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About The Oregon statesman. (Salem, Or.) 1916-1980 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 15, 1949)
Besieged Kecommendsj Use 01 Corporation Taxes House Passes Own Ijay Boost By Wendell Webb J " Managing Editor. The Statesman The first major recommendation of the house tax committee - -the use of an estimated $37,500,000 in corporate income tax to help bal ance the state's budget for the next biennium - - was ready for the legislature today. The committee, accused last week by Gov. Douglas McKay of . "dilly-dallying," voted 8 to 3 late Monday to limit the plan (uV tax normally is used only to reduce the property levy) to two years, and then voted 7 to 4 to have the legislature itself approve the action with out referral- to the people. 1 The recommendation of the committee, which also voted to kill b3J3DDDB THDQuDC Snow accumulations all over the Columbia basin territory pose a serious flood threat for 1949. The depth is greatly in excess of normal and the water content fS greater because the snow has been packed and frozen. But whether there will be floods or not depends on the rate of the runoff, and that deoends on weatner conaiuona m the months an Usually thefloods in the Wil lamette basin are in winter, rare ly as late asiJarch. They are due to the combination of heavy rains and temperatures high enough to speed up the snow melt In the mountains. The floods on the Co lumbia come later. The heavy run off of the Snake which drains central and southern Idaho us ually precedes that of the upper Columbia and gets out of the way of the latter. If there is a sud den warm spell, as in late May last year, to hasten the melt in the Sockies, then the flood danger on lower-levels is increased. A Portland engineer, F. R Echenck, made a study of records a few months back and came to the conclusion that in the past the great depth of snow, especially if accumulated all through the win ter, did not usually cause floods. because the packed snow ana ice melt morealowly than loose snow, The experience of last year alontf the Columbia however gives res idents along the river and the au thorities crave concern. At Washington hearing last week Lt. Gen. Raymond A. Wheeler assur ed a committee of the senate that the army engineers would do all they could to help if flood condi tions develop. But when the great rivers swell and overflow their banks about all that can be done Is to rescue people and livestock from the path of the waters and protect property as much as pos sible. Real flood control is a long time construction Job, using levees and dams. Jlfa best we can do now is to hope the weather doesn't become summery too fast; but those who live in the path of possible floods should be on the alert to avoid disaster.- Speculators in Market During Price Decline WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 -(JFT- Speculators apparently were ac tive on the commodity marke when farm prices nosedived this month, the agriculture department reported today. It said that deal ings on futures markets stepped up sharply right at that time. Grains, fats and oils and some ether commodities hit the lowest marks since OPA days. But ag riculture officials said they have n't found out yet whether price ed buying and selling tactics caused the break. Secretary of Agriculture Bran nan ordered the investigation, saying he couldn't see anything to Justify the decline normally. Today's report was on a prelim inary inquiry. - The agriculture department echoed Brannan's views in a fore cast that food prices will edge off this year but not break sharply. Animal "Crackers By WARREN GOODRICH "Gtrbige service? How nice! How much do you charge for four garbage?" Com m i ttee ! a proposed gross income lax on business arid a 3 per cent tax on corporation dividends, transcend ed in importance any Monday ac tion on the; floor of either the sen ate or house. But even so, house passage (33 to 27) of a bill to increase legis lators' pay shared the Monday spotlight. iThe bill would give legislators i $1,200 a biennium (compared I with $400 currently). It now goes to the senate. Meanwhile, legislative action was completed on the memorial requesting s federal protest over the persecution of Cardinal Mind zsenty and. on the bill requiring persons to be residents of Oregon to hunt oh their own property without a license. Rep. J. D. John son of Tigard cast a lone vote against the Mindzsenty memori al, explaining he believed protest ant leaders also should be in cluded. The house passed and sent - to the senate 10 bills including those reducing the national guard age limit from 1 18 to 17, giving pref erence to veterans in civil