nn
rii i'
on
, : E i ! . S
1 .
' Letter Ne. I .
wirar vnnK I was in Phlladel
phla Monday to attend a meeting of
the board oi "rresDyienan ia.c,
h TvihHrntlnn of the Presbyterian
church which is now Just a year
old. I was one of the committee
named to launch the magazine ana
am still on its board- Tne expen
ham heen an interesting one
Launching a magazine, even un
der church auspices is Dy no means
easy. The board meetings are
strenuous affairs, under compul
sion to decide many important mat
4rm in limited time.
My associates on the board come
from various parts oi tne country,
most of them laymen. One man, J
n r-mtrhfield of Pittsburgh, ii
president of the American Fruit
Growers, witn interests in we wu
thern Oregon pear belt and in the
apple growing sections of Wash
ington as well as in other parts
of the country. One man is a col
lege president; one woman is wife
of the president of another col
lege; another woman a former na
tional head of the P-TA. One mem
ber Is in charge of public relations
fnr nn nt the country's largest
corporations. The contacts with
inese peopie ax iuuwu"i
though the time for visiting is ex
ceedingly short.
In New York Tuesday I at
tended the trial of 11 commun
ists charged with conspiracy to
Hhrnw tha government. It is
held In the federal courthouse in
Foley square, before Judge Harold
R. Medina. Weeks were consumed
by the obstructive tactics of the
lawyers for the
(Continued on editorial page.)
Lewis Orders
Miners to Start
PITTSBURGH, March 24 -VP)
John L. Lewis passed the word
down to the UMW ranks today
co back to work Monday.
It was good news for Industry.
It was also welcomed by the 463,-
000 Idle hard and soft coal miners
larSci the Mississippi. They said
at the start of the two-week me
morial - protest shutdown March
14 their pocketbooks would be
sagging by the scheduled end of
the work stoppage Monday. v
Lewis' word to return to the pits
as scheduled came in the form of
an' "executive communication.
It came shortly after the Balti
more and Ohio, an important coal
carrier, announced that 8,500 shop
workers now on furloughs would
return to work April 4, one week
after the miners resume opera
' tions. Idled train crews will be
recalled as needed. Over the na
. tion more than 70,000 railroaders
were laid off during the mine
shutdown.
Pen Population
At Record High
' Population was at an an - time
high at the Oregon State peniten
tiary today.
Warden George Alexander said
the prison, with accommodations
supposedly for 1100, had a regis
tration of 1334.
There were 120 at the peniten
tiary annex, 93 in the so - called
garage dormitory and 82 at the
hospital at least half of them
there only because ' there wasn't
room elsewhere.
-. The new cellblock designed to
iccommodate 400 and thereby
bring the prison's "capacity" to
1500 will be finished within
two or three months. Officials
have estimated population will
exceed the 1500 - mark within a
year or two. ; ;
PANES SUPPORT PACT
COPENHAGEN, Denmark,
March 24 -VPy- The-lower house
of the Danish parliament today
approved the nation's entry into
the North Atlantic alliance by a
five to one margin. The action
was referred to the upper house,
where similar approval is re
garded as certain:
Animal Crackers
Bf WARREN GOODRICH
"No? Woll portent you'll
find something you likt in our
btrgsia bistmentJ - :;
ork Monday
sS tt
BaanaaaBsaBaeMaasBaauBaBaasaaauaaBBaa w
Disputes
Shackle
Session
Houses Senate
Dispute 'Who's
Slowing Who'
Br Lester F. Cour
Staff Writer. Tha Statesman
Sharp differences over old age
pensions and racing meets slowed
down the Oregon! legislature
Thursday, threatening to make the
1949 session the longest in his
tory. I
At the same time, a rift be
tween the house and senate over
"who's murdering our bills"
promised to bog down progress
still further as the lawmakers
wound up their 74th day only
10 days short of the record 84-day
session in 1947. :
A joint ways and means sub
committee Thursday divided 5 to 3
over provisions of the proposed
S50-a-month old age pension writ
ten by the house welfare com
mittee. J
Five committee members be
lieve the state should have prior
claim on any real i property left
by deceased pensioners.
Pots S5,00t Limit
Three members favor the bill
written by the welfare committe
which bars state claims on prop
erty valued at less than $5,000.
Under the bill, the state could
deduct what a recipient had re
ceived in pension payments from
money received by a pensioner's
survivors when property worth
more than $5,000 Isf sold.
The race meet problem came to
a head Thursday afternoon when
the house state and federal af
fairs committee recommended a
bin to repeal all pari-mutuel bet
tins: on dog and horse racing.
