Potato Price: Freeze f r i i i I Eor Present : Levels Sought Seen Tfear - w WASHINGTON (JP)A proposal that white potato prices be frozen at their nresent levels was made to the Ofiice of Price Stablization Thursday by a Western croup which included several members of The announcement of President Truman of a plan for reorganiz ing the Internal Revenue Bureau may be his answer to the criti cism of scandals in his Adminis tration. Since Judge Thomas F. Murphy bowed out of the scene as the man with broom and shovel for a Washington clean-up no wort! has come of a special com mission or a special attorney to do the job. The President may just let that idea wash out and sub stitute this form of direct action. One must admit that his pro gram for the Internal Revenue Bureau is sweeping. All 84 offices of collectors of internal revenue are to be wiped out and replaced by 25 district offices with assist ant commissioners in charge who will be under civil service. The President will be the commission er. An inspection service will op erate independent of the bureau. The plan will be submitted to Congress under the general law for reorganizing of administrative departments. Unless the House or Senate negatives the proposal in 60 days It will go into effect There may be some grumbling among members of congress because the collectorships have always been matters of political patronage which they will hate to lose. Such is the stir for reform of the In ternal Revenue Bureau however, it is doubtful if either House of Cpngress will have nerve to reject the President's plan. While this reorganization will take much of the heat off this arm of government congressional investigating committees may turn their bloodhounds on other agen cies. Considered ripe fields. (Continued on Editorial Page) British Tug To Aid Captain In Ser Battle" LONDON MVThe British tug Turmoil reached the side of the helpless Flying Enterprise in the night Thursday, but darkness and the ship's lurching delayed at least until dawn the fastening of the tow lines that will help Capt. Kurt C arisen win his lone battle against the Atlantic. At daylight, the tug will try to get men aboard the Enterprise to fasten the lines, the tug's master reported to London. Three times the Turmoil fired lines to Carlsen, who has been clinging to the deck of the Flying Enterprise for six day's and six nights since she was crippled by an Atlantic storm. And three times Carlsen, clinging to a support with one hand and trying to. catch the line with the other, failed because of the 60-degree list and the lurch ing of the freighter. Eyewitnesses reported that the freighter, though listing badly and aown sugnuy at tne head, was riding steadily in the sharply roll ing waters about 300 miles off West England's southern tip. The U. S. destroyer Weeks re ported the 37-year-old Carlsen, who had refused to leave his ship and its rich 2,650-ton general car go, was "very cheerful and grate ful' for offers of help but de termined to remain aboard until the vessel reaches port. That port will be Falmouth, Eng., if good weather prevails. Navy information was that the Atlantic in the area was moderat ing at midnight and the wind had dropped to about 25 miles an hour. Sub-Zero Temperature Catches Cat by TaiC MOUNT PLEASANT, Utah-(flH A cat got caugnt-iiterally-in the sub zero snap Thursday. It's tail froze to the ground. Owner Bert Wilcox cut fur, and tail, to free the animal. Animal Crackers 8y WARREN GOODRICH tAf r pJt t ir Congress. DeSalle said the order is not yet in final form and Could not . say when it might be issued. It was drafted on stand-by; basis at the end of the year when; potato prices continued a sharp climb that be gan in September, j The ;iive Congress- members in the delegation proposing the freeze at present prices were: Senators Dworshak and Welker, Idaho Re publicans; Senator Cordon (R- Ore); Senator Edwin Johnson (D Colo): and Rep. Budge (R-Idaho). Other members of the delegation I n c 1 ud e d persons' representing growers. Undecided on Level DiSalle saM that in working out the order, the question is whether ceilings will be set at present prices pr at slightly rlower levels. In any case another OPS official said that the ceilings will be high enough to allow for such costs as handling, packaging and market ing. ? Agriculture Department records showed