service, letting blind persons choose their own assistants in marking ballots and removing 1,100 acres from a game refuge in eastern Polk county. J3k,. Would Return Co-ops The senate passed and sent to the house four bills, including one returning flax cooperatives at Mt Angel, Canby and Springfield to the owners; who surrendered title some years : ago to allow state par ticipation in federal flax funds. Defeated in the house was a bill to increase the fund available for veterans' farm and home loans. Op ponents said it was not necessary Present base is 3 per cent of the state's assessed valuation. The bill would have boosted it to 4 per cent The house received only one new bill Monday a substitute meas ure for a proposal to change the livestock branding law but the senate got 1 3 new ones. New Bills Entered Among the latter were those pro hibiting advertising signs within 300 feet of a road; putting public or cooperative utility districts un der the public utilities commission er; outlawing racing bookmaking: asking congress to admit 400,000 displaced persons and requesting federal legislation for 1,500,000 low-cost housing units ; throughout the nation, f The bills io lower the voting age to 18 and reapportion the state's legislative representation were ap proved by th senate elections committee and will reach the floor with adverse reports. The reappor tionment bill sought to' give Mult nomah county one-third of the leg islative strength.' It now has about one-fifth. Governor! McKay's criticism of the house tax committee came in for considerable comment at the Monday sessions. Committee Chairman Ralph Moore, prior to his group's recom mendation n the corporation tax, said "we are not going to be forced into action by anyone. It takes time to formulate a tax program that . . . might affect Oregon for a whole generation. . . The governor hasn't even called me into his office to discuss taxes." " McKay pets Comment Speaker of the House Frank VanDyke said from the rostrum that the press had "misinterpreted" some of his remarks and that he had "full faith" in Moore's com mittee. Rep. John I. Sell of The Dalles, j tax committee member, said of the governor's statement that "I don t appreciate the compliment." The corporation income tax is considered the most i important plank of the tax program. Other main proposals, still to be reported oni call for repeal of the withholding tax on income, repeal ing the credit for federal income taxes against state income taxes, and referring to the people a pro posal that the present; $50,000,000 income tax surplus be spent to bal ance the budget, build college buildings, build state institution buildings, and provide more funds for schools.! Both the senate and house will resume at 10 a. m. today. (Additional details page 3) PLANE FOUND: ALL DEAD LIMA, Peru, Feb. 14-OPr-All 16 persons aboard a Faucett air liner which crashed in the Peruvian Andes last J Thursday have been found dead,- reliable reports from Huanuco said today. One body was identified as that of the pilot, William Carmichael Whyte of Dal las, Texas. Max. ; Min. Prccip. SALEM Portland . Saa Franciace Chicago .. ,., m - .38 33 30 IS 91 .41 M 21 trace .51 32 New York Willamette driver 5-2 feet. Forecast (from U. S. weather bureau. MfNarT field. Salem)! Mostly cloudy today and tonight with scattered rain showers. Hirra today near 45. Low to night near 32. IAI.EM rKECIrlTATION (Seat. 1 t Feb. U) This Year I Lart Year ' Average Z7.ia j 28.S3 li.tl K g) SSth Year 12 PAGES Camp Adair Senate Leaders Blast 'Moral' Promise of Aid WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 -i&y- Bi-partisan foreign policy leaders of the U5. senate served notice today that they would not stand for any "moral" commitment to go to war in the North Atlantic secur ity treaty. The proposed treaty. Intended to bulwark the west against attack from Russia, is being negotiated now by the U.S., Canada. Britain, France, The Netherlands and Lux embourg. The warning that the VS. could not be committed in advance to fight in case of an attack on a for eign nation was given by Chair man Connally (D-Tex) of the sen ate foreign relations committee and former chairman Vandenberg (R Mlch). They spoke out in the sen ate after Senator Donnell (R-Mo) had raised the question. Donnell cited an Associated Press dispatch, which recited the points Secretary of State Acheson was understood to have made in a re cent talk with Foreign Minister Halvard Lange of Norway. One of these points was that, al though only corferess can declare war, the U.S. government would subscribe to the principle that an attack on one signatory to the treaty would be an attack on all. This would be interpreted, it was said, as a moral commitment to fight. Connally said he would not favor any language in the proposed se curity agreement "which would morally commit us to fight." Vandenberg said he expects the pact to reserve to congress "the complete right of decision" on what to do about an armed attack. Observing that there would be no "automatic commitment," he added, however: "Obviously, something is meant by a. general assertion that we find common interest in our mutual safety." ten- t H riftuvim tis nm5T VT IT t- r Lii ; . . f Cjr l 5f- u; I T" r-r;r T . 