Tired of Wrangling
Committee members said they
were tired of listening to session
long WTangle between horse and
dog racing interests ever who
should have the best racing meet
dates. : i
The committee action came af
ter the house sent the group's race
meet bill back tar committee for
amendments. The committee had
been workins? on the measure for
two months, but admitted it was
unable to ' satisfy f either the dog
or horse racing interests. Rep.
Rudie WilhelmJ Jr. Portland.
chairman of the committee, said
he hopes the i threatened repeal
wul bring the ttvo Interests to
time. v . i !-.f
Canon Leads Off
The rift between the house and
senate developed Thursday morn
ing when Sen. Allan Carson, Sa
lem, charged that numerous bills
approved unanimously in the sen
ate were being buried in house
committees. Senators charged that
one committee . has failed to act
on more than 100 bills. Others
said the house was deliberately
passing its own bills, refusing to
act on tne senate's and then charg
ing the senate with holding up
adjournment I
Both houses moved through long
calendars Thursday, passing sev
eral important ! measures and
killing several.' ;
Split Income Passes
The house voted to permit mar
ried couples to continue splitting
their incomes for state income tax
purposes after the repealed com
munity property law expires. The
bin now goes to the senate.
Sent to thel governor by the
house were senate-approved bills
allowing the board of control to
send Oregon's I criminals to a
women's reformatory in California
and permitting officials of Hill
crest School, for Girls to return
Incorrigible girls? to Jurisdiction of
the courts. J
Drivers License Bill
The house killed a bill which
would have boosted drivers' lic
ense fees to $3, earmarking the
additional funds for county and
city roads, .ill
Also passed In the house and
sent to the senate were bills ap
propriating $22,500 to bur addi
tional property for the state heat
ing punt at 13th and Ferry streets;
Increasing from $4,500 to $5,000
the annual salary of district
judges of Marion, Lane and Clack
amas counties; abolishing the
post-war readjustment and devel
opment commission.
Senate Defeat Plan
The senate defeated 22 to 8 a
bill which would have given the
secretary of state power to reject
a political party's statement In the
voters' pamphlet which he con
siders false. The! majority charged
it would .set up ,a censorship over
the pamphlet i I .
The senate completed action on
house resolution setting up a
five-man interim committee to
study the possibility of taking over
the $2,500,000 Astoria naval hos
pital as a state hospital- The fa
culties could be obtained free. The
committee ? - will investigate the
hospital immediately and report
back lo tne legislature.
The house labor committee vot
ed 5 to 4 Thursday to recommend
defeat of bills to repeal two. 1947
acts which restrict labor unions.
They would repeal laws outlawing
secondary boycotts and requiring
labor elections to determine if
labor disputes exist The bouse
will decide the -issue Monday.'
Both houses : resume at 10 a.m.
todav. i . : - ' h-. ; . v. ...
(Additional details on page 12.)
8URGEKY FOR -THOMAS
WASHINGTON, March 24
Aides of Rep. J. Parnell Thomas
(R-NJ) said today the condition
of the former hotue un-American
activities committee chairman was
"good" following an abdominal
operation earlier today.
89th YEAB
20
CdDsft off ILovDinig Po-op WDpes
Food Prices
Reduced 2i
Last Month
WASHINGTON. March 24 -OP)
The cost of living has dropped for
the fifth month in a row, and vir
tually all of the increase that oc
curred in 1948 has now been wip
ed out government figures show
ed today.
The bureau of labor statistics
reported that its consumers' price
index declined 1.1 per-cent be
tween January IS and February
19. This fifth consecutive drop
brought the index down to a point
where it was only 0 J per cent
higher than a year ago.
The Index figure on February
is was 169 per cent of the 1935
39 average. It was 27 per cent
above June 1946, when OPA con
trols were abandoned, and 71 per
cent higher than the pre-war level
of August 1939.
The substantial cuts in food pri
ces between January and Febru
ary sent the index on that class
of items down 2.5 per cent
There were smaller declines for
clothing and house furnishings. As
a result of the three the index,
which represents the retail prices
of goods and services bought bv
moderate Income families in large
cities, took one of its deepest de
scents for one month since the
war.
The food index on February 15
was 199.7 per cent of the 1935-29
average, S per cent below the July
1948 peak. It was :2 per cent
lower than a year ago and 27 per
cent above the June 1948 level. .
'' . '" - f. mmmnWt
Sue Barnes
Salem Cherry
Fete Princess
Suzanne Barnes, 1 17 - year - old
senior at Salem high school, was
selected Thursday by the student
council as Salem high princess for
the annual Cherryland festival.