that a year ago the av erage price for potatoes was about 89 cents per bushel compared with $1.93 as of Dec. 15.' Price tJp 15 The ; average national price of potatoes rose to 105 per cent of party as of Dec. 15. DeSalle said that in event OPS decided to go along with the freeze proposal, It would apply to prices at the various levels throughout production areas. Before reaching a decision, he said that he wanted to review figures completely and determine whether anything can be accomplished by calling in the Potato Industry Advisory Comit tee for another meeting. Rnss Asks Top Level Meets on Korean Crisis By FRANCIS W. CARPENTER PARIS (P)-Russia called Thurs day for a top drawer meeting of the U. N. Security Council at tended by chiefs of state or for eig.. ministers to consider a suc cessful conclusion '- of Korean armistice negotiations and methods to relax world tensions. In ..a speech, . Soviet ..Foreign Minister Andrei Y. Vishinsky hint ed ominously at events to come in Southeast lAsia. He accused the i uniiea btates or preparing ag gressive measures against Red China along her southern borders. Denounce Charges Washington officials denounced as false Vishinsky's charge that the Americans are transporting Na tionalist Chinese troops from For- m o s a to countries bordering Southern China. The surprise Russian proposal for a Security Council meeting was quickly rejected by American sources here and in.; Washington. Diplomatic authorities in Wash ington . said such a session where Russia would have a veto would worsen the prospect of peace in Korea by bringing politi cal issues into the armistice ne gotiations. Seen ai Warning Some delegates construed VI shinsky's speech to the 60-nation Political Committee meeting as a warning that Communist China may use the charges of U. S. ag gression to launch new military action on her southern flank. "These illegal flangrantly il legal acts of the United States, we can be quite sure, will be de ciarea lo be defensive measures against; China's aggression .when ever events begin to take their course on thg southern borders o. China, ; in Thailand. : Burma ari Yunnan Province of China," Vi- sninsicy said. 7i Billions Deficit Listed WASHINGTON (P-The Tress ury reported Thursday that the government was $7,487,242,215 in the red Dec. 31, the halfway point In the current fiscal ryear. The deficit, 13 times greater than a! year ago, was the largest for a six-months period since the flood of public spending in World war IE Defense spending was up almost 200 per cent in the i period from July 1 rto Dec. 31, 19i51. Theov ernment's fiscal year ends next June 30. $ Treasury officials said heavy in come tax payments in the next few months are expected to re duce the year-ead deficit to about six billion dollars. Right now the national debt is $259,460,778,794. Mtv Angel Soldier Wounded in Korea - MT. AANGEL FC Ronald Sprauen "Mt. Angela has been wounded' at the Korean front, his parents i reported Thursday. They are Mr. and Mrs; Karl Sprauer who said notification? by the De fense Department listed no details. Sprauer enlisted in the Army in November, 1950. His outfit has been in action for seven months. A brother. PFC Leonard Sprauer, is with the : Army in Japan, i " ' I t 101st YEAH I U I M . I II 2 SECTIONS 22 PAGES Snow Puts Pedestrians, Drivers on Guard 1 r ' - ; !- Thursday morning's brief snowstorm made downtown Salem sidewalks as hasardoos for pedestrians as the streets were for motorists. Here a group cautiously crosses State Street at Liberty amidst swirling flakes of snow. Only minor accidents were reported as both pedestrians and motorists exercised eau- ; Uon. (Statesman photo.) Pnotoa Rain Erases Three Deaths Blamed Steelmen May Comply With No Strike Bid ATLANTIC CITY (President Truman asked the CIO Steei- workers anew Thursday to cancel any steel strike plans, and the un ion gave every indication it will comply. A message from Mr. T rumen ad dressed to "Dear Phil" Murray, head of the CIO and the Steel woikers Union, was read to a specially-summoned union convention empowered to act on strike plans. Recommendation Near Murray was reported ready to recommend that the nearly 3,000 delegates erase the walkout threat. It was considered certain the con vention would follow Murray's wish, at least until the Wage Stab ilization Board suggests a com promise