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About Portland inquirer. (Portland, Or.) 1944-194? | View Entire Issue (June 21, 1945)
PORTLAND INQUIRER Engineer, Isolated, Eight Bullets and Loud Checks Flood Waters, Voice Routed Nazi Wins Bronze Star Patrol in Italy WITH THE 839th ENGINEER AVIATION BATTALION IN THE P H IL IP P IN E S —Staff Serg ean t M azorne Elmore, son of Mr. W illie Elmore, 332 East Hudson Street, Shelby, N orth Carolina, has been aw arded the Bronze S ta r Medal for heroic and m er itorious achievem ent. A m em ber of the v eteran 839th Engineer A viation B attalion, he is one of the top nin-com m issioned officers in the heavy equipm ent section. The N orth C adolinian disting uished him self w hen, alone and in com plete disregard for his own personal safety, he used a bulldozer for several hour to build a levee around engineer equipm ent forth m any thousands of dollars and thus saved it from the violent c u rre n t of flood w aters caused by a dam -break fa rth e r upstream . O thers w ere pow erless to eith er rescue or assist S ergeant Elm ore because the crossing to the island was w ashed out. Forced to rem ain on the island overnight, he kept con sta n t vigil against the surging tide. Sergeant Elm ore entered the A rm y at Fort Meade, M aryland, in O ctober 1942. He has been overseas 22 m onths and has seen service in A ustralia, New G uin ea, and the Philippines. In addition to the Bronze S tar Medal, he is entitled to w ear a battle star op his A siatic-Pacific and P hilippine L iberation C am paign ribbons. A brother, C arm ie Elmore, a l so is in the Philippines. Medical Detachment Commended For Performance in ETO WITH THE U.S. FORCES IN EUROPE—The 1st Engineer M ed ical D etachm ent in France has been com m ended for efficiency and m eritorious service in the fight against th e G erm ans. S taff Sergeant R obert Wilson, Jr., 1216 Brow n Street, P h ila delphia, Pennsylvania, is the NCO in charge of the enlisted men of the detachm ent. The un it m aintained a staff of surgical technicians, m edical staffers, a sick and w ounded personnel staff, first aid men, am bulance drivers, vehicle oper ators, instructors, supply men, dental experts and m alaria con trol teams. PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CARLLE R. VICKERS. DDS. 1471 N. E. W illiam s C ourt P ortland, O regon V Erm ont 4208 P o rtla n d ’s O nly Negro BATTLE CREEK, M ic h ig a n - Eight rounds of am m unition and a loud voice w ere all th a t C orp oral Jam es L. H um es of D etroit, M ichigan, had to halt a Nazi patrol in Italy and save his litte r squad and some w ounded Yanks —bu t he did th e job. Now a p a CIVIC CENTER FACTS Pag« 3 tien t in Percy Jones G eneral H ospital, B attle Creek, M ichi gan, this v eteran of th e 92nd In fan try Division has been a- w arded the Bronze S ta r Medal for rescuing six w ounded men u n d er fire. C orporal H umes lost his right leg on A pril 6 w hen he set of an inti-personnel m ine during the second day of the big allied push w hich led to th e com plete collapse of the G erm an troops in Italy. a» a IFIE CAN BE BEAUDFUl! relaxing between shows W HILE I glanced thru the Negro pa pers and suddenly realized what profound respect I hold for certain colored newspaper men. Men like Abe Hill and Tommy W atkins of the AMSTERDAM NEWS. Ralph Matthews and Le^i Jolly of the AFRO-AMERICAN. These men do a service for the Negro people that would take too long to explain in this column. A service that seldom knows just appreciation. Men such as those I’ve just mentioned use the great power of the press to help better conditions for all peo ples and not for their own selfish m otives. The remarkable progress of the colored American throughout the past quarter of the century has been stimulated primarily by his Press. This Press has made it pos sible for Negroes In different parts of America to know som ething of the living conditions of each other. I firmly believe that the colored Press has always been in some form, and still is. the nucleus from which the many important Negro organizations (that we have today) have come to be. In my humble opinion the Negro press is the most powerful weapon the dark Ameri can has or ever shall have to fight the many evils that confront him. rhefSHSL WHY THEY OPPOSE SERVICE RALL0TS A