Miss Barnes, recently in charge
of a high school improvement as
sembly, is the daughter of Mrs. C
A. Downs, 2121 S. High at First
to be named to the royal court of
the 1949 festival, she will compete
with eight other mid-Willamette
valley girls for Cherryland queen.
Max,
- n ;
- s
SS :
Min.
U
11
Proeip.
M
Silent
Portland
San Francisco
Chieaao
42 trac
ts m
Nw York
7
as jM
WUlamott river IJ tl
FORECAST (from lA wmUmt bu
reau. McNary timid. Salem) : Cloudy
with light rain today, becoming part
ly cloudy with scattered showers to
nirht, High today near S4. Low to
niht near SS.
SALEM rmECTFITATIOM
(Seal. 1 to March 2S)
This Year
Last Year
17.7
Average
90.34
ass
Hungarian Government Ousts
VIENNA, Mar. 24-In hoUI room la Vienna today. Lt CoL John P. Merrffl (right) pelata U phetesUUe
copy ef receipt for garage Mil which Hongarian government says he refused to pay and for which rea
son he waa expelled freaa country, yesterday. With Una Is IX CoL Peter Keaesak (left), former West
' Point football star, who also waa expelled freaa Hungary. Both were assistant aailltary attaches ef the
U. 8. legation at Budapest Hungary also accused the two U. S. army anea of spying and "brutal ab
ed diploma Ho artvileges.' (AP Wlrepheto via radU from Vienna to The Stotesmaa.)
it !
. r . :
PAGES
The Oracjon
Ton of Dynamite Blasts Rock at
--
This recent blasting eporatioa at
a ton ef dynamito waa set off la one blast in the Croisan creek area fear anUes south of gaJem. Behind
the leg barrier is Robert B. Brennan ef the West Coast Powder Co. (Story ea page 2).
Bulganin Removed as
Russian Military Chief
LONDON, March 24-AVTbe Soviet Union announced tonight that
Marshal Alexander M. Vasilevsky, 49, has succeeded Marshal Nik
olai A. Bulganin as minister of tha armed forces - - the highest mili
tary post in all of Russia.
This was the first big change
Prime Minister Stalin stepped down as minister of the armed forces
i ... ic m
i 1 i
,' ' i , .
' ' i , ' , - '
, . . , ' -
-t s - - "
f t " .--. .
LONDON, March 24 The Mos
cow radio announced tonight
Marshal Nikola! A. Balgaata
(above), has been succeeded by
Marshal Alexander M. Vasilev
sky as minister of the
forces ef the Soviet Union.
T-H REPEAL ADVANCES
WASHINGTON. March 24 -(JP)
President Truman's bill to repeal
the Taft-Hartley act won 13-10
approval by the house labor com
mittee today and headed toward
an early debate in the house.
POUNDDI
1651
Statesman, Salem, Oregon, Friday. March 25, 1849
Croisan aauurries produced! seaae 15,1
in soviet military leadership since
in 194? and appointed Bulganin to
succeed him. Stalin ran the armed
forces during the war.
The new shift followed top lev
el changes in the soviet political
hierarchy in the last few weeks.
The most Important was the re
lease of V. M. Molotov as foreign
minister to be succeeded by An
drei Y. Vlshinsky.
Bulganin is also a vice chairman
of the council of ministers of the
soviet union-a deputy prime
minister. A man known for his
ability as a skilled negotiator and
administrator, BuJvnin will pre
sumably keep his dvuty premier
ship. Into the post of minister of the
armed forces comes a relatively
young man who has carved out a
distinguished career in soviet mil
itary annals. Vasilevsky was dep
uty minister under Bulganin and
therefore is closely associated with
the workings of the office.
Smelt Run Hits
Sandy River
PORTLAND, Ore- March 24
(AVTha long-awaited smelt run
reached the Sandy river tonight,
signalling a sure-to-follow stam
pede of Portlanders to the river
banks IS miles east of here.
Licenses entitling the holder to
23 pounds of fish per day are sold
at the scene for 50 cents. Last year
22,170 were sold in the few days
of the run.
Two Americans
4 '
3 . - 4
-f ''-.
Oaoft :&S5ws (SodDsft
Croisan Quarry
yards of hard reek after
China Ship Hits
Pirate Mine;
Casualties High
CANTON, Friday, March 25-UP)
Authorities estimated more than
100 persons were killed or injured
seriously today when the motor
ship Miss Orient struck a mine
between here and Hons; Kong.
The ship was en route to that
British Crown colony from this
south Chinese port when the ex
plosion occurred.
(A dispatch from Kong Kong
said there were a 00 passengers
aboard.)
The injured were being brought
to Canton.