solution to the union's unsettled wage demands. Murray's recommendation on what course the union should take, and the convention action on that recommendation, was put over until Friday's final session. Criticize Industry For more than three hours con vention delegates, one after an other, arose to criticize sharply in dustry bargaining tactics. Individual delegates gaining the floor said they were willing to "hit the bricks," or strike, but felt it would be best to avoid a walk out now as Mr. Truman has asked and see what the WSB decides. Salmon Creek Timber Sold to Hines Company PORTLAND (P) The Edward Hines Lumber Company ha bought 28,320,000 board feet of timber in the Salmon Creek work ing circle of the Willamette Na tional Forest. 1 The regional forester said Thursday that most of the timber was Douglas fir priced at $24 a thousand. The appraised value was $17.80. Gambling Tax Collects Trickle; Flood of Money Still to Arrive By The Associated Press The new tax on gambling is sending a trickle of cash into the U. S. Treasury but it is too early to say whether the trickle will swell to a big flow. An Associated Press survey dis closed Thursday that the govern ment has taken in more than $265, 000, but. most of the registered Betting parlors are still to be heard from, not to speak of the unregis tered ones. The $265,000 figure Is based- on incomplete reports from about half the 48 states. Since the levy is "10 per cent,' the $265,000 represents about $2,650,000 in bets made oh horse races, punchboards and otv er gambles since the law went into effect Nor. 1. Ifs good bet, however, that the figure is a drop In the bucket compared to what has been, wag ered around the country in the last 60 days. 1 Many gamblers are reported to have gone deeper underground, for .s, f! also on page 7.) Winter's Heaviest Snow; Highclimber Dies High on Spar Tree COTTAGE GROVE UP-A Sz-year-old logger died 75 feet above the (round near here Wednesday while topping a spar tree. He was John Oscar Hay of Portland, employed on the Elmo Albridge logging opera tion. Albridge saw Hay slump .back In his safety belt. Coroner Fred Boell said Hay died of a heart attack or a brain hem morhage. Crash Injuries Fatal to Woman McMINNVILLE UP-A woman school teacher died in a hospital here Wednesday night of injuries suffered in an automobile crash near Sheridan Dec. 21. The victim was Pearl I. Snow, 46, Langlois, Ore., whose husband, Kellogg, 63, is recovering from iry jiries suffered in the crash of their car with one driven by Rug las Wilford Lanterman, 27, Sheri dan. Lanterman is held In the Polk County jail under $1,000 bond on a charge of reckless driving. State police said they were chasing him at high speed at the time of the accident. Nine Rescued From Drifts Nine persons were rescued from a snow-packed shelter house on Wolf Creek Pass after Colorado State Highway crews battled through a new, heavy snowstorm late Thursday on foot. The nine persons, including two children, had been locked by snow in the shelter house on the west side of the pass since Sunday. The new storm and record breaking sub-zero temperatures hampered the rescue operations and stalled highway crews. one thing. And only a scattering of the gamblers who registered and bought the occupational tax stamps, have thus far paid any taxes. The tax is 10 per cent of the "handle" that is, 10 per cent of the gambler's gross business. Re turns are required monthly. When the law was passed by Congress last fall its backers est! mated it would yield 400 million dollars a year. . Many gamblers, it has been re ported, have been squeezed out of business at least temporarily. Their dilemma is this: if they registered and exposed themselves as gam blers they were liable to prosecu tion under local anti - gambit, g laws; if they refused to register they would be violating federal tax laws. November collections in Was! -ington State amounted .to $14,805. A total of 350 gamblers filed re turns. December's figures have not been compiled yet. POUNDDO 1651 Tli Oregon Statesman, Salem, 1 f: t on Weather Rain, on the heels of rising temperatures, washed away Sa lem's heaviest snovfall of the win ter Thursday night, but elsewhere the Northwest was plagued by snow and ice. Officially Salem's snow amount ed to .6 of an inch but depths ranged from a half to several inches from