1 i . WSm'wmk , 7 WFIE BANKS . f ( -TVN" 1 ; Smge HDQTS :' CENTER OVERPASS ' , . . 3 J I I ik 3 r-fU-,. 1 ; I II also No-Pflot Plane Vanishes After Three-hour Cruise FORT LEWIS, Wash., Feb. 14 UPy- Pilotless and flying erratic ally, a small army scout plane vanished today after causing con sternation for three hours in resi dential sections between here and neighboring Tacorna. Seven hours after the plane's gas should have been exhausted officials at nearby McChord air force base said no report had been, received on its whereabouts. Absence of any report on the wandering aircraft led authorities to believe it crashed either in the heavily woodod mountains to the east or In Puget Sound. The plane, a two-place liaison type (L-16), took off on its own at 11:15 a. m. (PST) from Gray field, small military airport on this reservation. With tabs set for climbing, it burrowed into a cloud Layer at 3,000 feet. Later it was reported briefly over American lake. Still later, Tacoma's McKinley Hill residents heard a plane motor muttering in the clouds. Almost exactly at the hour when its gasoline supply should soon The Oregon Becoming Civilian9; Army Reminders Abide Pioneer Sons Fete Oregon PORTLAND, Ore., Feb. 14 -(P) Sons and daughters of Oregon pio neers celebrated the 90th birthday anniversary of Oregon statehood tonight in a big Valentine day party here. Mary Elizabeth Meek, 17, great granddaughter of Pioneer Oregon ian Joe Meek, was presented to the assembly os Miss Oregon of 1949. Another pioneer day name figures In the festivities when Ja son Lee, not a kin of the Methodist missionary, however, made the principal address. Congress admitted Oregon to statehood Feb. 14, 1859. Norway Said Ready to Join LONDON. Feb. 14 Nor wegian Foreign Minister Halvard Lange was quoted today by Scan dinavian diplomats as saying he believes his country will Join the North Atlantic alliance as a found ing member. The Scandinavian sources said Lange came away from his recent conferences in Washington with the knowledge that the United States will refuse priority on arms deliveries to nations or groups of nations outside the planned At lantic security system. Sweden has proposed that she and Norway and Denmark enter a Scandinavian defense alliance whjch would not be linked with any other grouping of nations. 'Spnrk of Humor9 In Parking Space Rep. Douglas Yeater got his bill passed by the house Monday evew though he injected considerable of St. Valentine's day into his argu ment. It was a bill giving the high way commission $5,700 to increase parking facilities between the su preme court and the state office buildings. "They need additional sparking space." Yeater said inadvertently. have been exhausted (2 hours and 40 minutes after the takeoff), the sounds above McKinley Hill ceased. No plane came down through the clouds overhead, how ever. Neither the smashing of broken fuselage nor any splash of a plane diving into Puget Sound, nearby, followed. The odyssey began, when ,LL Herbert A. Winters," pilot, .step ped out of the plane and cranked the propellor by hand, with the throttle at idling speed.-Cpl. Wil liam G. Keiser, riding in the rear seat, reached forward to open the door as the lieutenant started back to his pilot's seat. By accident, his hand shoved the throttle control to the full throttle position. Winters was left standing as the plane taxied down the field. Kei ser, desperate, rolled out of the speeding plane, breaking his leg and knocking out teeth as he felL The plane rose raggedly from the field, bounced off a tank, knock ing off at least half of its land ing gear, and climbed to the overcast. a 9 MUNDII 1651 Statesman, Salem, Oreaon. Tuesday. February 15. 