La Grande observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1959-1968, October 19, 1959, Page 1, Image 1

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    LA GRAND
E
DBS
ERVER
WEATHER
Fair tonight; Increasing
cloud Tuesday; hight 42-48;
low 28-34.
:l
41st Issue 64th Year
Clemency
By Chessman
Turned D
Red-Light
Bandit To
Die Friday
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (UP1)
Gov. Edmund G. Brown
today refused to save the life
of Caryl Chessman, kidnaper
a rapist and best-selling author
who is scheduled to die next
Friday in the San Quentin
Prison gas chamber.
"I have used the power of
clemency before," the gover
nor said in a formal state
ment, "and in proper cases
I will use it again. I do not be
lieve this is a proper case.""'
World-Wida Controversy
Chessman, who wrote a best
seller called "Cell 2455, Death
Row" during his almost 12 years
in the shadow of the gas chamber,
has become the object of a world
wide controversy between those
who oppose the death penalty and
those who feel his long series of
crimes deserves the maximum
punishment.
Failure by the governor to grar.t
clemency means that the doomed
man's final hope to escape the
gas chamber will be the U. S.
Supreme Court whe e a petition
row is pending seekirg a last re
view of his case.
The Supreme Court petition and
the governor's clemency decision
were about the only chances for
life left the infamous bandit, kid
naper, rapist, psychopath, and au
thor. ,
Asked by Brown at the clemen
cy hearing wha: legal avenues re
mained for his client, defense at-,
torney George T. Da'is mentioned
only the Supreme Court appeal
the loth in Chessman's 11-ycar
battle against death.
Delay Til Nov. 18th Asked
The petition to the high court
asked first of all for a stay of
execution for Chessman until Nov.
18. This was to give Chessman's
attorneys the full deadline limit
until Nov. 4 to appeal a state
Supreme Court decisio.1 plus two
weeks.
The stay was to permit a full
Supreme Court review of the case.
The petition took six typewritten
pages just to index the constitu
tional violations claimed by Ches
man as a result of his trial. 16
lower court appeals and the nine
Supreme Court actions.
Brown said his decision in the
clemency hearing was whether so
ciety would best be served by
sending Chessmai to the gas
chamber or permitting him to live
the rest of his life behind bars.
Chessman himself, through his
attorney, said he did not want the
clemeney hearing. He claimed he
was innocent and wanted either
vindication or death. Brown said
he personally was convinced that
Chessman was guilty of all the
5,
.
, ,
PASSES THROUGH THIS AREA Residents of La Grande, Haines, North Powder
and Perry will be afforded an opportunity to witness this across-the-nntion exhibit
Tuesday morning when the "rolling redwood" truck passes through. The redwood ex
hibit is being displayed by the Georgia-Pacific Corp. It will make stops in Haines at
8:45 a.m.; North Powder, 9:15; La Grande, 10:30; and Perry 10:40.
own
Local School
To Attend White House Meet
Harvey Carter, princial of 1-a j
Grande Junior High School, has
been selected to represent I'nion
County ct the White House Con- j
ference on Childrm and Youth. I
The local committee announced;
that the conference was being held
at Washington. D. C. March 27 to
April 2 of 10. Carter has re- j
ccived special leave o.' absence j
from his school administrative i
duties lo attend the confab.
A special study on youth needs
in Union County has been made by
the group here and i.s report for
warded to Oregon Gov. Mark Hat-
ritiM'c etulA pnmmtd, Ilia .imiin
wji, in turn, send the local report
to Washington.
Assistance Needed
Mrs. Robert McPhctridgr, finance
chairman of the I'nion County
Committee, said that it is the re
sponsibility of the local group to
finance the county representative's
CARYL CHESSMAN
crimes for which he was convict
ed. These include 17 felony counts
involving kidnaoing. robbery and
bodily harm. The three violations
together called for the death pen
alty in two of the cases under
California's "Little Lindbergh''
Law.
Similarity of Cases
Davis made the point in the
clemency hearing that these two
cases were similar to two others
in which Brown already had com
muted the death sentence of two
convicts.