It was believed here that the
mine was laid by pirates after the
owners refused to pay extortion
money.
The explosion occurred in Eliot
passage, six miles east of Canton.
The Orient la a ship of 1,200 tons.
Senator Walsh
Acting Governor
Senate President William Walsh,
Coos Bay, took over as Oregon's
chief executive Thursday while
Gov. Douglas McKay Is in Poca
tello, Idaho, attending a Columbia
basin interagency committee
meeting.
Sen. Dean Walker, Indepen
dence, presided over the senate in
Walsh's place. Governor McKay
will return to Salem today.
TRUMAN BUCKLES DOWN
WASHINGTON. March 24 -JP)
President Truman today swept his
April calendar clear of all out-of-town
engagement and announ
ced a daylight-to-dark work
schedule, apparently aimed main
ly at getting his legislative pro
gram through congress.
RAISE FOR CITY WORKERS
PORTLAND, March 24-CP-City
employes here will get a $5
monthly pay boost start July 1.
Ormond R. Bean, city finance
commissioner, said it will cost
taxpayers about $188,000 annually.
Polk County Assessor Advises
Overall Re-Appraisal Program
DALLAS. March 24 -(Special)-A
huge re-appraisal program in
volving all real estate in Polk
county was recommended to the
county court this week by Ed C.
Dunn, county assessor. The plan
would Involve all city residences,
business buildings and lots in
West Salem, Independence, Mon
mouth.' Wmamina and Dallas, as
well as all farm land, both tilla
ble and non-tillable, in the county.
It -was presented by Walloce S.
Wharton, chairman of the - state
tax' commlnlon. and Bay Schott
an appraiser. . -. -
'The project, which would re
quire three years to complete, will
be presented to the county budget
committee for consideration of
costs involved. Its purpose is to
equalize tax burdens.
Those presenting the program
recommended that the land ap
No.
Delegates From
Salem Absent at
Senate Hearing
State Highway Engineer JL IL
Baldock and Portland City Com
missioner William A. Bowes pro
tested tonight against a bill which
would prohibit spending of any
state highway funds Inside cities
until Oregon's primary highways
are brought up to federal stand
ards, j
The: only witnesses against the
bflL they said it would make ci
ties into bottlenecks all over the
state's road system. j
If Senators Saeneer
Sixteen of the 30 state senators
are sponsors ef the measure. Port
land was the only city represented
at the hearing before the senate
highway committee.
Portland la most vitally affected
because the bill would delay the
proposed Sullivan gulch freeway
until the primary road system is
completed. It also would delay Sa
lem's proposed $7,000,000 highway
and bridge construction program,
but no one from Salem showed up.
Bowes said "One-third of all
traffic In the state Is in urban
areas. The financial condition of
the cities is so bad that they are
strapped so that they can't do
much of anything on their roads
and streets."
Weald Change System
Baldock said the bill would
force the highway commission to
do away with Its system of allo
cating money equally to the state's
five highway districts. This, he
said, would cause spending of the
Portland district's money in other
sections of the state.
F. M. Hathaway, Portland mo
tel owner, suported the bill be
cause he owns a motel on sanay
boulevard, from whore through
traffic would be diverted to the
gulch.;
The Oregon Farm Bureau fed
eration also supported tne bui, as
serting that all money should be
spent on fann-to-markei roaas.
National VFW
Commander to .
Talk in Salem
T.vall T. Beers, national com-'
minrir in chief of the Veterans
of Foreign Wars, wiU speak at a
district meeting of 'VFW posts in
Salem, Saturday. April 9, it was
announced Thursday, night.
Subject of his talk will be an
nounced later.
Berts will install new officers
of the district's eight posts at the
meeting which will be held in the
VFW halL It will be open to tne
nubile. The Marion and Meadow-
lark posts will be hosts.
i
Mr. Rush Fined
- For Speeding
Salem notice sav a name doesn't
mean ; a thing to tnem, dui wm
Karl Rnh Portland, was fined tlS
in municipal court Thursday for
that s right speeding.
Arresting officers said nusn
was rushine out North Caoitol
street at 45 miles per hour when
arrested early Thursday morning.
QUAKE AT GRANTS PASS
GRANTS PASS, March 24-(P-
A light earth tremor, felt over a
considerable area today, caused no
damage here. It was recorded at
12:53 p. m. Many persons teleph
oned in reports.
praisal start with former Camp
Adair land that has been resold
to individuals. This area was re
ferred to as the "sore spot of
Polk county with regard to taxes.
West Salem would be the prime
area for revising lot values.. This
work! alone would require the
services of two appraisers for an
estimated' six months.