1949 Group Okehs $2 Million for Detroit Project WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 - (JP) -More millions for Pacific North west power and reclamation ps Jects were approved today by the house appropriations committee. The total came to f 25.047,000. The house committee's action coincided with Secretary of De fense Forrestal's plea that the army engineers speed construction of 19 dams to generate vitally need ed power in the northwest. Forrestal said, in a letter made public today, that the nation's power situation was acute, with the greatest shortage in the Paci fic northwest. , Moneys given the house com mittee okeh were included in an omnibus deficiency appropriation bill of $466,882,177. (The measure has that title because it is design ed to make up the deficit between available funds and the amount to be spent). The breakdown for northwest is: $10,500,000 for McNary and Chief Joseph dams on the Columbia riv er and the ice harbor dam on the Snake river, all in Washington. $4,500,000 for Columbia basin re clamation projects. $2,500,000 for emergency flood control work in the Columbia ba sin. $2,000,000 for the Detroit dam in Oregon. The house committee's recom mendations are subject to house and senate approval. U.S. Sen. Guy Cordon and U.S. Rep. Walter Norblad sent word Monday that the house appropria tions committee has approved an additional $2,000,000 appropriation for the Detroit dam project. This would be in addition to the regular appropriation coming up in congress later. The congress members from Oregon sent tele grams to Salem Chamber of Com merce. Judge Orders End to Delay NEW YORK, Feb. 14-UP-Fed-eral Judge Harold R. Medina today ordered the defense for 11 indicted UJS. communists leaders to halt temporarily its attack on the fed eral jury system here. The defense retaliated with a charge that the judge had commit ed a "plain, clear, reversible er ror" and asserted that "we will leave it to a higher court to erad icate some of the errors committed here." TVixicab Driver 'Identifies9 Robber f Willard Rushing. Seattle, was ar rested by city police early Tuesday morning at a downtown hotel on a charge of grand larceny, for King county, Washington. His wife, Tina Rushing, was under arrest on a vagrancy charge. Rushing was identified by W. C. Linniger, 633 Ferry st. Yellow cab driver, as the man who robbed him of $21 at gun point Saturday morn ing and took off with his cab. The cab was later located by state po lice on a side road off the Dallas- Independence junction in Polki county. OouflsiDud tfeMML ma n Camp Adair southwest of Salem a few years ago one of the na tion's great army training een ters. Is becoming civilianised again. What has become of the 55,000,00-acre tract? These pic tures help Illustrate It. Top left shows one of two newly comple ted homes built by Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Cooke on the E. L. Baker farm, Daughter Evelyn, . eighth grader at Monmouth school, Is In doorway. But there remain many mate testimonies to dis mantling and pilfering, such as the windowleaa, doorless house at top right White oak flooring and all plumbing and wiring have been removed. Low er left is one of the many signs once dotting the military area. A few, such as this one, remain as a reminder of the huge man euvers once held there. At low er right is an anti-tank practice type mine which Alfred Cook ploughed up In his field and la ter placed In a tree where he "unloaded" It with a shot from his gun. (Statesman farm pho tos). 2 0SC Faculty Releases Called Due to Politics CORVALLIS, Ore., Feb. 14-VP) -Two junior faculty members at Oregon State college asserted to day they were being dismissed be cause of political activity. They said they were active members of the progressive party. The two are L. R. La Vallee, an assistant professor of economics, and Dr. Ralph W. Spitzer, associ ate professor of chemistry. La Val lee joined the faculty in 1948, Spitzer in 1946. Both said they would carry the case to the faculty committee on appeals and to the American asso ciation of Universit7 Professors. President A. L. Strand of Ore gon State reported that the two had not been made permanent staff members and were being let loose before they could expect perman ent tenure. An Oregonlan reporter quoted Dr. Strand as saying "We have decided we donl want either one of them. Their very activity in dicates we would not make per manent members of the staff out of them. Anybody's politics is all right down here, but ... I don't think I'd better say anything fur ther. You see, I don't have to give them a statement, because that is precisely what they want.' Mt. Angel Co-op Learns Of Slight Business Drop By Lillle L. Madsen Farm Editor, Tha Statesman MT. ANGEL, Feb. 14 While business volume of the Mt. Angel Farmers Union Warehouse co operative was slightly down from the previous year, the total 1948 volume was still $1,086,158.45, re ports given by Sylvester Schmitt, manager, and Harvey A. Michael is, accountant, showed at the an nual meeting, Monday. Total volume of business In 1937, the first year of operation, was $29,402. That year net mar gin was $1,928.30, in comparison to the 1948 net margin of $62,356. 