The incidents of bodily harm
included forcing female victims to
commit unnatural sex acts.
With an 1Q of 136, the convicted
rapist is in the genius class. His
bcoks, written during his record
breaking tenure in Death How.
earned him praise by book critics
as an accomplished author plus
more than $150,000 in royalties.
' V A !. .'
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LA GRANDE,
IKC ORDERS
NJUNCriGN
WASHINGTON (UPI)
President Eisenhower todsv or
dered the Justice Department
to seek a back to work injunc
tion to end the steel strike.
The chbf executive acted a
few ho'irs after his special
fact-finding board told him la
bor and manaqement were
hopelessly deadlocked in the
7 day-old strike.
"It is a sad day for the na
tion," Eisenhower said.
Superintendent
t ip to Wa.-hing on.
"We believe our ti present Jtive's
attendance at the nu.oual confer
ence is of vital importance to all
parents anil the young piop'e in
I'nion County. We also feel that a'l
p-op'e here are ket nly interested
in the future o." yottug people. We
shall all henelit Irom the progress
made in this con'erence," Mrs.
Mcl'hetridge said.
The local committee also has
extended to people in I'nion
County the opportunity of helping
finance the delegate's trip to Wash
ington. It was advised that any
financial assistance p'aumd by in
dividuals could be done so by
making Ul checks payable to the
finance chairman, M:s. Rcherl
Mcrhetridge. I2 II Ave., I.a
Grande.
New Fire
Pops Up
Near LA
LOS ANGELAS 'CPI' Em
bat led firemen fighting the nea--Iv
week old Los Angeles foothill
lie today had to contend with
a mw hrmh (ire which already
has blackened 3.000 acres.
I . S Forestry Service spokes
man Elmer (isterman said the
new blaze about 20 miles from
the giant foothill fire was being
investigated to see if it was de-
' liberatclv set. Ilo'.h tires were ir
i the spacious Angclt-J National
KorW.r ' ' '
No Ho-nes Thrra'e.-.ed
Some ;00 men ha. I to be pulled
off of the giant foothill fire to
battle the blaze in watershed aid
! crazint! land about eieht miles
northwest of Caslaic. No homes
ere threatened by the new
blaze.
The foothill blaze has burned
a black scar in 13.000 acres of
brush just north of the suburban
communities of La Canada. Alta
deia and I.a Cresenla. Perimeter
of the big blaze was estimated at
45 miles.
Mot than 100 residents in the
La Paloma and Vogol Flats
a eas in the big Tujunga Canyon
above the tip of La Crescenta
had to remain away from their
threatened homes during the
night.
Osterman said the blaze was
slowly working its way down Mt.
Lukens to the homes, but he was
hopeful firemen would be able
j to save them.
Nike Site Threatened
Als(f threatened was a Nike
missile site in the foothills.
I Flames earlier roared within 300
yards of the site and lire offi
cials said they planned to mass
men and equipment there for the
rest of today.
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OREGON MONDAY, OCTOBER 19 1959
Closing Date
On Fellowship
Nominations
I Dr. R y I.. Skeen, Kustern Ore
con College campus representee
for the Woodrow Wilson National
j Fellowship Foundation, today an
nounced Oct. 31 as the closing
I date for nominations.
According to Or. Skeen, the
chief purpose of the fellowship
program is to offset the critical
shortage of qualified college tea
chers by encouraging college
seniors and graduates of oulstand
ing ability to consider college
uai'hing careers.
1000 Fellowships
The Wilson Foundation annually
awards 1000 fellowships for first
.ear graduate study at any uni
versity of the recipients' choic
in tne United States or Canada
These fellowships carry a stipend
of $1500 plus full tuition and
fees, and, in the case of married
Fellows, a dependency allowance
tor wives and children.
Dr. Skeen emphasized that
candidates for the award must
Oe nominated bv a faculty mem
ber, but there i.s no limit on the
age of the candidate or the num
ber of years he may have been
out of college. The program is
open to college graduates in the
ratural and social sciences and
in the humanities. Both men and
women are eligible.
