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**