND E i" ,, A; V, K . . , Sl 'Si " 4 V , ' if " iJ v r , j'lSri "av y. ' ' " A iv '-If- l Ji fS I? - W o uo'-Z .. RESCUERS Rescue workers dug wheels and pieces of bent metal out of debris in Madison Canyon today where the occu pants of 30 cars and trailers are believed buried by the mammoth slide shown above. The slide was formerly a Slide-Choked River Canyon Probed For Quake Victims WEST YELLOWSTONE. Mont. UPIi Helicopters, ground searchers and skin divers scoured the still-trembling, slide-choked Madison River Canyon today for additional victims of the disas trous earthquake that hit the area Monday night. . - Two more minor quakes shook jittery southwest Montana during the night but apparently caused Congressman Squirted With Sulfuric Acid WASHINGTON IVPI An FBI laboratory check showed to day that sulfuric acid was used in an attack on Hop. I'raak Thompson D-N.J.. Thompson was squirted with Hie acid f-om a passing truck while driving to work Tuesday. No ar rests have been ma-le and police were at a loss today to explain the incident. Thompson said a passenger in the truck shot the fluid at him from a syringe. A dron or so struck his arm and some landed on the side of his automobile. At the request of police, the El!l late Wednesday ran a laboratory check on the congressman's shirt and scraping from the car. Thompson threw his arm up to protect his face, lie noted later that the fluid had burned a hole in his shirt and left red marks on his arm. The test showed the liquid was sulfuric acid of almut the concen tration used in auto batteries, ac cording to Lt. J. Y. Cheiinault of the Washington police. Thompson was a key figure in the House fight over la!xr reform legislation. He said he had re ceived seve-al threatening tele phone calls in recent weeks in connection with the legislation. But Thompson doubted that the attack had any connection with his role as an architect of the Democratic - sponsored "moder ate" labor reform bill. He shrugged off the incident as the work of a "crank." Later his office raised the pos sibility it mig'nt have stemmei from a traffic mixup. An aide said one of the possibilities men tioned was that Thompson might have cut in front of the truck a.;d antagonized the driver earlier. The spokesman said Thompson was not aware that he actually did this, but it was a possi bility. Drivers Are Involved In Two-Car Accident A two-car collision involving a La Grande and an Elgin driv?r was reported to police today. Claude D. McBride. Elgin, was driving north on Spruce St. and attempted to turn onto Jackson Ave. Glen Kilgore. 1811 V Ave., was driving south on Spruce, the police reported. The two cars collided at the intersection of Spruce and Jack con according to police. PROBE MOUNTAIN SLIDE FOR VICTIMS no damage or further landslides. The quakvs and slides took nine known dead and an untold number of campers were feared buried under millions of tons of rock and earth that thundered in to the steep river valley when the s.de of a mountain1 collapsed. Four helicopters whirled over the mammoth slide area and over the seven-mile long lake that is gradually widening and deepening between Hebgen Dam and the slide. Looking for Bodies For the second day. a 30-man ground party looked among rocks and shattered trees in the mam moth slide for bodies that may be on the surface. At Hebgen Lake, four skin div ers -ar.d six others using light Navy diving equipment searched underwater for a car and trailer retried to have been sighted Wednesday. They took culling torches with them, but at last re port had not found the vehicles. Their search was hampered by miiddy water. ' Civil defense and Montana high way officials said no attempt would he made to dig into the slide to look for campers feared buried alive when the mountain collapsed. Estimates of the num ber of campers believed buried rarged from SO to UK). "Wc probably won't know for weeks how many are missing," a KcJ Cross suokr-sman said to- Roy L. Long Passes Test With 100 Score Roy L. Long who went to work in the county assessor's office in 1053. has passed his first Civil Service exam with a perfect 100 per cent correct. Prior to taking the "apprais ( r one" examination. Long work ed at the assessor's office as part of the on-the-job training pro gram. Previously employed with the ccrps of engineers at Walla Wal la. Long is married and has one child. REAL DOWN-TO-EARTH Brass Tacks Cold Due When Ike And WASHINGTON L"PI Presi dent Eisenhower aid Soviet Pre mier Nikita Khrushchev are ex pected to hold brass tacks cold war talks when the Russian lead