Sunday SporU . .
The 8 u n d a y morning
. newspaper brings its readers
stews of imporant Saturday
sport ... events more, than a
day ahead of other papers.
The Weather
Occasional rain today as3
tlouday, contlnned e o o 1;
)fax. Temp. Saturday - 50.
alln. 88, river 5.1 feet, rata
11 Inch, aontherly wind.
EIGHTY-SIXTH YEAR
Salem, Oregon, Sunday Morning, March 21, 1937
" Price 3c; Newsstand 5c
fio. 3C3
. . . , " . - v - . , i
TP
lie
ami
Warning Given
On School Gas
System, Claim
Expert Advised; Official
of Danger Prior to
Blast, Testifies , ;
Funerals Held ; Total ot
Victims Reaches 455,
Latest Tabulation
NEW. LONDON, Texas, March
2 0.-P)-A military court of In
quiry into the school disaster
which . took 455 childrena' and
teachers lives heard A. J.. Belew
testify today h9 had ; w a r n e d
school officials "it was danger
ous" not to install a new gas reg
ulator leading into the main build
ing. . ,
Dr." B: P.- Schoch, explosions
expert from the faculty of the
University of Texas, questioned
Belew, representing James B.
Clow and Sons company, -while
in nearby communities reverent
thousands bowed in grief at the
burials 'of the dead in rich oil
lands.
Sought Saving in
Heating, Declared
Tfe court of inquiry adduced
first eyidence that the reputed
richest school in the world had
sought to save money by install
ing an unsafe heating system.
Dr. Schoch, who earlier- ex
pressed a theory that an accumu
lation of gas caused the Blast,
asked Belew if he had told' offi
cials of the regulator fault. The
salesman replied:
"I told Mr. Shaw W. C. Shaw,
school superintendent) that it
was dangerous. 1 told him he
would have to reduce the pres
sure. Belew testified that a new gas
i emulator was Installed in the
main building some time after
January 1 and a change from dry
gas to wet gas was made. He said
ho told school officials the regu
lator would not hold the Increased
pressure, following the change.
George II. Green way ? Dallas
heating engineer and an unsuc
cessful bidder on the heating con
tract for the destroyed scnool
building, testified that "It's a
crime to put gas steam radiators
in public buildings. When you put
in 72 such radiators, you have ... .
72 chances for Individual explo
sions." Minerals Held for
Many of Victims
Scores of the 455 victims of
the nation's greatest child dis
aster were lowered" into graves
as the inquiry court sat in a ram
bling wooden structure only 50
yards from the remnants of the
schoolhouse. - ,
Captain . Zachariah Cooinbes of
the Texas national guard sat as
judge advocate and closely ques-
. tioned witnesses who told of con
struction of the - building and
heating system, believed by at
least one expert to have caused
- the explosion that turned the
once pretentious school into a
wreckage of horror.
' Contractor Ross Maddox, called
to testify concerning the heating
. system, told the court original
plans for building did not call
for a gas heating system, but for
a boiler. . ;
"The change to gas steam radi
ation was : on account of cost, I I
presume," he said. .
Vincents of Salem, Sail
For Orient, Hoy Land
SAN FRANCISCO, March 20-(P)-Two
globe-girdling residents
of Salem, Ore., left today on the
Dollar liner President Taft en
route to the orient. They are the
Rev. and Mrs. O. R. Vincent, who,
after a tour of the orient, will
continue to India, the holy land
and Europe. ;
Western Maritime Group to
Join Lewis Union, Drop AFL
SEATTLE, March 20-(p)-Or-.
ganized labor split tonight In Se
attle one of the strongest union
cities In the United States when
the Washington district council
of the powerful maritime federa
tion announced It would withdraw
from the American Federation of
Labor and Join John L. Lewis'
committee for Industrial organiza
tion. ; . : -
. The Seattle local of the lumber
and sawmill workers tederaUon
immediately endorsed the action
of the maritime federation, 4
James Engstrom, secretary t
the maritime federation council,
said 50 - delegates to the central
labor council had been given In
structions to Tote against, A.F.O.L.
Pres. William Green's request of
the council to reaffirm Its pledge
"to the federation and lend "un
compromising support to the bat
tle against the C. I. O."
"We have taken our stand,"
Engstrom said. "Our men have
Plot to Slay Britain9 s
King During
Procession
Throwing Knife Found Wrapped rVith Route Map
and Clippings' Giving Man, 'tails; Scotland'
Yard Keeps Usual Silence; iNo Name Given
IONDON, March 21 (Sunday) -(AP) The Sunday Ref
l eree j reported today a suspected plot against the life of
King George VI was being investigated by Scotland
Yard following a raid on the room of an unnamed man where
detectives found a throwing knife wrapped up with a map of
the coronation route, f
: - The newipaper asserted high
Building Program
Topic: For Monday
t !
