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About The Oregon statesman. (Salem, Or.) 1916-1980 | View Entire Issue (June 1, 1948)
O OA 4-- ' it,- 2 ? i no rui , -vJ-r . 1 (Story in Cols. 7 & 8) . . . m 65MDQB f5 PoirDaioi Off A flood when the sun is shin ing ar.d the streets dry seems incongruous. Yet that is the sit uation along the Columbia river end elsewhere in the northwest. One thinks: the rains have stop ped, the flood will soon subside; but the fact is the warmer the weather the faster the melt of mow to swell the rivers clear to the ocean. So in Portland and Vancouver the sun shines but the flood waters keep risir.p, relent lessly, remorselessly. Portland' flood is not a raging torrent cutting away banks, wash ing down houses und carrying chickencoops and logs in its cur rent. It is Just d steady swelling of the river as water backs up from the Columbia and slows to h stop J-" ocean-bound Willam ette. The water crawls steadily uphill, reaching the floors of the iock, surro-.mriin;; riverside fac tories, creeping steadilv uptown. The great cataftroph'- of course was the drowning of a whole city though fortunate'.v with little or no los of life almoft a miracle when ore knows how little time there was for habitants of the wartime city to escape. There the backed up waters pour ed through a break in the dike quickly to overwhelm the still living city which once had claim ed distinction as the (Continued on editorial page) Troops Aim for Tel Aviv CAIRO. May 3 1 .-'.PVA 1 1 i e d Arab armies poured men, guns and ; armor into a 40-mile front aimed ; at Tel Aviv and the entire south ern half of embattled Israel's i coastal strip. The front extends from Jerusa lem to Tulkarm, a dispatch from central Palestine said. It forms the astern side of a gigantic encir cling - movement the Arabs said Ineir' troops were making around Tel Aviv, Initial capital and mili tary headquarters of the new Jew ish state. A bulletin issued by the Arab higher committee in Cairo claimed that Iragui troops had cut off Tel Aviv from the northern port of Haifa by slicing through the coast al strip. There was no confirma tion from Arab military circles. The announcement said the Iraqi aoldiers captured Natanya, on the coast 18 miles north of Tel Aviv. Arab Legionnaires from Trans- Jordan announced they had mashed a Jewish attempt to open , the vital Jerusalem-Tel Aviv high- I way. The Jews lost 114 dead, an J Amman communique said. The highway battle was fought in the Bab El Wad-Latrun area 10 to 14 ! miles west of Jerusalem. One Arab informant said Iraqi aoldiers were only three miles from Tel Aviv. The Jews conced ed Iraqi troops were within nine miles of the city at one point. An Israel communique said Jewish fighter planes engaged Arab aircraft over Tulkarm yes terday. This may have been the first combat of the 16-day-old war. "One enemy Spitfire was seen to explode in the air," the bulle tin said. 90 Missing From Launch NORFOLK, Va., Juns lHifVA coos of small vessels and tugs combed the rough waters of Hampton Roads early today in search of 90 members of the arm- d forces from aboard the aircraft carrier Kearsarge. I iney were tnrown into me wa ters when a 40-foot motor launch was overtur ned approximately one-half mile off the piers of the Norfolk naval station. Fifth naval district officials could make no immediate estimate of the numbers of lives which may dc iosi. iney saia me cause oi ine overturning of the lanuch had not been determined. Animal Crackers By WARREN GOODRICH "HS9t Sir would joa mind It I md th diagnosis" Tnrrpdv Rajjin? torrents from the greatest flood r? J northwest history left this scene of destruction and project from Site NINETY EIGHTH YEAR 12 Evacuation of Lower Columbia Signup of Evacuees Sought; Salem Clubs Aid Flood's Victims Instructions to "be ready if needed" dominated alert orders to the Marion county Red Cross Monday, as the chapter attempted to regis ter all evacuees who had come here from the flooded Vanport area. Marion county Red Cross and various Salem veteran and civic groups are "standing by" with more aid, if needed, today for victims of the Vanport city flood at Portland Sunday. Scores of calls from Salem area residents came into the Red Cross office Monday offering aid. "The response was truly heart-warming," ".Susan Faherty, local chapter exec- 80 Survivors Register with Marion ARC Approximately 80 Vanport flood survivors now in Salem and near by cities have reported their safe ty to the Marion county chapter of the American Red Cross in Salem. Nearly all the survivors are housed in Salem residences and a few in local hotels, the chapter said Monday night. This list does , iiui uuiuuc evacuees i wie suiie fairgrounds. Those registered are: Mr. and Mrs. John N. Klrkwood and on. Johnnie. Mr. and Mn. C. H. Winter and three children. John W. Meyer, jr. Gordon Trlcker. Mr. and Mrs. Dale Rrevet and baby. Mr. and Mrs. R. E. Miller (two chil dren at Vancouver). Mr. and Mn. Ernest F. Andrews and daughter. Mr. and Mrs. Ray Stoddard. Wynona Cartensen. Myrtle and Verlin White. J. K. Maher. Mn. Frank Funfgeld. Harry Roberts. Norbert. Lola A. and Bonnie Jean Crocker (the latter at Albany). Ttaelma Backitrand (at Albany). Mr. and