71. "Value of the physical plant was set at $145,370.74; current assets were listed at $255,433.57, with other assets at $20,443.62, making a total of $421,247.93. To tal patrons equities were shown at $396,525.53. Improvements made during 1948, including the new grain elevator, were listed at $101,083.23. While the three speakers, all from Pacific Supply company, were somewhat optimistic as to the Immediate future, they sound ed a note of warning. Don Gilles pie, manager of the feed and seed division, speaking on farm crop outlook, said he "would stick his neck out far enough to predict a 50 cent drop in wheat prices for next season." He said European Price 5c No. 289 City Backs Bus Line To Coast By Robret E. Gangware Cay tkliior. The Statesman Proposed new bus service di reel irom Salem to the coast won the endorsement of the Salem city council Monday night at city hall The council also reaffirmed its non - business zoning policy for the capitol area, decided to thresh out the Baldock highway improve ment recommendations for Salem on March 14 and ordered a study of extension of North Commercial street to the North River road The bus service proposed by John Ratzlaff of Albany would start with two round trips daily between Salem and Newport on a tnrougn run of 2 V. hours, pro' vided approval is obtained from the state public utilities commis sion after a public hearing March 21. At Mayor R. L. Elfstrom's sug gestion, the council ordered a for mal resolution favoring such bus service io De prepared for pre-J eniauon at me rut; nearing. ine proposed bus route from Salem is via Dallas, Valley Junction, Otis, Oceanlake and other coast communities south to Newport. Zone to Stay Restricted Council members went on re cord to oppose any further busi ness encroachment into the re stricted capitol zone from the statehouse north to a half block beyond Center street, at the re quest of the state board of con trol which indicated the legisla ture is now considering appropria tions for state construction and wants assurance that the city will maintain its capitol zone policy. Roy Mills, secretary of the board of control, told aldermen he expected the board soon to ask also that the city maintain .its class II residential zone north from the capitol zone beyond Un ion street to North Mill creek. The long range planning commis slon has already recommended that the state buildings area eveifeJ tually extend that far nortn. witn In this area a business zone e tabllshment Is now being request ed by Carl Engstrom and William E. Foren for a 92-foot frontage on Nortn capitol near union street. Street Extension Studied The North Commercial street extension study was advised by Alderman David O'Hara on be half of north Salem citizens who since annexation of a north Sa lem area two years ago have urg ed that Commercial be Joined with the North River road. The city already has acquired rlff-ht - of - way for extending Commercial from Hickory to Try on avenue, with the work of road laying expected to coincide with laying of the interceptor sewer there. Distance from Tryon to the river road is about 300 feet. Com mercial street Is not Improved north of Columbia. Backers of the extension plan ooint out that such sn improve ment would greatly aid traffic Into north Salem areas from Kei zer. Manbrin Gardens and other communities to the north. (Additional details on page 2) POEE NAMED TO COURT WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 -UPh President Truman nominated Walter L. Pope of Missoula, Mont.t today to the ninth circuit court of appeals, which includes Ore gon. and Balkan countries have sur pluses to export; India is looking elsewhere for more favorable shipping connections. Red clover seed growers might, he said, have a "tough time" of it, too, b,-ause of the large supply, but the vetch outlook was "very good." Gilles pie complimented the quality of barley received from the Mt. An gel plant in 1948, and laid this to the better handling facilities. W. B. Harris, speaking on the importance of a sound credit poli cy, urged the Mt. Angel coopera tive to adopt a definite credit pro gram. G. A. Fitzpatrick indicated nitrogen fertilizers would continue to be short in supply, condition of phosphate supply was Improv ing and potash was ample. The importance of organic fertilizers could not be over-emphasized, he said, listing these as barnyard fertilizers, composts and cover crops. O. J. Schlottmann, who presid ed, Albert W. Bochsler and Ber nard Smith were all re-elected for two-year terms on the board of directors. The 1943 certificates would be called in, and 94 new members were shown for 1948. Music was furnished by Paul ine Saalfeld and