Nature of PWA Aid to Be
- Queried ; Provisions
May Reduce Value
Monday morning a meeting is
scheduled of the the state board of
controland the state capitol re
construction commission. Under
consideration will be the program
for purchase of land and erection
of a library building as authorized
in S.B. 411 which is now a law.
The responsibility rests on the cap
itol commission, but the approval
of the board of control is required
before any; steps may be taken.
The meeting Monday is expected
to consider; matters of procedure
as well as the wisdom of under
taking the work now. j
One of the early matters on
which light will be sought is the
nature and character of PWA aid.
When the. report came some days
ago that PWA had agreed to con
tribute 45 per cent 'of of the cost
of a library building and a high
way office building it was assum
ed that this: was on the former
basis of a direct grant. However a
dispatch to the OregonianM a s t
week from its Washington bureau -i
seemed to indicate that the. allot
ment was on the new basis of
meeting cost of labor taken from
relief rolls plus 15 per cent, up to
a top of 45 per cent of the total
cost. Unless this can be changed
(Turn to page 10, col. 3)
General Strike in
Detroit Is Threat
Wijl Be Called if Police
Evict Sit-Downers in
Automotive Plants
DETROIT, March 20-;P)-The
United Automobile Workers of
America threatened tonight to
call a general strike in Detroit
automotive plants unless "the
brutal eviction of sit-down
strikers and the ruthless clubbing
of workers by Detroit police is
stopped immediately." '.
The threat was contained in
a statement issued by Homer
Martin, president of the U.A.W.
A., after police had ejected strik
ers from 'the Newton Packing Co.
Plant and the Bernard Schwartz
Cigar Co. ! factory. Six persons
were injured during rioting which
accompanied the ejection ot 75
women from the cigar factory.
Martin declared that "every
organized ! automobile l plant in
the city will be closed down Mon
day'' unless the raids Cease, and
that "the 175,000 organized auto
mobile workers of Detroit will
mass Tuesday night in Cadillac
square to protest these actions."
Martin said that the U.A.W.A.
was determined that strikers in
these smaller plants shall not be
the victims of police brutality." '
made known their desires for in
dustrial organization. ; We dont
want a split in the labor movement,
but if they force a split, naturally
we will stick to our guns." - ,
Meanwhile a waterfront em
ployers' lockout that Ued up this
port for two and a half hours end
ed late today when inland boat
men's; union pickets were with
drawn from two Canadian-owned
ships. .,: m ;:. v ?y ' j-." ;
Longshore gangs were discharg
ed at noon on all ocean-going ves
sels when: the international Jong
shoremen's association ignored an
ultimatum issued by the employers
to furnish gangs to w a t k the
Canadian freighters Eastholm and
Southholm.
- Longshoremen refused to pass
the boatmen's union's picket lines
set up five days ago by an agree
ment with the union's Canadian
division 'not to work vessels un
loaded at Vancouver, B. C, by
men not sanctioned by the I.L.A.
Cor option
Vn.de Probe
officials of Scotland Yard were
questioning the unnamed man aft
er the search of a house in a Lon
don suburb yielded the knife and
a number of documents.
It reported that detectives who
raided the man's room found,
besides the throwing knife
wrapped up with a map of the
coronation route, more than 100
newspaper clippings giving de
tails of the coronation procession
May 12.' - f ;
Details covered by the clip
pings, it said, included the posi
tion to be occupied by the king's
carriage in the procession, the
times when the. procession was
scheduled to pass certain points
and the exact route to be fol
lowed. No Information From
Scotland Yard Men
Inquiries at the special branch
of Scotland Yard the department
which protects royalty and deals
(Turn to page 2, col. 2)
Funeral Corteges
Jam Rural Roads
Highway Patrolmen Called
Out to Aid Traffic as
r- Children Are Buried
NEW LONDON, Texas, t March
20 (iP)-Pneral processions
jammed' the country roads -of
Rusk county today. ,
The homes and family
churches of the 455 victims of the
London consolidated school ex
plosion Thursday sent a steady
stream of hearses and mourners'
cars into the highways.
Texas highway patrolmen were
ordered out on the roads as traf
fic clogged to a standstill In many
places.
A tie-up in the vicinity of Pleas
anthlll cemetery, where scores
were buried during the day, had
automobiles stopped at times for
more than a mile.