Mrs. O. T. Thompson and daughters. Mr. and Mrs. WiUiam Wienberf and daughter Judith Marie. Mr. and Mn. E. A. Road house and baby (at Albany). Mr. and Mn. Edwin Sturfis. Mr. and Mrs. Milton Cowan and children. Mr. and Mrs. Malcolm Mac Donald (child at Portland)' Mr. and Mn. Lyl G. Hambleton and children. Mn. Richard Owen. Lor en Reynolds. James and Hazel Roane. Mr. and Mrs Clinton Cox and son. Duaine E. Roberts. Leo and Roaie Pouppert. Horace G lesson. Harvey and Stella Hall. Mr. and Mrs. Truett D. Lawvence and son. Mr. and Mrs. Francis Callea. A. C. McCumber. Ralph Smith. Patsy Morrill. Paul Burns. Mr. and Mrs. Fred G. Weed and daughter. Snafu in the Ether! The complete confusion suiting from spotty acceptance of daylight savings time has rendered useless most oi the radio schedules received over the weekend by The Oregea' Statesman. Until the stations coordinate their schedules to the standard-time Salem area, the schedules will be withheld from publication. They will be resumed as soon as a measure of accuracy is restored. Those whose programs have been geared to this area are listed on page 10. PAGES ihive manager, reported last night All Vanport residents who are now in Salem are asked to register with the Red Cross here immedi ately so that Portland authorities may be notified. About 25 families, representing around 75 persons, were registered Monday. For the most part they were flood evacuees here wtih relatives. If these families need clothing. j food, medical aid or any other as sistance, they may notify the Sa lem Red Cross for aid, Miss Faher ty said. The local office has been alert ed since Sunday night with a staff A 10 including Miss Faherty and w M Hamilton, chapter chairman The office telephone was manned all last night by a group of vol unteer members of Capital post 9, American Legion. The local staff was routed out early Monday morning to transport to Portland a group of 15 Red Cross disaster officials who were rushed from San Francisco to Sa lem by plane. Clothing for flood victims is be accepted at the Salem veterans housing project on Cross street. It was announced Monday by Joseph Hopkins, project manager. The clothing will be transported direct to Portland, he said. Officials of Salem Eagles lodge announced that clothing for flood victims be accepted at the Eagles hall all day today and this eve ning. A first shipment of clothing from the lodge was made Monday. Classified Ads Pay . . . And to provide the max imum service in proper classification and hand ling, The Statesman effec tive tonight is setting a cjeadline for Its classified ad pages of 5:45 p. m. No classified ctdver Using will be accepted after that hour, and there will be no 'Too Late to Classify" column except for emer gency "lost" ads. ' Classified a d v e rtising may be telephoned, 9101, from 9 a. m. to 5:45 p. m. daily. Setting oi the dead line, In the Interests of ef ficiency and service, en tails no change whatever in rates. Your classified advertising will be wel comed. Your Home Newspaper in modern desolation yesterday at Vanport, the nation's OU N D B D 1651 The Oregon Statesman. Salem, Oregon, Tuesday. June . 1948 Rivers Damage 10,000 Homes; Airlines Base Flights Here ONG Aircraft Arrive; Field Traffic-Jammed By Conrad Pranre Staff Writer. The Statesman The raging waters of the Col umbia brought Salem its greatest aerial activity in history today to climax a 36-hour battle to remove all operations from the flood threatened field at Portland. Huge four-engined transports and other planes of the Pacific slope service of three air lines taxed facilities at the, Salem air port far beyond reasonable capa city. Nearly all of Oregon's 35 na tional guard planes, which had been stationed at Portland, also are on the Salem field, coming here under command of Col. G. Robert Dodson. Traffic Heavy. Growing United Air Lines personnel, augmented by crews from Port land after serving throughout the night Sunday during the switch of operations, were working at top speed to care for ever-increasing flights. More than 1000 passengers on 30 to 35 UAL. planes went through Salem the first 24 hours of the change-over. Western Air Lanes began opera tions from the Salem field Mon day and the Northwest Airlines got into full operation here today, eration here today. UAL officials said last night United would operate as usual on the east side of the airport here. Western Air Lines will operate jointly with Northwest Air Lines on the west side. New Facilities Talked United Air Lines intends to keep headquarters in Salem for at least three or four days, according to E. S. Maroney of Portland, man ager of ground services. A confer ence of UAL officials this morning is to consider erection of tempor ary facilities to handle the over flow of passengers. City and state police unsnarled traffic jams on the airport high way and the road and parkways at the field yesterday. Buses, taxis, autos, gasoline trucks and air line passenger cars snafued the roads constantly. Members of Salem's company B guard unit are guarding the na tional guard planes under the com mand of CapL Burl L. Cox. Cap tain Cox said Monday that the Sa lem unit had not been called on for any further assistance