Eustelle Bauman, vocal, accompanied by Helen Ke ber; and Arthur, Margaret and Stella Dummer, in accordion, vio lin and piano trios. LnJDu, H igh way Damage 'Worst' Salem's weather settled down I Monday to the usual winter run i ram. After a brief return of icy weather Saturday and Sunday, the weatherman turned on the j faucet again, adding .60 inch of E rainfall to the year's total. t Elsewhere in Oregon the story ! was pretty much the same. Rain t fell all through the Willamette valley Monday and more snow I piled up in the mountains. Inland L drifts canceled Union Pacific plana j to renew transcontinental trri , service. Tracks were closed In the Rocky mountains again after a I s brief break. .; i Fifty-five guests at Timberline T" lodge were marooned by new I snow piling on top of a record 200 f inches. Fitteef automobiles were ! covered by the new blanket. Road Damage $2 Million j The national guard "haylift" j stepped up its service for isolated j stock In the Ontario area Monday, 1 flying 15 tons of hay into the area, i Roads to Isolated ranches were expected to be opened soon; Meanwhile state highway engi- i neers took survey of freeze- ij damaged roads and estimated t $2,000,000 outlay for repairs. R. j H. Baldock called the winter frost ij' the worst since the highway de- partment began maintaining road in 1920. Three thousand miles of , state secondary roads, which have ' a thin covering of macadam, suf fered most of the damage, Baldock Highway maintenance crew began the big task of clearing the Santiam highway of the avalanche , which covered 500 feet of . tha route. The Job may take several ! days, a'maintenance engineer said, i Both the north and south routea ! have been closed by a snow Slide at Hogg rock. I-, Stock Tell Totaled 1 By tha Associated Press : ' Whistling winds stirred up new ground blizzards in Wyoming and Idaho Monday as a government count listed 178,000 head of live- ! stock dead from blizzards in four western states. f However. In the Nebraska- :! South Dakota disaster area week- -end snow and high winds moder- ; ated and temperatures climbed. giving relief workers the chance ' to restart digging-out operations, i Some Idea of the previous bliz- ' sard toll was given by an agrl cultural department survey ; that 81,000 cattle and 97,000 sheep and : lambs had died In Colorado, Wy- oming. South Dakota, and ' Ne- ,. braska up to February 1. Addi- ;' tional losses are expected. ; ' ' Hayllft Extendi f; i The Union Pacific's newly open- ed tracks In Wyoming drifted i closed again between Rock river ) and Wamsutter before a train ; went through. The U. P. had Just I moved Its last stranded train out : of Wyoming yesterday. j;; The Nevada haylift, which was to have ended last Sunday night, ' was extended two or three days ! when a number of urgent re quests poured in. In Idaho, civil r air patrol planes dropped food to ' two families near Twin Falls. The week-end blizzard In I the , storm - distressed mid - continent f; was the "worst In two weeks. It f halted temporarily some relief ; work in South Dakota, Wyoming j and Nebraska and spread into six it counties of North Dakota. R After the snow came the sev- 1 ere cold. Big Flney, wyo,ihaa the lowest reading, -37. P Class Leaders Selected by Willamette VI Elections at Willamette univer sity Monday filled 14 of 20 class posts for the spring semester in an all-school vote. Runoff election is slated for next Tuesday, ac cording to Albert McMullen, Tart, student body vice president, ft Robert Bailey. Salem, was elect ed senior class president for the new semester, and Richard End- sley. Hood River, was elected soph omore president. f Other, students elected were; Seniors Harry Ryan, Eureka, Calif., vice president; Mary Wil cox, Salem, treasurer; Barbara Mil ler, Troutdale, secretary (uncon tested); Morris McElwee, Salem, sergeant-at-arms and Patricia Holtz, Portland, publicity manager (uncontested). Juniors Robert Muhr, St Hel ens, vice president; Beatrice NagL Aurora, secretary, and Joan Clou dy, Ketchikan, Alaska, treasurer. Sophomores Donald Carpenter, Portland, sergeant-at-arms. ! Freshmen Constance Bailey, Piedmont. Calif., secretary; Pris cilla Botkin, Bend, treasurer, and Dan Montag, Portland, and Lois Prediletto, Vancouver, Wash-, ser-geants-at-arms. r Candidates running for remainr ing posts are: - - ' Junior president, Gordon Cline, Burlingame, Calif- and Kenneth Holmes, Albany. Sophomores, Vice g resident. Colleen Whiteman, Hood iver and Mary Scott, Bend; trea surer, Ludene Ha r grave,? Portland and Charles Robins, Salem. Fresh men, president, Sherman Bliss. Sa cramento, Calif., and Donald Ben son, Bend; vice president, Donald Pritchett, Bend and Harry Sum mers, Powers. f