er returns to Washington at the end of his 12-day tour of the United States. President Eisenhower probably will take the Soviet leader to his Camp David retreat in Mary land's Catoctin Mountains for their real down-to-earth discus sions after Khrushchev has com large portion of the mountain at the right which col lapsed, sending 50 million tons of earth into a camp site below. The slide nearly blocks the Madison River (left). " (NEA Photo) day. "Most of these people were tourists and it won t be known whether they're missing until they fail to return home after their vacations." Campgrounds Wot Full The .landslide plunged down on campgrounds 4lieved filled -to ca pacity. "There might be 100 people un der that slide or there mieht be only a few," said Madison Coun--ty Deputy Sheriff V. H. Brown. hToBatjly we U never know." Eight bodies were recovered from slides and a ninth victim died in a Bozeman hosDital. An- proximately 60 persons were in jured. 14 of them senniislv Federal and state officers were expected to confer with Gov. J Hrgo Aronson in Helena today to determine what could be done to recover possible victims from "ladison Canyon. They were also expected (o dis cuss the serious threat of floods in the Madison Valley. The giant slide blocked the normal flow of the Madison River, and a huge lake is forming between the slide a-ca and Hebgen Dam. Bend Man Applies For Manager Post ine cny commission accepted a letter from a formnr I.a r, ran Hp man, now a Bend resident, for the soon to be vacated City Man ager's position. Jimes L. Shoemake became the first applicant for the city man ager's position that will be va cated Sept. 2 with (he reiigna lion of Fred J. Young. Shoemake applied for the job in 1956 and W imp nf (he six applicants interviewed for the position. He is presently employ ed as the District Sanitarian fnr the Oregon State Board of Health. jjnoemaKe in his letter said he felt that the experience he has acquired since 1956 made him even better qualified to fill the post than when he applied three ears ago. DISCUSSIONS pleted his coaM-to-coast swing. The Soviet hader arrives in Washington Sept. IS. His initial stay here is expected to consist principally of the ceremonial as pects of such an official visit He then will make a quick swing taking him to New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles. Des Moines, Pittsburgh, and back to Washington. During a two-day stay in Des Moines, he will motor to a Coon Rapids com farm and also go by 'ENLIGHTENING' SHOW FOR NIKI DES MOINES, Iowa (UPI) Sovitt Premier Nikita S. Khrushchev has been asked to watch a teen-ege rock 'n' roll dance on hit visit to this country -next month. Tom . Archer, operator of the Vel Air Ballroom in West Des Moines, said he sent a tele gram Invitation to Khrush chev Wednesday. "I'm sure you will find it an enlight- ening experience," th tele-' gram said. " Batista Moves To Portugal LISBON. Portugal iUPD For mer Cuban Dictator Fulgencio Ba tista arrived here today by char tered plane from the Dominican Republic for a new hnmc-in-exile He was promptly whisked away by police. He left Ciudad Truiillo Wednes day night and his plane landed here after a transatlantic (light that put an additional 3.000 miles between him aid Cuban Premier Fidel Castro, who overthrew his regime last Jan. 1. No one was allowed within hail mg distance of Batista's plane when it landed at the far end of the airport. Newsmen, photograph ers and television men were held off by police. Batista was escorted into a wait ing limousine which moved off at once wun lour other cars in pro cession. He was believed headed for the New Hotel Ritz. Before he left Ciudad Trujillo, informed sources said Ratista planned to go on to the Madeira Islands, where he will live as a political exile with the p-rmission or the Portuguese government. City Dads Accept Bid For Fire Hose Buy The city commission accept' d a bid from a Washington firm for the purchase of KM feet of fire hose. The K. Dimcov company of Red mond, Wash., submitted a bid of $1.20 a foot for the 2'i inch fire hose. Delivery was promised within thirty days. War Talks Niki Meet automobile to Iowa State College at Ames. Khrushchev's refusal to visit any military installations in the United States apparently stems from the Russian's desire to avoid showing President Eisen hower similar facilities when he makes his return visit to the So viet Union later this fall. The Russians are sticklers for reci procity in such matters. There still is no definite infor mation as to whether Khrushchev will bring his