in the Vanport flood disaster. Creeping Waters Bring Fish to Boys PORTLAND, Ore, June 1 -UP) Flood waters are inching into the railroad yards of downtown Port land, to the delight of small boys. Fish come right along with the flood. With whoops of joy and much splashing the boys chase the fish in shallow water between rails, catching many with their bare hands. Most are thrown back. nieh more than 18,000 persons atemati Clatskanie Threatened PORTLAND, Ore., May 31 -UP) Evacuation of all districts behind the dikes ef the flooded lower Colombia river was ordered to nlxht as the area font ht Its worst disaster in the region's history. The army engineers corps said everybody must get out except men and troops working on the i protective works. Col. O. E. Walsh, district army ; corps engineer, said this affected all diked districts slonr the 120 i mile drainage area of the lower ! river from near Portland to the ; Pacific ocean. The order came soon after the town of Clatskanie was ordered to evacuate its 1,000 people to highlands from behind a dike threatened by high tide threaten ing to spill over Into the area. MaJ. Delber York, Astoria, has ordered company 11 of the Ore ton national guard mobilized and to the scene. Army engineers would not esti mate the number of persons af fected by the order. Thousands live there, but It was not known precisely how many were behind embankments immediately in dancer. Oregon's Solons Arranging Aid to Victims of Flood WASHINGTON, May 31 -(JP) All possible government aid to Oregon's flooded areas was prom ised today by members of the state's congressional delegation. Every member of the delega tion kept his office open during the day most government of fices were closed for the Me morial day holiday in an ef fort to line up assistance. Senator Cordon and Reps. An gell, Ellsworth and Norblad kept in touch with the White House and urged that the president take whatever action possible to pro vide relief for the stricken area. Angell said he and other mem bers of the delegation also con ferred with other officials of the Red Cross, army engineers, hous ing administration and war assets administration. He said he is hopeful of quick action to provide bousing for the flood sufferers. Weather Max. T 77 S3 - BO Min. Preeip. SI .M 50 .00 51 .00 81 -DO Baieaa Portland San Francisco Chicago New York FORECAST (from VJS. weather bu reau. McNary field. Salem): Partly cloudy today with a few light bowers: partly cloudy Wednesday. Hlh today 73. low tonicht 80. Light precipitation win not Interfere with moat farm work but moderate afternoon winds win in terfere with dusting. SALEM rSECIrTTATION (Freaa Sept. 1 to Jaae 1) Thia Year 49.S9 Last Year Average f largest war housing when fled for their lives night. Price 5c No. 69 Ordered Dikes Breakin As Death Toll At Least 22 By James H. Ferruson PORTLAND, Ore., May 2.-(JP) -The Pacific northwest area of U. S. and Canada tonight was i fighting against the power of the flooded Columbia river in what army engineers said is the worst disaster in the region's history. The swollen Columbia broke through at Woodland, Wash., South Kelso, Wash., Kalama, Wash., and at The Dalles, Ore., and slashed across a highway to ! send the water logged debris of shattered Vanport cascading into another north Portland diked area. Five thousand southwest Wash ington residents scurried today and tonight from flooding areas of three towns. Flood crest of the great river has already left the upper basin valleys stricken and devastated and is still to pile into the heavily populated lower valleys. Communications are breaking down, transportation is crippled and hydro-electrjc generators at Bonneville and Grand Coulee dams - - the region's basic source of power - - are gradually stalling to a critical low margin. Phone Lines Broken All northbound telephone cir cuits failed at 9:15 p. m. tonight when the lines crossing the Co lumbia river were broken. Army corps spokesmen said it was hopeless to venture a guess at the total damage. Red Cross offi cials said 'there are already 45,000 persons "severely affected" and about 10,000 homes damaged or destroyed. While the peak in the metropol itan Portland-Vancouver, Wash., sector is due tomorrow, it is un likely that anything it will bring could compare with the tragic blow that the swollen river has dealt to shattered Vanport's pop ulation of 18,700. Death Toll at Least 22 Without counting the unknown death toll In Vanport, 22 deaths are charged to the floods and high waters in the Pacific north west states and western Canada. Thousands have been driven from their homes and damage on a large scale caused along the whole course' of the Columbia and its tributaries. Flood condi tions started in north Idaho more than a week ago from rapidly melting snow. The situation was aggravated by heavy rains along the Cascade mountain tributaries. An army engineer estimated flood damage would total $30, 000,000 for the Columbia basin alone. That was before Vanport was hit Other millions of dam ages have been caused in British Columbia. The high water cut down pow er production and municipal and private power companies agreed today to start a limited "brown out" tomorrow. Consumers were