The appraisal of lands is con
sidered the most important phase
of tha overall program. Enlarged
aerial photos would aid in the
task of computing values ' of the
280,000 acres involved. The re
port died suburban -land near
West Salem as an example of how
values have increased during the
past 10 years. I -
Cost of the work If undertaken
would be shared by county and
state. Dunn said rtate funds might
pay two-thirds of the expense.
PRICE 8c
Rankin
Concedes
Fight Lost
Recount of Votes
Sends Measure
Into Oblivion
By Morgan Remolds f
WASHINGTON. March 24 .tin
In a final Jittery lip-flop ballot
the house today killed the Rankin
veterans' pension bill by a cna
vote margin, i
Ironically, the death stroke wla
administered on the initiative oi
a World War II veteran.
The sudden end to Rep. Joha
E. Rankin's efforts to put acmes
his multi-billion dollar measure
climaxed three days of quarrel
some debate during which tha
house members changed Ihejr
votes five times before htvin
the bill. s
On the showdown tha fall u
208 to 207 to send the riddled
legislation back to the veterans
committee for further study
(Reps. Norblad. Ellsworth tA
Stockman voted to shelve the bilL
itep. Angell favored tha nencioa
plan.) ,
That kills this legislation fof
this cpngress., Rankin said.
When Rankin confident!
brought his pension bill before
the house TuMdiv it iir.ft.
to provide $90 a month for vet
erans of both world wsrs when
they reached the ace of SS. r.
gardless of their financial needs.
Weighted with Amendments J
But by the time the final re
jection vote was tallied, tha f
measure was so weighted with
amendments that even its author
could scarcely recognize it
It was a combat veteran. Rep.
Olin E. Teague. of College Sta
tion, Texas, who set off the legis
lative machinery to halt the Ran
kin bill. . 1 f
Teague moved to strike out tha'
measure's enacting clause - thtf
vital part of bill which would j ut
x into enect If enacted. f I
The motion lost on a standing
vote, 169 to 153.
But Teague demanded a teller
vote, and when the members had
marched down the aisles, the
count was 171 to 1S in favor.?
ine xexan men asxea me nouMl
to send the bill back to the com
mittee, i !
m a I 1
This brought the most tenra
and confused moment of all n
the lawmakers made public th f
decision in a roll-call vote. Unrf r
similar circumstances two dnvs
earlier they had voted off the
record to shelve the bill, then
changed their minds on the roll
call test. $f .
As the count was In progress
two Pennsylvania democrats.
Reps. Barrett and Granham,
changed their votes to the side
with the Rankin bill foes. i
On the Associated Press score
sheet these switches changed the
unofficial total from 209 to 200
against to 208 to 207 in favor it
the Teague motion. But the clerks
erroneously reported the result
as 209 to 208 against the motion.
Keeenat Ordered '
Acting Speaker John McCor-
mack (D-Mass) on his own ini
tiative immediately ordered a re
count U
When the last name had been
called and the votes counted
with ho changes they added
up to 208 to 207 in favor tt
Teague's motion to shelve the bill.
It was tha closest vote on a
major bill In the house since
Aug. 12, 1941. That was when, by
another one-vote margin, the law
makers approved extension of the
draft law.
!:
- " 'r i "
Jane Wyman, l
Olivier Capture
Movie Oscars I
HOLLYWOOD, March 24 A-
"Hamlet" which William Shake
speare wrote and Laurence Oli
vier brought to film life, almost
swept the boards tonight fpr
1948 s Academy awards.
It took the coveted Oscsrs ss the
best picture, for Olivier as the
best actor, for art direction, set
decoration and costume design.
Lovely Jane Wyman won the
feminine award for her plain but
appealing deaf mute in "Johnny
Belinda, for Warner Bros. $
-Hamlet- Is the first British
picture to win this country's top
award. . - i
A miniature statuette, a spe
cial award, went to Ivan Jandl,
for the best Juvenile performance
of the year. The 12-year-old was
the sensation of the Swiss-made
-The Search." ,
John Huston was named the
best director for -The Treasure
of Sierra Madre." -
; Olivier was not present to re
ceive his award. Miss Wyman de
clared: "I accept this award very
gratefully for keeping- my mouth)
shut once. I think 111 do it again.
- -Hamlet" which won several
minor awards, also waa adjudged
the best picture of the year. 3
The veteran Walter Huston won
the Oscar for the best supporting
performance of the year In -Tha
Treasure of Sierra Madre," direct
ed by his son, John. s
Claire Trevor, another veteran,
won the best supporting actress
award for her trampish lole s
Edward G. Robinson's girl friend
in -Key Largo. r
JMv
I: