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About The Oregon statesman. (Salem, Or.) 1916-1980 | View Entire Issue (April 1, 1931)
-I ! SERVICE : We guarantee our carrier service. If your paper does not arrive by 6:30 call COO and a ropy will be delivered promptly. mm ,4m J THE WEATHER - Unsettled with rain today . and Thursday, cooler Thursday; Mar. Temp.' Tuesday 50,Min. B3, river , 15 feet, rain 1.72 inches, j ) I'.mUiill!: a H ..' ...w I ! i it I) I i I I i I It i FOUNDED Io5l r: , ; XHGIITY-FIRST YEAR .Salem, Oregon Wednesday Morning,- April 1, 1931 No. 4 1 -I I !.' M if.-3 Ico ia B.lsxned.'in One . Theory f Eisht Are ' ,' Ilillod Instantly ':' :- r ?nc HiU With Great Force; Sharp Bank li precede Fall ; COTTONWOOD FALLS, Kas.. e!a 81 (AP)-Knute Rockne V V :fctre Dame, wizard ot foot t re-.ebed the end of hi dy r" ic career near here today la . crash of an air transport , ane which carried seven others death. , The cause of the tragedy was xplalned tonight, : although -. witnesses seemed agreed, the - ' aer of the Transcontinental Western Air; Inc. lost . It roared through muggy .weather en route from Kansas - City to the Pacific coast. -''Mm There was one suggestion that lee forming on the wing caused It i to tear away hut thla was unrer- 1 lfled. - . i . ii. . v . 4 lr t and douds the crippled ship hit h'" with treat endous force on a farm t x miles . southwest of here, near i! ..a wfllas-a Tiara ar " 4" Elht oni Board 1 4 - - Killed InstanUy i The six passengers and two pi-.-I Tots met! death instantly. - Fire todies were thrown from the -plane and the others.' broken and, mutiliated. - were found in the d wreckage of the transport, which did not catch fire. - . The list of victims: -:. The 'dead: - - -. '-' . - Knute Rockne. - :" . H. J. i Chrlstensenr Chicago. J. H. Hopper, ,2017 Powell Are., Chicago.. W. B. Miller, SIS Farmington i Are.. Hartford; -Conn. t Spencer tloldth aiteS J STast ' 43rd St., Kew York. . , - C. A. RobrechV 1 Oak Park. 1 4 Wheeling. W. Va. I O ' Robert Fry, pilot, Los Ange- lr ' les. t " 2tmm IfatTiffta. rttlnt. T.nn An- geles. - . . The bodies were brought to a morgue here. It was planned to '- start Roekne's body back to No " tre Dame on a train leaving early tomorrow. If - arrangements could . be completed. - Coroner Inquiry Probably Today $ A coroners' Inquest will be held t probably, tomorrow. ... From 4 testimony taken at the Inquest , and evidence gathered by depart 'roent of commerce inspectors and officials of the transport' com : pany, it is hoped to develop the : cause of the accident, one of the v worst, la history. t - . Knute Rockne Jr., 14 years old. and his brother Billy. 11, - students at Pembroke boys school in- Kansas City, were rushed here by automobile with Dr. D. Kigro - of Kansas City, who took charge of the famous coach's body at the ,-, request of the widow, who tele ' - phoned from Coral Cables, Fla. The same stalwart qualities which made their father one of the greatest figures in sports en . abled the boys to. fight bravely against! the grief of his tragic passing.! The new was not bro ken" to them until they arrived '"J"! -fhere. m By only a few minutes. jKocrne missed a meeting with phem when he boarded the plane ;t Kansas City this morning. The oys, returning from .a. Tislt "to (.heir, mother at Coral Gables -leached Kansas City by, train too I late to see their father.' ' ; . Dr. Jacob Minden, county cor ' oner, said that H. G. Eflgerton of Wichita. dl&trlct passenger agent ? (Turn to page 2V coL 7) Tho uooiid Lives Snuffed By Managu (Copyright 1131. by The Asee I 'elated Press)' MANAGUA, ' Nicaragua, March Jl. (AP) Eleven sharp -earth shocks i packed into the space -ot a few seconds, - followed by tire which ripped the heart out of the business section, . today spread terror and desolation ' through this dry, taking an es timated 1,000 live and injuring many thousands. - . : Many of . the yictims were ' Americans, " but this evening while the tire still raged, only three had been definitely identi- fled. - i ' . They were Lieutenant Com mander F. A. Baske, D. S." N.; Mrs. Joseph D. Murray, .wife ot a major In the United States ma rine ccrps, and a chauffeur em ployed by Irring A. Lindberg the resident high commissioner. Flames roared up 4 from the wreckage of demolished - build ings, sweeping 20 blocks in the : center of the city, destroying the American and British legations and causing property damage es timated at $30,000,000. The marines took orer imme diately, declaring martial- law fciij- euperintending the removal &c!aiielf3A.-:: uffii an fu:i III YET OBTAINED Bondholders. not . to Press "Matter"- Pending Out- . come of new Plan - Interest on S87,00 of first mortgage bonds outstanding against the Oregon Linen -Mill company's plant here will not be paid today as due, according to announcement here yesterday. Local men j engaged In working out details ; ef a refinancing plan for the company said they hoped that moneys for paying the in terest would be available in two to three, weeks. The bonds bear six per cent interest and the .to tal sum due today for the semi annual payment is 210. The trustee for the bonds is the Title and Trust company of Portland.; I While no- official of the company made any statement yesterday. It was understood here that.no foreclosure action would be taken at once pending the suc cess or failure of the reorganiza tion plan now under way. - GUbraith Working ; On Reorganization F. J. GUbraith of the Miles Lin en company has been active dur ing the last month, working out a reorganization plan which will provide that $53,000 of unfund ed debt against the plant be re tired through the sale of addi tional bonds. GUbraith then. cov enants that his associates will provide' 180.000 In new capital for. the Salem Linen- mill com pany which will be organized .to" take over the equity of the Ore gon Linen Mill company in the plant here. - u : . . ... f-H.J.-. F HEART FAILURE William H. Harris, 7$. was found dead at his home at .1140 Norway street, Tuesday ' after noon. Heart failure is believed to be the cause of his passing since neighbors report - that he had seemed to be in perfect health. Coroner Lloyd Rlgdon declared that Harris had probably died while he was going to bed Mon day night or while he was dress ing Tuesday morning; Harris was partially dressed. Harris came to Salem . in ' 1913, from Wadena, Minn. , j:- -. V: .- Police Officer Nicholson stated that Tuesday afternoon at about 4 o'clock, i two young men called the police station by telephone declaring that they had discover ed Harris lying on the floor of his home. They told the officers that they were inquiring to rent the house. - They called .Tuesday morning and received no answer to their rings. iThe pair returned in the afternoon? in hope of in specting the house. Upon receiv ing no answer to their-rings, they walked: to the side of the house, where, peering through the windows,-they saw the body on the floor.- ' :-r; - ? - - The deceased .is survived by his wife, Afrsi Nellie L. Harris. Sa lem; . his . daughter, Mrs E.- " B. Grabenherst. - Salem: : two sons, George- E. Harris, Wadena, Minn, and WUlUm P. Harris. Medfprd. Oregon: one brother. ReV. George D. Harris of Fall River, Mass.: and one-sister, Mr. 'Ella Purdy of Wolfrllle. Nora Scotia. , : a of the: dead and Injured. - Hun dred! were treated at the hospi tal left standing. - Water mains burst at the. first shock. : Telegraph c wires were down, Tallroads destroyed and the only means of Communica tion vitfcr tho world outside was by airplane and radio, i -" Tlie ; people showed remark able self-eontroV proceeding In an orderly manner, to save what they could out of the disaster, but' every house in Managua -felt the! Mow"-.-..; , . v : Fintunately: a large part of the population was out ot town, mosti of them having gone to the seashore for the holy week holi days p- ;n f ... . ... - - 'All the American women end children who were not killed or injured were put up for the night In the marine barracks, andrmaey other homeless fami lies were sheltered in pup tents and ! any sort of temporary ac commodations - which could be arranged. . - ' " Rolling kitchens were, issuing soap end coffee, .but ; food was scarce.' : Supplies were expected quickly from the Red Cross and other agencies. Earthq Famed Gridiron Mentor Killed . KNUTE ROCKNE ( WILL Corporation is Formed; in Latest M ove. Against -; .. Local Retailers -r A new chapter in the contro versy between milk producers and distributors in the Salem district was written on Tuesday when ar ticles of incorporation 'were fil ed by an organization of produc ers who will distribute milk and dairy products in Salem. Uhe articles of Incorporation were signed by F. A, Koehn, Alf Zwelacher, William Meiers; Wil liam Gruchow and R. W. Clark. The organiartion is capitalized for $10,000, with 120 shares of common stock at $50 per share and 4 0 shares of preferred stock at. $100 per share. It "is under stood that all of this stock has been subscribed. ; ? v i - -Organization Under ; : ' -i " Farm Board Rales . The new cor: any is organized under the rule . of the . federal farm board and the Capper-Vol-stead act governing cooperatives. Those responsible tor the organi zation stated that the organiza tion - has been planned so as to pare the way for the securing of a federal farm loan later. - . -; In"lhe organization- the -produ cera hare been aided in technical details by J. H. Tull, marketing specialist of the Oregon State college and by E, L. Crawford,' Salem attorney: The ' names of all ot the stockholders are .being withheld for- the present. : ? The distributing plant will be located In the Wills building south of the First National bank. A retail dairy store will be run in connection "with the dlstribut-' Ing plant and milk, ice cream and all types of dairy products will be offered tor sale. . New and up to date machinery will be installed at once and it is planned to start ' distributing, not later than May first. BITES 111 EFFECT ' Tariffs containing reduced In terstate freight rates under the so-called grain rate order which becomes effective today I were filed in the offices of C M. Thomas, public utilities commis sioner, Tuesday. " The raHroads recently obtain ed authority from the interstate commerce- commission" to post pone publishing interstate . rates until June 1, and later petitioned the Oregon public - utility - com missioner for similar authority. This was denied by the commis sioner, in' an order handed down here 10 days ago. -The new grain rate from Ar lington to Portland is IS cents per 109 pounds as against 10 eent under: the old tariff. Other reductions between Import ant Ipelats' follow : j i - K - v. instead of 21 H cents: Enterprise to Portland 2! 'cents instead of 29 cents; .Heppner to Portland 164 cents instead of JOH cent; Joseph to Portland . 2 H . cent Instead of 2S M cenU; LaGrande to Portland 20 Vt cents instead of 25 cents; Pendleton - to Portland 17 H cents instead of lM cents; UmaUUa. to- Portland, "15 cents instead of. 1 7 H cents; Eugene 14H cents Instead of 17 cents; Roseburg to Portland" IS cents Instead ot 20 cents; ' Grants Pass to Portland 22 cents in stead of 25 cents, and Medford to Portland, 23 H cents instead ef 27 cents. -1 i v.- ' t.S EMllfFOl IDDLES C5SE ' The state sujpreme .court," inan order issued late - yesterday, granted the attorney 'general un til July I, 1931, to perfect hU appeal to the United States su preme court in the suit brought by Scott Red field et al attacking the constitutionality of the 1929 intangibles tar law. : l . -The state supreme court held the Intangibles tar law , Invalid on the grounds that it applied, to Individuals and not to corpora tions. ' " - 1U PRODUCERS bote REDUCED mm REFEREli IS MJliUPOfl SCHOOLS' FiD Farmer Group Arranges:f or :l Petitions; ; Attack - all ft Of Appropriation : , - - y : . - . Institutions; Brought: -This 5 tfjwnVrhem : ' Governor Meier ; . . group . of ' farmer . taxpayers yesterday - put In moton a con certed move to Invoke ,th refer endum on house bill 408, enacted by - the 3 4th session . of the leg islature and. providing for a lump sum appropriation of $1,181,370 requested by the. state, board of higher education for the support ot - Oregon's five . institutions, ot higher education during the next blennium. ? v- . , v . Henry - Zorn- of Champoeg, spokesman tor the group, said his backers would invoke the referen dum on the entire appropriation ot $1,181,37$, regardles of Gov ernor Meier's action in retoing $500,000, Zorn ' said . this action by the referendum sponsors would avoid technicalities ot a se rious legal number. ,-, Would Delay Fund . To After Election . . . The group proceeded to secure petitions to be circulated, calling tor the referendum. If the 10, 800 signatures are secured, plac ing the appropriation before the people, none of the legislative ap propriations for the higher edu cational Institutions would be -. (Turn to page t, got. 3) Fl'DFliSlS TO TAKE OFFICE TODAY Averill, Mott and Entire New Accident Board to. Take up, puttes: : Triv nw statA officials take office today as a result of. ad ministrative changes- made by RAnrnar Wler fnllawinsr tho ad journment of the 36th session of the legislature. ? An entirely new state indus trial accident commission la to take office . and the state corpo ration . nminla(ioiiAr. and the state . insurance : commissioner will be new men. New .members of the state in- AnntHal accident commission are arthnr- W iwrencA. Corvallis. C. T. Early, Portland, Albert Hunter,. La Grande. All men were.: on . hand yesterday ana ready to take over their new po sitions, f- - v James W. Mett of this city be comes state corporation - commis sioner. , A. H. ateriu ot ron. land Is the new insurance com missioner. Men Removed Tell Plans -for Future W.- H. Fitzgerald, retiring ln Antrial : accident commissioner. has announced that he will open a law office in Fortiana. js. jb. Bragg Is to take an extended va cation in California. Sam Laugh itti hu not announced his slans but is expected to resume the active- management of his bank in TamhllL - :- Mark D. McCalllster, . retiring corporation commissioner, is . to become president oi ue v. on ser ration Corporation of- America with headquarters - In Portland. Clare' E. Lee," retiring insurance commissioner, - is. expected to re sume his insurance work in Eu gene where he was. in business before receiving the appointment here. ' ' . MEMORIAL BENEFITS r ' : CORVALLIS, Ore.. March .SI. (AP) A circuit court Jury to day . returned - a verdict . against M. M. : Long, . Corvapia sporting goods dealer, and. awarding the Memorial Union Building cot po ration at Oregon State college $130.70. .- - . . Thk eorooration broucht f suit n eollect on a note- signed by Long nledglng $100 to' the Mem orial Union. - " '- -" The trial - wa considered a ttmt aA because eavment en several - other pledges has been refused. -v ,'..."--. ' SNOW FALLS NEARBY , ' ' " : BEXD, Ore, 3Iarch SI . (AP) While a heavy snow was falling In the central Ore- gon Cascades' Jnst av few miles wesi of here today ' Bend and the mid-state plateau wa lash ed by the most severe dust - storm Been here in many years. ' - The wind, which at times -, reached gale velocity, ' kicked up dost that reduced visibil- ' ity to about one mile. . - j STREAMS" ATTTOOJ": TOLEDO, Ore., March .' 31 (AP) All 1 Lincoln county streams were reported at flood i.ilSSIi. High Water and - Slides cut x Off, Travel : in : Many: ; Parts of .Stated "' ' Tillamook, Scio, f Crabtree and : OtherjTowns are; Already Isolated PORTLAND, Ore March SI. -(ts.P) Two , men weYe miss ing, at . least - four communities were isolated, traffic on " many highways - was stopped br land slides or missing - bridges and farmers in some sections of the state were seeking higher ground as the resul$ of torrential rains that, poured "down upon .Oregon today. ,. ; .. . . . . " Near - Westfir a boat carrying six men from highway construc tion work to their camp: across the Willamette ' river capsized. Several -hours later no - trace had been found ot - Oscar F. Olson, 42, Seal Rocks, Ore., and Rex Brown, 22, Perry,' Ore the other four men were rescued but Bob Godwin, Silver Lake. Wash., and J. F. ; Nielsen, Oakridge, were vent down- river mora than a mile before they reached shore. Rain Heary Orep"- . Willamette Valley The . heaviest rain ' seemed to have fallen In a wide belt across the Willamette ralley. : At Sum mit, a coastal mountain settle ment 20 miles west of Corvallis, S.81 Inches ot rain tell during the 24 hours ending early today and at Detroit, so miies east ox Salem;. 3.10 inchev.felllnu.the same period of time. .Portland recelred 2.50 Inches.' j '. Farmers In the lower, sections ot Linn county were moving to higher ground tonight as the CalapOola and Santlam . rivers threatened their homes. . Strengthen dam- t At Jefferson - " , Sclo and Crabtree were cut off from highway communication with Albany by water over the bridges. Near . Jeff ersdn, crews from the state highway depart ment and the Southern . Pacific railway were strengthening a dam to preyent recurrence of -a disastrous flood that In 1923 de stroyed both the highway and railway. " At Hood Rirer 100,000. feet of logs were carried away. ' ... Pendleton reported slides In the Blue mountains blocked the Old Oregon trail and the Union Pacific tracks east ot Kamela. All : traffic on ; the Columbia river highway between The Dalles : and Hood River was stopped and travel on the Ever green .highway in Washington was reported unsafe. J . High water and' landslide Iso lated both Tillamook and Pacific City on the , Oregon coast, and there was no way to , enter or leave either community. " High ways were flooded on both sides of each city. .Trains were blocked by elides.' ;-. " ; - I . , ' Streams off Hood J ; ;. : ; Raglns Torrent - ' Reports from Sandy In Clack amas county said summer cabins at Brightwood ' afid:. Arrawannah In .the Mount i Hood area vrere breaking up and were "being i - (Turn to page 2, eol.' 1) . BOAT . CAPSIZES State . CoVLeg h&-;'Si ;; Bend Suffera .Dtist Stormi ; Slletz Bridges Imperiled: stage tonight and the Siletz river was said - to be approaching rap idly the point at which' all bridge- were carried - away several years ago.' ' i Serious slides " were reported Vetween" Toledo - and ' Newport with less, than half the roadbed remaining in several places.' :.t '. ' - LETTER WITHHELD U " ' ASTORIA." Orev March, Si I I ( AP ) -Reports current " iere ; -- today said the family of IT. F. , 'Peaeockt' iaissing assistant i postmaster, has received, let- ; ter from him teBing how - he ' ' made hi escape. . I A. W, NorbUd, legal adviser ; i of the family, admitted a let- : ter had been received from Peacock but he refused to re-; veal, its contents. ; r DELAY BEFEREXDOI ' - EUGENE, ' Ore., March 51 (AP) A resolution calling . for Initiative petitions to- counter the referendum move ot some Portland sportsmen ' against - the McKentie river" boat fishing re striction was tabled by the Lane county, gamo protective associa tion here tonight. - ; The organization - decided to disccss the matter with the Port land men before taking action.. Landslides Betfo WmW(6k Rail orRbkd Travel May J,: rhe Restored, Report bf Cority Court 7 r; Members :Whb View Situation Tj. - 'Z ' . 1 ' r"iL.' ; .':"' . "' ' ' . ' ,, Only, the' longr thlnrBtream 'of srlistenin; 'rain-coated telephone .wires yesterday kept the Detroit section in -communication with the outside world. Bridges were washed oat and both highway and railroad were blocked in this sec tion by, the capers of the rain. Reports last night indicated it would be a full week before rail or road travel can be ef- : -ofected into - DetroiL V MCALLISTER KS S OFFICE Former; Corporation :. Chief Seeks Nomination . for : State Treasurer Mark D. McCalllster, ' who yes terday retired from the office of state v corporation : commissioner, will enter the contest for state treasurer at the republican pri mary election to be held in May of next year. .': : ; x ,r ; "I will mn squarely on my re cord as a public official." read a statement Issued by McCalllster. The office is now held by Thom as B. 'Kay. ,r -."During the past four years In' the - corporation" , department." read ' McCallister's statement, "I have' been able , to accomplish at least some, of the many reforms in the law governing corporations that I had In mind when I accept ed - the? -effiee -T; w-,- v-. - rtni: Approves Meier i .' ; ' ; " Administration - "Governor Meier has undertak en a big Job in the public inter est and I bespeak tor him a most successful administration. I trust that he will continue to receive the hearty support ot the people. "I have always been Interested in public affairs and have served the people of the state in various capacities, including two terms in the Oregon state legislature." Mr.