LANZA'S BODY ARRIVES
HOLLYWOOD il'l'Ii The body
of tenor Mario Lanza was flown
here quietly Sunday for his funer
al Wednesday. Mortuary officials
were the only persons at the air
port to meet the jet plane. In
Philadelphia Saturday, about 12.
000 persons had filed by the ten
or's glass-enclosed casket.
Man Will Get Sight
Ah Moon's Dark Side
.lOSCOW UPI - Man may
306 his first loek this week at the
mysterious b'.k of the moon
which has never been turned to
ward the earth. j
The Russians said photographs
of 40 per cent of the lunar sur
face, made by the Soviet Union's
I.unik 111 moan satellite, were
'tSnsmhied Siinduy"-hert the 'sat
ellite skirted the earth. 29,515
miles above the Solomon Islands
in the Pacific.
The official Soviet Tass news
agency said the pictures, taken
about 11 days ago when the satel
lite was reported behind the
moon, are now being processed
by Soviet scientists. It said the
information would be made pub
lic. One Soviet scientist predicted
Imbler Man
To Chairman
Farm Bureau
Ben Robinson, prominent Im
bler farmer, has been elected to
the chairmanship position of the
La Grande Farm Bureau Center.
Rcbinspn, in his spech of ac
ceptance, stressed the importance
of Farm Bureau to its members
and called for strong local sup
port. The incoming officer also
cited the' need for thorough policy
study in this off-legislation year.
Others chosen to serve the I'mSO
term include: vice-chairman, Har
low Speckhart; secretary, Mrs.
Vee Fager; director 2nd yeari.
Sylvan Rasmussen: and director
'1st year 1. Ronne Sands.
Head Up Women
The women's activities will he
chairmaned by Mrs. Guy Spence
and M:s. Harvey Bergeron. They
will be responsible for the yearly
committee books and other func
tions.
Speaker for the evening was Dr.
Douglas Spear. He talked on the
ABC's of International Relations.
Musical entertainment was pro
vided by Harold Hilyard and his
mother during the dinner hour.
The next meeting, important 10
all Farm Bureau members, is
scheduled for Oct. 22 when the
annual I'nion County Farm Bu
reau meeting will take p'ace at
the hall.
Charles Coburn, 83,
Weds 41 -Year-Old Gal
HOLLYWOOD i;PI Charles
Coburn, monoclcd 83 year-old ac
tor who believes that "sex appeal,
like smooth brandy, improves
with age." leaves today for a
week-long honeymoon with his at
tractive 41-year-old bride.
The chipper and gracious artor
refused to reveal where he and
Winnifred Gean Clements Nalika
planned to spend their first week
of marriage.
They were married in a sur
prise civil ceremony in Los Ve
gas, Nev., Sunday and returned
here Sunday night for a receution
at the home of his bride's sister,
Mrs. Lawrence A. Dysart. I
STRIKE OVER
'MARRIAGE'
LONDON (UPI) Britain's
la'est wildcat strike involved
l.SOC men who walked oft the
job because a newly married
welder switched to day work
to please his Irish bride.
Tom Stevenson, 15, sparked
the srike at the British light
steel pressing factory by ask
ing for a transfer from hit
night welding job to the day
start.
He got his transfer.
Shop stewards called the
strike, arguing Stevenson's
switch to day work would mean
fn etra man in he welders'
pool and a consequent cut in
the pool's bonus share plan.
?! Retaliate
By Kicking
Out Soviet
WASHINGTON' HTI A Re
publican senator savs the 1'nited
States should retaliate against
the llussiais by expelling a So
viet Embassy official unless they
aNlogie lor the ouster of an
American on spy charges.
Sen. .lolin Sherman Cooper of
Kentucky, a former I'.S. ambas
sador lo India, said Hussia com
mitted "an awful aUronl" by
their expulsion of ltussell A. I.an
Gelle. V. S. Embassy security
chief in Moscow.