asked to curtail their use of electricity. a sudden dike break let in the (Oregonian photo). Other photos on page 3.) Vanport Wiped. Out; Thousands M ore Homelbss PORTLAND, Ore., May waters which wiped out nearby Vanport late Sanday crashed j through another Columbia river dike here tonight and to the ! north drove another 3500 persons from South Kelso and Woodland, Wash. The new break here just north of the city sent flood wa ters crashing toward $1,500,000 Portland Meadows.race track, and for a time left in doubt the fate of the occupants of a car which Portland General Electric Co. said it believed was one of its emergency vehicles. Mike Skag normally is driver of the car. ' ' The area had been evacuated previously but several workmen attempting to stem the water from Vanport, ad joining the area, were almost caught in the deluges All horses had been removed from the track. The Union avenue fill was expected to keep waters of the new-break-through from reaching farmlands. At South Kelso, 50 miles to the north, the populace was fleeing from the threatened dikes of the Coweeman river, and at Woodland, 30 miles north, where the water poured through the Lewis river dike. The ample warnings in botn outn .rveiso ana wooaiana i ore stalled a repetition of the flood that crashed without warning, through a dike to destroy Vanport Sunday afternoon. Hope that the Vanport disaster had not caused a major loss of life rose tonight as rescue boats finished a full day of search without finding a victim amid the shattered houses and submerged streets. But much of the wreckage lay buried under 15 feet oi water, too deep to be investigated. 'Missing' Reports Being Shortened ? The Red Cross was slowly shortening the missing reports tonight, as families separated in the flight from the flooded town .were re-united. The number who escaped safely was called '-almost, miraculous' by rescue workers. More than 18,000 persons resided in Vanport- Six ty injured were in Portland hospitals. "There undoubtedly are many bodies, said Sheriff Martin T.Prstt. "I will not venture a guess on how many. The Red Cross reported dozens" of missing - - but could not yet tell how many lay buried in the flood, and how many were scattered safely through Portland's refugee centers. t Evacuees, crying frantically for missing husbands, ; wives, end children, were barred from the devastated zone by the danger of still more floods. The Portland housing authority late tonight announced the shatter- . ing of Vanport represented a loss of $21,490,000 plus an estimated $5,338,000 of personal belongings and $800,000 in automobiles of the survivors and probable victims. This loss came in less than an hour as the water burst upon the dike surrounded city. The waters, swollen by the flooded Columbia river.' smashed at other dikes today. Denver avenue, the elevated street to which thous ands of Vanport residents fled to safety yesterday, caved in at one point this morning. ; , Crest Expected Tonight at Portland Workers sandbagged against time, hoping to save remaining dikes until the flood reaches its height tomorrow night. The weather bureau forecast that the Columbia would crest here then at the anticipated stages of 31 feet at Vancouver and 30.3 feet at Portland, and then start to fall. . The floods curtailed the Pacific northwest's power "supply, and power officials called upon Washington and northern Oregon indus try and household to conserve electricity. '. The floods cut off Portland's rail traffic northward and eastward, partly inundated the main Union depot in Portland, halted all com mercial airlines, and cut the Columbia river highway (U. S. 30) attwe points - - The Dalles and Arlington. i Later today, however, the Union Pacific re-established rail serw ice, utilizing steam locomotives to move their trains through the flood ed section near The Dalles. Northbound passengers were taken ta Kelso, Wash., to board trains. Airlines began operating out of Salem, the state capital 50 miles south of here. t Waters Creeping into East Portland Flood waters seeped over low-lying blocks in Portland, chiefly cn the east side of the Willamette river. It was not deep enough to endan ger any lives, but the property damage was expected to run into thou sands of dollars. i Col. O. E. Walsh, district army engineer, ordered complete evacu ation of peninsula diking district No. 2. This included the few house holders left there and hundreds of dike workers. i The district was abandoned when a break-through became im minent between the Portland Yacht club and the Faloma schooL It extends approximately two miles east of Portland Meadows. In the area are the Portland Yacht club, the Columbia-Edgewater Coun- " try club, Dairy Farms, the village of Faloma, several auto tourist camps, and scattered rows of houses. Most residents fled yesterday. RAIL SERVICE HALTED ! YAKIMA, May ai-iTV-Freight and passenger service was sus pended today on the Union Pacific branch line between here and Wal lula because of flood conditions. V. E. Buchanan, general agent for-the railroad here, said one of the ap proaches to a bridge were weakened, full fury of the water Sanday 31.-yP-The rampaging flood Otm SENATORS T7on 2-1 - Lcsi 3-3