-McCalllster leaves for Port land today where he will serve as president of the Conservation corporation ot America. He Is -succeeded as state cor poration commissioner by. James Mott, Salem attorney ; 1 .. i en ENDORSED . Max Gehlhar of Salem was en-, dorsed for the position of state agricultural ' commissioner yes terday at a meeting of the exec utive committee ot the Marlon County Tax Equalization league held at the chamber of commerce rooms' here. Henry Zorn presided at the meeting. f A number ot representatives ' attended . : - from Tamhill county,' including the president of the tax organization there. Walter B. Russell. ! Gehlhar, attorney and horticul turist; Is ' said to have ' received the endorsement of '- the state grange, tor the appointment. He ' appeared A before the com mute for a short1 time. He stated after, his appearance that he was actively; in the Held for the ap pointment but had no assurance whatever from the governor that he would be selected. : . . ;. bridge o;i eli!i;;s ... IIONMODTH, March 31 (Special) The ' LewlsvUle-Elk-ins school bus which bring pu pils to Monmouth, returned with Its passengers to Lewlsvllle today at noon because of a telephone warning that - the Luckiamute" river had overflowed "' the EI kins road to a . depth , which was be coming , dangerous. This ' flooded section ot road Is six miles south west of Monmouth, -v.- . It Is believed that all automo bile traffic will be held up at that point by Wednesday noon if the rain continues - through' to night.' Water on aU .lateral roads around Monmouth is higher than it has risen for years : ; - Some portions of the City side walks in 'Monmouth are sab merged. ' .. , ' . ' -.. ' i ' )"." ' ' STORMS HIT SOTJTJ1 - ATLANTA, Ca March 31 (AP) A series of tomadlc,. hall and rain storm struek widely scattered sections of the south to day. A child was killed and sev eral persons were ' reported ser iously hurt. - .- - .. KAY FOR FARM OFFICIAL IB Cut off ltd Area' -From. The biggest slide, according to reports orongnt oacc ' by mem bers of the county court who made their way yesterday as far Into the section a possible, la about five miles above Niagara, with the Whlteman bridge over little Sardine creek out end the railroad also tied up on account of the slide, some 50 feet long, The Whlteman bridge Is about 50 . feet long, a .wooden , bent structure. The court members could not get to the bridge, be ing able to go only as far as the first slide on Sardine ' creek, and therefore could not say positive ly last night how long it would take to get this road open.. It may be that the old bridge, a narrow, one, can. be patched up while a new bridge some 20 feet wide is installed. The court, while studying construction ot a new bridge, will take no action until the weather clears. Detour Around - -First of Slide ; ; . The first of the three slides Is between Mill City and Gates, but it is possltle here to detour: on City, to Gates. Debris over the the Linn -county road from Mill road here will probably be cleared up Jn two days. . ; The elide at Sardine creek took out half the road for a dls ; (Turn to page 2, col. 1) suvERTon hit or FLOOD COuDITIOuS SILVERTON, March 31. (Special) Heavy rains of the past few days have caused Pud ding river, the Ablqua and Silver Creek to overflow . in this vicin ity, blocking . roads and inundat ing Gelser addition to Silverton. The lower, or north Sllverton Salem road Is underwater due to the Pudding river flood for a dlstanes of a quarter mile, the greatest dept being five or six feet so that the road Is impass able. ; ' However, the upper , or south highway Is high and com paratively dry and will not be flooded. The Ablqua has overflowed the regular Sllrerton-Mt Angel road and It cannot be used, fore-' Ing traffic onto the East Hill road which is also partly under water but passable. -.- Gelser addition Is badly flood ed from Sliver Creek and several families hare moved out. Two garages - have been " floated a Short distance from their normal positions but none of the houses are afloat so far. . Most of the cars have " been moved oat but some are "stuck" in the flooded area.'-; : ;- . '.'The lower, Silver Creek. bridge ha been closed to traffic due to tho danger that it will-be car ried away by the flood, the dan ger being enhanced by " the fact that, large logs are coming down. March Vet Month After .Total rainfall- for March was $.