a storm which started early Thursday. Rising tempera tures and a heavy downpour, which brought the precipitation total to .61 of an inch by 10:30 pjn., had completely erased the snow on the level. Snow continued to fall In sur rounding areas, especially at high er elevations, but rain is expected over most of the Northwest by the week end. More Rain Expected Salem forecast calls for warmer temperatures and rain or mixed snow and rain today. More than an inch of snow was reported in Keizer and more in hill areas immediately surround ing Salem. On the outskirts of Dallas the temperature dropped to 14 de grees early Thursday on the offi cial thermometer at the Polk-Benton Forestry station. It was still snowing hard there at 5 p.m. with four inches on the ground. Biggest snow depth reoorted in Polk County was "over four feet" I at Riley Peak, some two miles northwest of Valsetz. Snow in Santiam Area In the Santiam canyon it snowed all afternoon in the Mehama-Elk-horn area and residents described the road up the Little North Fork as "a sheet of ice" with chains or equivalent definitely needed. Schools and school buses were operating in the area despite sev eral inches of snow on the ground. Detroit Ranger Station reported four inches of new snow, falling off and on since 11a.m. Thurs day. At 9 p. m., rangers there said "it looks like it has set in for a night of steady snowing." Tem perature at the station then was 29. Snow continued to fall much of the night in the Portland area and in Washington the weather was blamed for at least three traf fic deaths. Seneca .State's Cold Spot Jack Fabrican, 26, Seattle, was thrown from his moving automo bile near Bellingham, Wash. Po lice reported he was attempting to remove snow from the wind shield when the car skidded, throwing him out and pinning him to the ground. Two Pasco women, Mrs. Leon a Hogan, 83, . and Mrs. Armosa M. Wrixon, 62, were killed outright when the automobile in which they were riding skidded on the slick surface, turned end over end and slid into the oncoming traffic lane on Seattle-Tacoma highway. In Oregon, Seneca in Grant County reported temperature low of .24 below Thursday morning. Bums reported minus 8. The State Highway Department continued to warn motorists that chains are required for all moun tain travel. . FIRE DAMAGES HOME 'WOODBURN Fire, apparent ly starting in the - kitchen of the "Tex" Miller residence on Tout St. here, blazed to about $2500 damage as it destroyed an up stairs bedroom and broke through the roof of the frame house Wed nesday noon, firemen reported. TAX HEARINGS NEAR WASHINGTON (JP) House in vestigators were en route Thurs day to San Francisco to prepare for Internal Revenue hearings ex pected to start there Jan. 2L r h Oregon. Friday, January i. 1952 les4 csirasi"Q:oir Dime Counterfeiting Links Convict, Wife The common-law wife of an Oregon State Penitentiary inmate was jailed Thursday afternoon on a charge of passing counterfeit money, after 16 counterfeit dimes were found at her Salem home. The coins were believed to have been made at the prison annex. Lucy McGinnis, 3387 Hollywood Dr., was arrested by State Police on a complaint filed in U. S. Com missioner's Court in Portland by the U. S. Secret Service. She was held in Marion County Jail for the U. S. Marshal. She is the common law wife of Dewey Jackson, serv ing a life term. The coins seized yesterday at the home were part of the 50 which the woman told police she , ! -Z If31 wf. ena' wnen Ce .vuat j "i, 5f annex according to had obtained from her husband State Police Capt. Ray Howard. Hunt for Molds Howard said she told him she passed the other dimes to merchants,- presumably in the Holly wood district, from which came early reports of the money. counterfeit i As an intensive search of the 45-acre annex property was launched in an effort to uncover the molds used in the counter felting. State Police questioned Jackson and three other inmates. Jackson was sentenced to life imprisonment from Polk County on a charge of second-degree murder in 1941, was released Dec. 22, 1948, and returned to prison as a parole violator last Aug. 6. He has been working at the prison annex hog-shed the past month. Claims Found Captain Howard quoted Jack son as -saying he found the dimes at the annex but knew nothing of their origin. The coins found yes terday were in a tobacco sack in which Dewey was quoted as say ing he found them. Only known clue to the dimes' origin was a ladle containing traces of babbit found at the hog shed Thursday. The counterfeit dimes were made of babbit. Missile Base Ships Picked WASHINGTON OPi The Naw has picked two swift cruisers to become the first guided missile warships for bombarding inland cities of an enemy with a-tomic or conventional explosives. It announced Thursday that the 13,600-ton heavy cruisers Canber ra and Boston are being taken out of the mothball fleet at Bremer ton, Wash., for conversion into missile ships. The Navy thus resumes, with some changes, a project it started soon after World War II and she! ved in 1946. At that time, it pro posed to use the partially com pleted 45,000-ton battleship Ken tucky and the 27,000-ton battle cruiser Hawaii for missile ships. However, the missile development program was not then at a point which would justify going ahead and it was decided to postpone work on the hip hull conversions Since then, the Navy apparently has decided that for tactical pur poses, the faster cruisers would be more satisfactory. They could speed in toward an enemy coast. launch their long-range bombard ment and then hurry away to safe ty at sea. Stockman Doubts Eisenhower to Run PORTLAND (TP) Gen. Dwight Eisenhower will refuse to run for president, Rep. Lowell Stockman (R-Ore) predicted Thursday night As a result Sen. Robert Taft (R-Ohio) will be the next presi dent the Congressman said in an interview on his arrival here from his home in Pendleton, where he spent the Holidays. VTia. Prodp. MX SI SO tX M 10 troeo Portlaad Saa rraadaco Chicago , 30 Now Yc 39 SS J3 WUlamotte Kivr J foot. rORZCAST (from 17. S. Weathor Bu reau. McNary field. Salom): Mostly cloudy with occasional abu-oeia of raia or rata and onow mixed today becom ing portly cloudy toalrht. Uttio choao in temperature wttat Um birriest today near 00 and tbo lowest tonight near 32. Salem temperature at 1241 am. today W IAUM OTtKCTFTTATlOW tlnoe Start of Woatoer Yea SoC 1 This Year Last Year Normal tAsn ss.es , 17 .as FfilCE (BE to- UTOSld Allies Regain Christmas Hill In Stiff Battle SEOUL, Korea MVAllied troops fighting through intense mortar and automatic weapons fire in the predawn darkness Friday retook the prized Christmas Hill outpost west of Mundung Valley in East Central Korea. Communist forces had occupied it late Thursdav night after a surging attack that cut off two Allied squads. There was no word of the fate of the two squads. Retake Heights The hill outpost was named be cause the Reds first attacked and won It on Christmas Day. The Allies rewon the height one week ago after three days of bitter. see-saw righting. In the West, Allied troops sup ported bv tanks in heavy fighting seized all but one of two knobs of an important hill outpost which they lost Dec 28, a U. N. Com mand staff officer said. The outpost is west of Korangpo, which is 30 miles north of Seoul. Intense Cold Eases The ground fighting picked up as the intense cold abated and temperatures hovered around a comparatively mild 32 degrees. An Allied officer said that the South Korean cleanup of guerrillas forces south of parallel "6a was about completed. In the air war, 15 Allied Super forts blasted Communist targets in Northwest Korea and front line targets Thursday night All re turned to their Okinawa bases, the Far East Air Forces said In Tokyo. Blast Rail Lines Planes from the carriers Essex and Valley Forge made heavy strikes on Red rail communica tions Thursday and snapped the lines in 157 places, a new record for the war, the Navy announced. A 20-minute fight between an undisclosed number of U. S. Sabre Jets and 30 MIGS over Northwest Korea resulted in damage to one of the speedy Russian-built jets. The action was north of Anju, near the Yalu River border with Manchuria. Reds Decline P0W Proposal MUNSAN, Korea LTVThe Reds flatly rejected a new Allied appeal for the immediate exchange of sick and wounded prisoners of war. . The appeal was made at a non stop 4 hour and 20 minute session of the prisoner exchange subcom mittee at Panmunjom. Raar A dm. R. E. Libby told ncwtUi afterwards that "it was quite a struggle." A pooled dispatch from Panmun jom did not say whether the Reds again had rejected an Allied plan for exchange of prisoners and war-displaced