Processions ready to move from
churches and homes waited in
the bright sunshine for an oppor
(Turn to page 2. col. 4)
Two Men Die When
Airplane Plunges
EPHRATA, Wash., March 20
(JPf Nosediving after only a few
minutes in the air, an airplane
carried two fliers to their deaths
in a mass of twisted wreckage a
mile south of here shortly after
2 p.m. today, ; . ?
The victims were Burleigh
Nicks, Wenatchee, and Wilbur
Anderson, 25, a state patrolman
stationed at Grand Coulee dam.
Both were klUed almost In
stantly. - Witnesses said the plane
had not gained much altitude
when it suddenly dived.
Nicks was reported giving in
structions to Anderson. Nicks
was an experienced pilot.
SEEKING
Crash Wrecks
Amelia's Trip
Around World
Aviatrix Unhurt But Her
Plane Damaged; Sails ,
: Homeward by Boat x
Tire Bursts and Plane's
Wing Breaks; Resume'
Jaunt Later, Plan
. HONOLULU. March !0-ffr-By
a hair's breadth. Amelia Earhart
sidestepped disaster for herself
and two colleagues today when
she wrecked her 180,000 "labor
atory plane" and her world night
plans during an attempted dawn
takeoff for Howland island, lr
532 miles out In the Pacific.
Tearing down the Luke field
runway at 60 miles an hour In
the half light, the powerful plane
began swaying under Its three
ton gasoline load.'
The light tire hurst. The left
undercarriage gave way, and the
plane veered to the left. In a
flash Miss Earhart "gunned the
left motor In an attempt to level
the ship.
-Then the left wing slashed
into the ground.
Ignition Cut Off
To Prev.nt Blaze
Quickly and cooly Miss Ear
hart cut the ignition switches
and thereby saved herself and
her two navigators from possible
.death in a pyre of gasoline-soaked
wreckage. A single spurt ot
flame came from the hurtling
ship. It spun to the right and
stopped on its right wing.
Miss Earhart appeared at the
cabin door as horrified army Am
bulance men dashed up.
"Something must have gone
wrong," she said. She was un
hurt. The navigators. Captain Harry
Manning and Fred J. Noonan.
climbed out unscathed.
"Sure, .I'm okay," said ro
nan as ha surveyed "the broken
plane.
A few hours later Miss Ear
hart, Manning, Noonan and Paul
(Turn to page 2, col. 5)
Pumps Gain Upon
Water at Coulee
GRAND COULEE DAM, Wash.,
March 20-vP)-Giant pumps turn
ed the tide today and gained on
water which gushed for two days
to form a three-acre lake between
cofferdams in the Grand Coulee
project excavation area.
The water level dropped eight
feet by noon today from the mid
night peak, when the water was
more than 30 feet deep and
threatening to flood the entire
east side excavation workings.
The leak was through a metal
walled cell of the downstream
cofferdam. During jthe night work
men with lanterns, ladders and
hatchets swarmed over the Nes
pelem hills, cutting trees and
branches to' mix with clay and
gravel which was dumped steadily
on the outside to cut off the flow
through the defective cell. The
brush was used to "bind" the clay
to keep It from being washed
through the hole.
The flooded area Is what for
merly was the riverbed. The
stream was diverted three montna
ago and the old riverbed pumped
dry for the excavation for the cen
ter section of the Grand Coulee
foundation dam. The leak caused
the suspension of excavation activ
ity in the area.
FOR CHILDREN'S
Rescue workers at scene of destruction ef the London consolidated
school. New London, Texas, were 455 pupils and teachers. Note the
scattered debris, crumpled walls and roofs.! International Illna-
i trated News eoundphoto.
Mutorr made WtmemF
Teams
FIRST B TEAM TO WIN OREGON HOOP TITLE
C-
The Giant-KiUers from Bell founts in, who won the distinction of being the first quintet from a high
school of less than ISO students to win the Oregon " basketball championship. What's more, they did
It with ease, defeating Lincoln of Portland In the finals 35 to 21. BiIT Lemxnon, Willamette gradu
ate of lOSd, turned out this championship team la his first year of coaching:, but he hands much of the
credit to Kenneth Litchfield,' last year's coach and also a Willamette fcrad. From left, Coach Lrmmon,
nrst player not on tournament
jjarain, Hinton, Jvessier.