wife with him. Both Support From Controversial Aspects Of Labor Reform Bill Due For Consideration WASHINGTON (UPI) Senate-House conferees today approached the controversial issues which could shatter their two days of harmony legislation. Several conferees reported the 14 man committee would sial issues tnis atiernoon. ho Satellite Recovery Is Hoped VANDENBERG AFB. Calif. H'Pli Giant Air Force cargo planes left Hawaii today prepared to try a spectacular aerial snatch of the Discoverer VI satellite cap sule in a few hours. If all goes well, the 300-pound instrument capsule was scheduled to be popped from the satellite and plunge from several hundred miles above earth at about 3:25 p.m. p.d.t. If the eight CI 19 Flying Boxcars miss catching it with trapez-like "sky hooks" as it plummets to earth, two ships carrying heli copters and frogmen will try to pick it from the sea. The first flight of the planes left Hickam Field, Hawaii, at 10:50 a.m. to fly to the recovery area some 700 miles southwest of Hawaii. The 1,700-pound satellite car ried no life, but success in to day's hoped-for recovery proba bly would mark the . scheduling soon of sending a monkey aloft in a recoverable capsule. Following Wednesday's success ful orbiting of the second Dis coverer satellite in less than a week. Maj. Gen. O. J. Ritland commander of the Air Force Bal listic Division, and Herschel J. Brown, vice president of Lockheed Missile and Space Division, de clared in a joint statement: "Through the information and experience gained in the Discov erer series, the Advanced Re search Projects Agency, the Air Force and Lockheed rapidly are preparing the way for launching of the first man in space. Recovery area for Discoverer VI's package was a 200 by 50 mile section in the Pacific Ocean south of Ihe Hawaiian Islands. Success depended on split-second timing. Gov. Hatfield Will Consider Bid For Veep SAN FRANCISCO (UPIl Republican Gov. Mark O. Hat field. 37, of Oregon said today he would give "very serious consid eration" to accepting any bid for the GOP vice presidential nomi nation in l'J60. The governor said he had briefed Vice President Richard M. Nixon and New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller on the May, l!l0, Oregon primary election. This primary is expected to be an early test for GOP presidential hopefuls. Hatfield also discounted the presidential potential of California Gov. Edmund G. Brown. He said he thought Brown would win the Democratic nomination "only un der deadlock" or if he makes serious bids in state primary elec tions outside California. Hatfield, however, played down his own chances for the vice pres idential nomination. He said he thought the Republicans would nominate a Midwest candidate. The governor was here to cam paign for new industries for Oregon. Woman Reports Theft Of Son's Pickup Truck A La Grande woman reported the theft of her son's pickup truck to police this morning. Mrs. H. A. Courtney, 1506 V Ave., told pelice that a blue 1941 truck belonging to her son Dale H. Courtney was taken from in back of the residence sometime during tne night police stated. The truck had Oregon license p'ate number 8A-2971, police re ported. Industry, in' compromise labor reform there was a cood chance plunge into the big controver tar tne conierees nave voted general agreement on relatively non-controversial matters in their quest for labor reform legislation that will satisfy both Congress and President Eisenhower. Accord was reached Wednesday on provisions for reporting by un ion officials and employers, union trusteeships, and election of un ion officers. There was no great difference between the House and Senate versions on these provi sions. The section to be acted upon when the conferees reconvened at mid-morning involved bonding and other safeguards against impro prieties by union officials. With this 'out of the way the committee will move on to the explosive final two sections of the bill. These deal with organiza tional picketing, secondary boy cotts and assignment of jurisdic tion in labor disputes to state courts or agencies. It isi in these areas that the nouse Lanurum - unitin Bill is tougher than the Senate Kennedy- t-rvm measure. The Senate meas ure is regarded as somewhat sterner in many provisions of the first five sections. Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz.l. advocate of the. House bill's or ga'iizational picketing and sec ondary boycott sections, said that if there is no agreement in sight by Kriday or Monday on the dis puted sections he would expect aen. jonn r. Kennedy (D-Mass.) to tell the Senate so. The next step, he said, could then be for the House and Senate to ratify those parts of the bill on which the conferees agreed ana vote on inose mat were deadlocked. Complaints Heard By Commissioners On Traffic Rule Complaints from drivers in re gard to the crossing of the ye! low line on Adams Ave. wis dis cussed by-city commissioners last night. A letter from Police Chief Oliv er Reeve to the commission said that he has been in contact with officials of the Oregon State Po lice in regard to the regulation. The letter also said that Reeve had directed policemen to not issue tickets for this violation in delinatcly or until the commis sion determines a course of ac tion. ' u:...'. (V "V- ' ' " '. . . ' .r. V't'-..tw.' r"V ' ' "- n , 1 Frank Rohan, a lineman for California-Pacific Utilities Co. works on a pole south east of La Grande that burnt in half. Officials for the company said the insulator was defective or destroyed and the rain yesterday shorted the wire. The accident caused power failure In the Cove and Union area before linemen could repair the damage. (Observer Photo) Union Claim Mitchell Facts y;: - i V: 7 - . . I - H. H. BUSHNELL Observer Writer at Wallowa Herbert Bushnell Writes Observer News In Wallowa Herbert II. ' Bushnell is the new Observer correspondent for Wallowa. Bushnell has worked on newspapers most of his life. He graduated from Wabash college and studied law in Topcka and Durango, Colo. He was the first editor of the Oiegon Farmer and has worked for many papers including the Los Angeles Sunday Times. Bushnell's first newspaper job was at the age of 12. At ono point in his career he edited two dailies in Aspen, Colo. Ray D'Autremont One Step Nearer Possible Parole SALEM (UPI) Ray D'Autre mont, one of three brothers con victed of murder in a M23 Siski you mountain train robbery at tempt, was a step nearer possible parole today. D'Autremont, entered a plea of second degree murder to an old charge in Mcdford Wednesday and was re-sentenced to life. Cir cuit .ludge James Main also dis missed other Jackson county charges against him. Ray D'Autremont is seeking pa role in the same manner that his younger brother, Hugh, eventually won freedom by clearing up old charges arising from the 1M.1 crime in which four ' trainmen were killed. - Hugh was paroled early this year but died a short while later in San Francisco. Ray's twin broth er, Roy, is still in custody. WALKING ON AIR Outlook Is Still 'Gloomy' j WASHINGTON IL'PP Indusi try officials and the United Steel workers Union both claimed to day that the fact-finding report of Labor Secretary James P; Mitchell supported their widely divided positions in the 37-day-old steel strike. The industry said Mitchell's statistics showed high wages, lag; ging profits and lowering workei productivity. The union contended the report made public Wednesday night, re vealed huge industry earnings and great employee productivity. Mitchell himself declined to in terpret the 18-pages of chartis and figures he gathered that both sides knuckle down to hard bar gaining and settle the strike "promptly." Serious Shortage Possible ', Unless the steel strike is set' tied by "the latter part of SepJ (ember or the early part of Oc tober, very serious shortages of steel may be apparent," ha added. This statement was viewed as! an indication the government probably would wait at least an' other month before Eisenhowee considered invoking the emergen cy provisions of the Taft-Hartley Act. This section permits an in junction to end a strike for 80 days if the President finds the See STEEL On Page 6 Local Girls Escape Quake, In Yellowstone Two local girls who are work- in gin Yellowstone National Park were unharmed by Tuesday night's earthquake. Carolyn Sperling who is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Augie Sperling was returning from tha movies with seven other park workers when the quake hit. They were in a car about 12 miles in from the west entrance to the park. The tremor made their car shake and the noise made them think that they had a tire blow out, Carolyn's father said. They wore marooned in that area fnr two nights and had to sleep in the car. Judy Wardell who is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. R. D. Wardell works at Old Faithful, but the quake "wasnt bad where he was". Mi's. Wardell said. Judy was coming into the dor mitory where she is staying when the quake hit. Because she cnuldn t call out from the park, the Wardell's wore unable to reach Judy by phone until last night. ' . mm