civilians. Truman Admits Then Rejected WASHINGTON (JF) - President Truman confirmed Thursday widespread reports that Federal Judge Thomas F. Murphy of New York once accepted and late turn ed down an appointment to head an investigation of corruption-in--govemment charges. But the President turned aside questions about a report that At torney General McGrath has of fered to step out of the cabinet. McGrath has been under fire by critics who say he has not been vigorous enough in cracking' down on irregularities in government. Mr. Truman declared his own governmental cleanup program will go forward uninterruptedly. He predicted Congress will ap prove his plan announced Wed nesday, to reorganize the nation's tax collection system and take its employes out of politics. - The President said he'd favored such, a plan for a long, time but i i :- o- n si KefauveriEves Candidacy, to - Decide Feb. 1 WASHINGTON (PV-3teruhlicn . Harold E. Stassen ; C announced Thursday he will invade Senator : Robert A. Taft'g home state by entering the Ohio primary elec tion. May 6, in a bid for the GOP ' presidential nominatiod. Taxt a leading contender for the comication, promptly retorted that Stassen is "wasting his time and money" and predicted defeat for; atassen s slate of delegates. The Ohio senator openly resent ed a similar move by i S lasses ta -the 1948 campaign, ftassen tried ior zz of Ohio's 53 Republican delegates in 194S. He won Taft got the others. ! - Says Stassea Wrong l ' Taft also scoffed Dolltelr at of Stassen's news conference com-' ments comparing himself te the " tortoise and Taft to the hare in" the fabled story of the tortoise and the hare. Stassen had conceded that fa - in the race, Taft has -g locg. iocg lead," but indicated ! he would overcome it as the campaign pro' gresses toward the finish line. Taft issued a statement through Taft - for - President heedquarters here saying Stassen's analogy was - correct about Taft having a leu - lead. No Wayside Nap ! , But I am not going to do what the hare did." Taft said, alluding to the wayside nap the hare lock Sc. ul7G a uring tne race while the iWw-- . moving tortoise went onto win. Stassen told newsmen earlier he had decided to invade Ohio be cause Taft had gone into Minoo sota, my native state" by appoint -ing a Republican campaign man ager there and had i Amoved on ' Pennsylvania, my new home state- -by appointing- a Permsy Iranian as national co-chairman .of the Taft for-President campalga. In other political derelopraeptsr. L Senator Kefaarer (D-THsml said he expects to announce abotrt Feb. 1 whether be will seek tho Democratic nomination. 2. Senator Hamphrey (D-IOm), told reporters he believes. Senates Kefauver and Gov. Adlal Stereo son of Illinois will be outTtaDd Ing" candidates for "the Demo-4 . era tic nomination in! the eveat President Truman decides not ft run again. is House Burns At Jefferson Itatcsmaa Sn trrrW JEFFERSON The home ol Ms. and Mrs. Frank McElfresh was completely destroyed fa South Jef ferson Thursday evening by a Cra of undetermined origin. t The blaze was discovered by the Lloyd Vincent family j next does while the McElfresh . family was away. The door to ;the hUriiry home was locked and the fire had spread throughout the house be fore arrival of firemen. AH eon' . tents were destroyed, i 1 - - . Firemen blamed delay, in ar riving at the scene on the big Crm truck being partially : dismar. tied for repairs and the hose on the small truck found to be frozen. - It was not determined If the house and contents were insured. Murphy Cleanup Position that some members of both part ies in Congress have blocked it. Mr. Truman vigorously defend ed his recent appointment f m Commission of the Health Xceds of the Nation assailed by Xr. John W. Cline, president c-f lh American Medical Association, as a "misuse of emergency funds lor political propaganda. . Mr. Truman declared in a pre pared statement that he set up Cm Commission solely because 1 waxi ta see to it that the health cf our people Is protected and that side people receive adequate medical eareJV r ., ... - Be described as fooli&h a report that - Britain's Prime ' Minister Churchill lsnt overly welcome cn his Washington visit ttsxtirg cext Saturday. Mr. Truman said Churchill will get the hearvat welcome he knows ho-r-to f.ve, adding that he doesnl know these rumors start. Too