Lumber Workers
Vote For Demand
No Agreement With Any of
Slills Yet Though Some
Raise Cents
PORTLAND, Ore.. March 20-(jpy-
Members ot the ' Columbia
River district council of the
Lumber . and Sawmill .Workers'
union began a tabulation of votes
today on proposals for a 10-cent-an-hour
wage increase and at
the. and of a conference an In
quiry on the ' outcome brought
the reply:
"It was favorable." '
The speaker declined to com
ment further but said - another
meeting would be held tomorrow.
Employers have offered a 7
cent Increase.
A statement Issued said that
contrary to reports no union has
obtained "a satisfactory settle
ment of their demands, although
several employers have raised the
wages of their employes ?tt
cents." This action has "not
been accepted by any local union
as a settlement," the statement
asserted.
Recommendations for future ne
gotiations will be made by the dis
(Turn to page 2, col. 7)
Pinball Petition
Has 22,409 Names
PORTLAND, March 20.-(fl?)-More
than 4,400 additional names
were added today to a petition of
Interests seeking a referendum on
the anti-pinball ordinance estab
lished by the city.
The new list brought the total
of signers claimed by pinball In
terests to 22,409. or nearly double
the 12,125 required. If -the signa
tures are found sufficient by -the
city auditor, enforcement of the
ordinance ' cannot be ' attompted
pending an election in May, 193 8.
In the meantime, forces -behind
the ordinance indicated an effort
would be made to pass an emer
gency measure to subvert a possi
ble referendum.
BODIES IN SCHOOL RUINS
Copt
I
1 : t (
- U til A -"-!
squaa;, Wallace, K. Buckingham,
j.
Dimick Produces
Last Champ Five
For Walla Walla
WALLA WALLA. March 20
-AV-Harold A. Dimick, the
coach who tonight led the Walla
Walla Blue Devils to their
fourth state basketball cham
pionship and the. second of his
eleven-year regime here, will
not be back at the state tour
ney next year at least with a
Wa-Hi squad. . -
iDlmick's contract was'not re
newed by the board of directors
when they elected teachers re
cently, v , - . .
. - Coach of teams that have wen
25 S games and lost only. 45
since he took hold here in the
fall ot 112$. Dimick has Uken
squads to every state basket
ball tournament held since his
regime began.
Dimlek's successor here has
not been named.
Harold Dimick graduated
from Willamette university in
1920. He was football captain
two years at Willamette and
also played basketball and base
ball. Oil Blaze Quelled j
In Oklahoma City
OKLAHOMA CITY. March 20-i
(JPy-Flaming oil raged for three,
hours in a huge underground
storm sewer In a mile square ot
east side Oklahoma City tonlghtf
before firemen brought the blaie
under controL
As the flames broke out with a
roar in a series of six explosions;
firemen snd police rushed into the.
residential district, roped off the
streets and kept all persons out-
Citizens ran from their homes.
Near the fire were large num
bers of storage tanks of the east1
Oklahoma City oil field.
Fire Chief George Ross said a.
storage tank at the No. 1 Harper;
Turner oil well of the Grlesson Oil
company ; overflower. Crude oil
poured down Into thestorm sewer,
20 feet in diameter, and became:
Ignited in some manner, he said,
1
!
j
i
ure$ Championship
Key, Humphrey. S. Buckingham,
New York Justice
Backs noosevelt
Peeora Hands Opponents'
Medicine Back; Quotes
Cbnnallj on Policy
I i - - ' ... v - y
Judge i Ferdinand Pecora of the
New Tork supreme ' court, first
member of the bench to testify
oh- the Roosevelt .court reorgan
isation bill, urged Its passage upon
the- senate Judiciary committee
today so - that . the , government
"may reach the disease ef which
the present outburst of sit-down
strikes Is only a symptom-, t
)' He criticized the recent trend
of supreme, court .opinions, de
claring they were predicated upon
the economic . theories of the
Judges, He. also asserted the bill
might reasonably be. fortified by
si 'constitutional amendment, and
charged business and finance with
conducting the first sit-down
strike against . new . deal legisla
tion. I; PecQra, who as counsel for the
senate! banking committee in its
investigation ; of WaH street do
ings, hurled many a question
across j the committee table, found
the situations reversed today. He
was the target of cross-examination
by committee . members.
I; A large crowd thoroughly en
joyed the frequently vigorous ex
change. i To Senator Connally (D., Tex.),
an opponent of the bill, he meted
out some of the treatment that
has been given this week to wit-
Besses favoring the bllL Earlier
In the week several law prof es-
t (Turn to page 2, col. 5)
Violent Hail Storm at
.Gold Beach Is Reported
GOLD BEACH. March 20-WV-
-
uan stones three-quarters of an
Inch in diameter' fell here . early
today in a violent storm and with
heavy ; snows swept inland ranges,
and glvtnr rise to fears that the
Curry j county lamb crop, serious
ly ' Injured , by winter storms,
would; be further crippled.