$ Inches, a marked- Increase from' the '.1.93 inch precipitation recorded a -year ,ago - in March, figures released - yesterday ; by Mrs. J. W. Ritchie, local weather observer. The month's', rainfall brought the year's total to date to 17.10,- dispelling Ideas ef a "drought., In comparison, the first- three month's ' rainfall - in 1930 amounted to 12.34 inches. in 1929 to .29 inches and In 192S to 13.29 Inches. . Despite-i the.. heavy. precipita tion In March, there were 11 days with no rainfall - ' recorded ; and seven , days with less than one tenth of one inch of rain. , The temperature for the month ranged quite steadily between 40 to CO degrees although for. five days early in the month the mer cury Jropped below the freezing mark. The warmest day of the month was March 21 when the thermometer yeached the f 7-de- gree mark. - The leait variance in temperature was recorded March 31, .when the range for the day was from 63 to degrees, on this day the heaviest rainfall of 1.72 Inches was recorded. mm V m OEiiCllEO LiTEiT LIGHT Win . be Over : Banks Eaiy Today, is Forecast; . Basements wet Roads in Many Directicn3 From Salem Beneath ' Flow of Water - Jupiter Pluvius yesterday play ed a premature April Fool trick, on Oregon and turned : over a thousand rain barrels ot. the sky to deluge the state in the closing day of a 'blustery March. As a result the swollen Wil lamette last night, was rising hourly and stood at 15 feet at J1S30 p. m. Reports frcm Weath er Observer Wells in Portland last night indicated the river might be in flood stage by mors ing. This is 20 feet above the zer mark and. sufficient to force the river from its banks in many Points along its course. Climbing from , the - 9.4 foot mark at 7:45 a. m. yesterday, the river stood at 13. feet above the zero mark at 5 p. m. Tuesday when the official observation was taken by Mrs. 3. W. Rltohie, local observer. The 20-foot level is suf ficient, she said, to overflow much of the Polk county territory across the river from Salem but a 25 to 28-foot stage of flood water will be necessary to bring the river Into the lower areas of Salem. . Lack Of Snow Prove Benefit While the continuing warm temperature which ranged around the 55 " degree " mark pointed additional rain probable the lack of snow in the mountains was expected-to avert any; unusual flood which only comes when heavy rains in the valley combine with sufficiently warm tempera ture to melt rapidly heavy snow In the mountains. Last night the heavy rains which had continued unabated throughout Tuesday had mater ially, lessened here and while the river continued its rise from Im pounded waters farther up the valley, the momentum of the flood was checked. - During Tuesday, from 7:4 5 a. m. to- 5 p. m. 1.26 Inches of rai fell here, while the 24-hour per lod before that time law 1.7$ Inches of precipitation. This fol lowed the -.51-inch precipitation recorded the -previous, day. r Flood conditions in some part of Salem were more severe than they had been for several years Tuesday afternoon with pros- . pects that, worse was to follow. Yew Park Annex Is Hardest Hit , - I Tew Park annex was one of the hardest hit, with water; from an overflow of Prlngle creek which had seeped through the South ern Pacific roadbed in the vicin ity of the Texaco , plant coursing down 13th street curb-deep and Inundating residence property for a block on - either Kide. "Lakes' completely surrounded some o( the houses end residents were forced to wade lu and oat. Basement In. the district were flooded. . , Dp to date Tuesday afternoon bo damage had been caused by water - backing up from bridges, though there was some prospect that this might occur. The Lewi street-13thr .street right angle bridge which caused a flood In (Turn to page 2, col. 8) iT FOOT - The summary for the month follows: v . March. Temperature Precipe -1931 " Max. Jtfin. 1 .,.. .00 40 0 S ........54 ; 3 S .:69 40 ' . 4 -i. 10 28 5 .42 25 ..54 25 " 0 7 ...50 24 0 S ........3 30 ........45 44 J .49 10 ,..,....55 4J .es ' 11 ...50 .3 .11 11- ........68 45 - .18 IS ........54 31 : 0 14 ...).. .58 30 0 , 15' ........64 47. .11 10 . 43 " .09 17 ........2 37 .07 15 ........57 48 1.29 19 ........57 44 .18 ' 20 .57 43 .08 , 21 ........7 - 47 .2S 22 43 3" .12 23 ........58 32 . .01. 24 ........59 2 25 ........S8 3 .04 25 61 i.9 .04 27 65 37 .22 28 .52 9 -6 29 62 42 .2t. 30 ........52 43 31 61 53 1.72 i