The State Department already
has denounced the spy charges as
phony and accused (he Russians
of alxlui'ting Langelle in an un
successful ellort to gain American
secrets.
shortly after the launching of
Lunik 111 on Oct. 4 that the pic
tures may disclose some "low
focm" of life on the moon.
"Photographs were (aken of the
other side of the moon which can
not be seen from the earth," the
Tass anni.uncement said.
"The information of the scien
tific measurements a:d photo
graphs are being processed landi
the results of the processing will
he made public." It did not say
when.
In skirting the earth Sunday,
Lunik III became the first satel
lite to pass successful around the
moon and back toward the earth
If it stays on course the moon
will fall within Lunik's orbit about
every two weeks.
One Soviet scientist said even
tually Lunik III may burn up in
the earth's atmosphere or fall
o'.to the moon.
Tass said the satellite now wa:
hidden from Russia and that its
next transmission of information
is scheduled for Wednc-day be
tween 4 and 5 a m. e d t.
Report Of Farm
Bureau Scheduled
ISLAND CITY (Special) Dis
cussion on community better
ment, taxation, natural resources
and international affairs featured
the recent Union County Farm
Bureau meeting here.
It was announced that the re
port of the farm program will
be given at the annual county
meeting set for Thursday. It
was also announced that there
vould be a regional organization
confab at Baker tomorrow to be
conducted by Lester Van Blok
land.
Other meetings coming up in
clude the board of directors and
state resolution session at Salem.
Oct. 2820, with Gene Slockhoff
and Roy Leonard, county officers,
to attend.
Plans were made for the 411
leaders banquet n Oct. 28 at
Island City hall under sponsor
ship of the bureau. Ruth Becker.
Cove, will serve as chairman.
This will be the second year of
such sponsorship for the ban
quet.
Loyalists Capture
Anti-Castro Rebels
VINALKS, Cuba UTIi -Loyal
troops captured three of a band
of five rebels against Premier
Fidel Castro's regime alter a
brief weekend gunfighl near this
western mountain town, it was
reported today.
Havana reports which said a sol
dier was wounded in the skirmish
were denied here.
apt. Zenen Hernandez, adju
tant of the 6th Infantry Regiment,
said in an interview that ex-Cpl.
Luis Lara Crespo, who was cap
lured, was the leader of the anti
Castro band.
FIRESSWEEPSAXONY
HANNOV'F.R. Germany '1'PI'
A series of brush fires swept
Lower Saxony Sunday, damaging
more than loo sn.ua 'P miles ,l
forest and heathland but causing
no known casualties.
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EXAMINING CENTENNIAL CHERRY TREES
August Krickson (left) of May Park, and John Ryan, La Grande, are examining '
bud wood (new growth) of Centennial cherry trees in Erickson's orchard. The bud
wood will be sent to Oregon State College where it will be propogated and sent back
to I'nion County to be used as pollenators for Royal Ann cherries. .
I . at 1 .- .' ua4vt- , m eg jajj
CUTTiNG BUD WOOD John Ryan, La Grande is
tutting off some of the bud wood from Centennial cher
ry trees in the August Erickson orchard at May Park.
F.rickson has one of the few orchards in the state where
the popular Centennial tree is found.
Van Doren Offered
Motion Picture Role
HOLLYWOOD HTH Charles
Van Doren has been offered a role
as a science professor in a motion
picture.
Producer-direclor Albert Zus
smilh wired" Van Doren Sunday,
offering him the part in "Teacher
Was A Sexpot." The film will star
Mamie Va i Doren 'no relation',
Miigille Pardot n'ld teenager
Tuesday Weld, said Zugsmith.
Van Doren. a Columbia Univer
sity instructor, was a big winner
on (he TV quiz show "21."
ENTOMBED MINERS ALIVE?
Rescuers
For Three
TONOPAU. Nev. (UPI 'Rescue
crews probed into the earth in
several areas today searching for
three men trapped by a cave in
lour days ago at the famous old
.Mohawk Mine.
The missing miners comprised
the ove-night crew at (he old
time silver producer, which was
opened only two weeks ago. They
were James Hoborson. 1. Mma:
Samuel Sickles, 4.", Tonopah. and
William Delurme, Redding, Calif.