small group of property owners in the run-down area selected as the Civic Center site represent most of the opposition. For cam paign purposes, operating under the a s s u m e d name, “Portland Civic Efficiency Committee,” they are heard mainly through hired speakers. Because part-truths and innuendo are employed to confuse the issue, no prominent person or group condones the committee’s stand against Portland’s progress. That’s why the so-called “effi ciency” committee must resort to hired campaigners. In fairness to many other persons and organiza tions in the area, it should he re membered they are among the staunchest champions of the Civic Center plan. In the past 20 years assessed valu ation. of property in the area has been “beaten down” 70 per cent —a tidy tax saving to the owners. Your taxes increased to make up the difference. Now these owners balk at what would seem a wel come chance to dispose of this de teriorating property. Th i s , de spite the fact the city expects to pay a fair price, based on present assessed valuations. Possibly this section of a city council resolution which prevents “hiking prices” has a bearing: “In order to avoid inflation of values or skyrocketing damages . . . it shall he the policy of the council to seek to acquire firm options to purchase all land within the area as speedily . . , as can be consummated.” Opponents of the Civic Center plan attempt to blame those who favor it for the fact service men and women will not get a chance to vote. Here is the TRUTH: Election officials were arranging to prepare service ballots when delayed by court action filed by a property owner in the proposed area. This sought to prevent the city from submitting the proposal to the people. By the time the case was decided in the city’s favor on May 26. it was too late to mail the service ballots. It is a matter of record how the Portland Area Postwar Development Committee contested this court action and WON for the people their right to vote. This is proved by endorse ments from veterans’ groups and labor unions. A tio m ey -at-L aw 523-4 L um berm ens Bldg. 320 S. W. 5th Ave.—AT. 6871.. Home Phone: SU nset 6260 — P o rtlan d 's O nly Negro L aw yer \ F- V eter»«* and Barber Supplies V.oTtV.Vr'' ^ ' r o r t U - ' JACOB MILLER 515 S. W. Third Ave. 2305 N. E. Union Ave. WE. 6361 F t o r f ' ü “ £ CongreS OreC°n T e u e re r» ' r0,*. term»! < t p Trad® Vor»l»n ?h * M at eahee*. BEAUTY SUPPLIES E xper installaion of tta ll floor coverings and drainboards JUNE 2 2 ELECTION CENTER OPPONENTS WYATT W. WILLIAMS A SPH A LT & M ASTIPAVE TILE LINOLEUM RUGS And is also a means of reaching th£ hard to reach individual who cause us as a race untold anxiety in our strive to better our living conditions. Thank God for our Negro Press! During my last tour thru the South I had the opportunity to visit the lovely home of a man who held a respected position in his com munity, and found that som ething struck me as being wrong with that setup. I suddenly realized that the shacks surrounding his beautiful home afforded him no protection whatsoever, but rather showed how weak was his foundation of suc cess. And I knew then more than ever that the Negro of America’s complete success in regard to liv ing would come to be only when we realize that only in numbers can we be strong and keep preju dice, discrimination and the many other cowardly vices of man from touching us. I want no castle on ?, hill that I may gaze down on the slums of the town. Rather let me have a castle among castles so that when the wind blows strong I may be selfishly protected. Or when the enem y of men and women of tanned skin may come we in our numbers may repel them and the strength of our houses keep them out. These facts concerning the Civic Center plan are offered to correct distorted and inaccurate information originating from obstructionist sources opposed to this progressive measure. D entist LAYRITE LINOLEUM LAYING CO. By BILLY (Ink Spots) KENNY Ke nny V h»I»yr 00/ À rch 'teet"- 01 o f f H0 " le g a tio n N o . 4 of Ciati»; * Pn „ 1 O rder V i - » - it .., Tin’s advertisem ent in the interest of Portland's Postwar Em ploym ent Program is paid for by the P ortland Area Postw ar Development Committee, David H. Simpson, C hairm an, 713 Corbett Htiilding, Portland 4, Oregon. f T»te *1 toft FO**