Carney Bill Status Cleared;
Martin Pinball Measure Law
No 'fears are entertained by
Mrs. Hannar 'Martin,' Marlon
county representat tTe. ov
er the validity of SB 17. the Car
ney bill against slot machines.
Friday the claim was made that
0the Journal shewed Mrs. Martin
had offered the wrong motion to
eliminate amendments in the
houseJ The engrossed till depos
ited with the secretary of state
Is the same as the" original sen
ate bill, with no amendments.
U1 remember the proceedings
very well, said Mrs. Martin last
night.) 1 moved that the horse
recede, by unanimous . consent.
xrom tne committee amendments,
which!' had been made by the
house ! committee when the bill
came over from the senate.' Rep.
McAllister said he would, object
unless; he: knew' the 'committee
concurred. . Rep. Grant of Baker,
cialraan of the committee, rose
to state that the committee was
willing to have the amendments
it had made stricken " from the
bill. Rep. McAllister thereupon
withdrew his objection. The bill
was then passed as It came over
from the senate. There was no
question In anyone's mind over
what was being voted on. And 1
am sure In my own mind that I
followed the correct procedure.
irst df.B
Small Benton
op
Little Fellows Get Lead
Early, and Increase It
as Gamer Proceeds
Franklin Winds Up Third
in State; Awards for
Merit Presented
FINAL STANDINGS
Oregon state high school bas
ketball championship, Bellf oa
tain.
Second place, Lincoln.
Third place. Franklin.
Fourth place, Salem. -
Fifth place, Astoria.
Sixth place, McLonghlin.
Seventh place, Eugene.
Eighth place, LaGrande.
Scores Yesterday
Bellf ountain 35. Lincoln 21.
- Franklin 35, McLonghlin 17.
Salem 25. Eugene 23.
Astoria 53, LaGrande 33.
Special Awards -Player'
most valuable .to his
team: Stanley Fish, MeLoughUn.
- KXL trophy for outstandlng
sportsmanship, Richard Kessher,
Bellfountaln. '
By PAUL HAUSER
Jim Corbett beat John L. Sul
livan in 1S92. Centre college
licked. Harvard in 1921 and Dav
id beat Goliath several years age
but last night Bellfountaia beat
Lincoln 35 to 21 to become tke'
"basketball champion of the state
of Oregon. .
Bellfountaln, a town which has
no poatoffice, no electric lights
and is litle more than a cross
roads in the Benton county kills,
has the state basketball cham
pions, as fine a bunch ot ball
handlers that ever made an op
posing team look sick.
While Bellfountaln has the
champs and a truckful of tro
phies the gallant little team
which sailed through all opposi
Uon to two state championships
really belongs to the basketball
fans of Oregon. The lltUe team
from a school of 28 pupils Is
probably the most popular cham
pion that ever won a state bas
ketball tiUe.
Another Portland
Team Gets Lesson
Like they had Instructed
Franklin, the Portland city
champs. In the rudiments of bas
ketball the night before Bell
fountaln gave Lincoln an object
lesson v in style, form and sports
manship last night The whole
Bellfountaln student body could
be lost without trace In Lineola
high school inr Portland bat at
basketball they had to how to
the ability of Bellfountaln.
Just as ' it had raced like a
three alarm fire through Amity
andChiloquin and Franklin. Bell
fountaln did It up. brown by
starting out ahead of Lincoln
and keeping: there.
If there were any honors Bell
fnnntatn HMn ihara last cht
j they were small ones. From the
. (Turn to page 2, col. 1) .
Further investigation indicate
that the Oregon supreme court
has ruled that the engrossed bill
as filed with the secretary of
state is to be accepted as alid,
despite. .irregularities in the pro
ceedings. Hannah's Bill Law -Says
Van Winkle
All of House Bill 159, the
Martin -bill . banning slot ma
chines and . pinball devices, is a
law, except the emergency clause,
as far as action by the legisla
ture and governor are concerned,
and will take effect 90 days af
ter the close of the legislature,
subject to the referendum srori
' (Turn to page 2, coL 3) "
A L LAD E
of TODA A
By R. C,
The little fellow always has
the crowd's support in every
fight; onlookers hope hell win,
whereas the bigger foe is never
right; but satisfaction's greater
still if when the strife and
struggle's - done, your little
hero'sfilled the bill and proved
his right to honors won.
Town Is Ho
GapitalT
oday