The cavo-H was discovered Fri
day when the day shift arrived lo
relieve the men, who were working
at the .'I'm foot level. Since that
time, 40 experienced miners have
worked in relays both manually
an I with Kjwer eipiipnient to
reach the trapped men.
Soma Hopa Remains
Jim While, a spokesman for the
1'. S. Milling and Mining Com
pany, said Sunday there as still
8 Paget
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M . ' -
Public Is Told
To Have Patience
With Television
WASHINGTON iLPD The
chairmun of the Federal Com
munications Commission said to
day the public should have "pa
tience" with televisions's growing
pains, including fixed quiz shows.
John C. Doerfer said it wasn't
necessary and perhaps dangerous
for the government to step in and
tighten its regulation of the industry.
Probe Earth In Try
Trapped By Cave-In
hope the men were alive and well
ii iney nau warning of the disas
ter. However, the rescue crews re
ported Sunday night that t h e
cave-in was more extensive than
first believed.
"They aren't committing them
selves now about when they might
reach the place where we think
the men could be," White said.
"If those men got to this one
place they could still be alive and
well it's big enough and could
ho'd enough air to keep them
goiiig."
Meanwhile, it was disclosed that
five miners walked olf the job at
(he ill fated mine less than two
weeks before the cave-in, claiming
(he mine was unsafe.
But on lnsiection of the area
two days Inter by Deputy Mining
Inspector Leonard Traynor dis
Five Cent!
1
n 1 n f 1
Schilling
Hunting
Victim
James Schilling, 80, of 1203 U
Ave., I-a Grande, was fatally
wounded yesterday morning in
a hunting tragedy about 13 mile
west of La Grande In Little Dark
Canyon.
Schilling was hunting with his
son-in-law, Gordon Gustafson, and
his grandson, 10-year-old David
Gustafson, Milwaukie, when the
mishap occurred.
State Police said the boy was
walking on the right side of his
grandfather with his .22 rifle on
"safe" when he stepped into a
hole, losing his balance. The rifle
fell to the ground and discharged,
killing the elder man.
20th Hunting Death
Schilling's death is the 20th
hunting fatality of the current
deer hunting season including
deaths by heart seizure. It was
Oregon's ninth hunting death by
gunshot.
Funeral services will be held
Wednesday, 2 p.m., at the Zion
Lutheran Church with the Rev.
E. W. Hasten officiating. Burial
will be in the City cemetery.
Schilling was born in Bavaria,
Germany, Oct. 6, 1879, and had
been a resident of La Grande
for 73 years. He was a member
of tne Zion Lutheran Church.
He is survived by the widoW,
Mrs. Louisa Schilling, La Grande;
three sons, Charles and William
Schilling, Portland, and Willard
Schilling, Hood River; three
daughters, Mrs. Helen McPherson,
Waitsburg, Wash., Imogene Gus
tafson, Milwaukee, Irma Tracy,
Kedwood City, Calif; one brother,
Charles Schilling, Aloha, Ore.;
two sisters. Mrs. Queenie Sippet
and Mrs. Kate Moore, Portland,
and 17 grandchildren.
FLOODS HIT MEXICO ';
MEXICO CITY (UPI) Floods
caused by 10 days of heavy rain
in the south Mexican states of Ta
basco and Chiapas have killed at
least two persons and driven 10
000 from their homes, it was re
ported today.
closed there was "Nothing wrong
with that mine, located 50 miles
west of here.
Main Entrance Blocked
Rescue crews first tried to bore
through the rubble blocking the
main entrance to the mine. They
were blocked by boulders ."As big
as a car."
Then they hauled equipment up
the mountainside to the top of an
abandoned shaft. Men were low
ered into the area and began dig
ging side drifts. White said they
ceased blasting and were digging
by hand as they neared the possi
ble "safe" area.
White said the Sickles family,
incdluding two teenage boys, was
at the mine.
"The boys wanted to help," he
said, "but we couldn't let them
we need experienced miners be
cause oi me dangers.