World's Largest Cavern
Discovered in Kentucky
By ALTON L.BLAKESLEE
Associated Press
Science Be porter
ATLANTA (AP) - Explor
ers Tuesday announced dis
covery of the world's largest
cave A 32-mile maze of pas
sageways and cavernous
rooms-near Cave Qty, Kv.,
100 miles ionth of Louisville.
It may actually prove to bo
60 miles in total length when
all passageways are mapped.
Vntil now, the largest known
cave system was the 24-mile
' lolloch Cave in Switzerland.
The announcement was
made by the National Speleo
logical Society.
Establishment of Can
Plant One Step Closer
1 By BOBEBT E. GANGWABE
City Editor, Th Statesman ?
Passage of a new city law Tuesday night brought one step
closer the proposed establishment of an American Can Co. manu
facturing plant in North Salem.
The City Council at its regular business meetingjnyCity Hall
ccepted from Cascade Meats, Inc., a 60-foot strip of land, dVifitated
for street purposes as access to the industrial land north of the
DiP
MM
mo
Yesterday I discussed the action
of United Nations in admitting 16
nations as members, raising the
total to 7(, and pointed out some
of the implications of this expan
sion of membership. Today, I want
to summarize other actions of the
Tenth General Assembly which
concluded its sessions a few days
before Christmas.
This- was the year when the
question of a Charter review con
ference was due for consideration.
The Assembly took steps to author
ize such a conference but conven
iently left the date. blank. The
major powers are not disposed to
favor any early' session of . such a
body, and the USSR frankly
-opposed the action that was taken.
Since Charter... amendments first
must clear the Security Council
where the five permanent mem
bers have right of veto, there is
not ' much 'point in holding a
conference to revise the Charter
in the present mood of the great
powers.
For one thing, this session of the
Assembly was attended with much
less vituperation than previous
gathering. The "spirit of Geneva"
held till pretty nearly the end. At
the last, however, wrangling broke
out over admission of new mem-
bers, especially when Soboleff of
the USSR blamed the United
States for Chinas veto of
(Continued on editorial page, 4.)
Curtice Named
'Man of Year'
NEW YORK I - Time Maga
zine has chosen Harlow Curtice,
president of General Motors, "as
its 1955 "man of the year."
Curtice, "in a job that required !
It, assumed the responsibility of
leadership for American business,"
the magazine says in its Jan. 2
issue, out Wednesday.
Police Take Dim
View of Rcstroom"
Living by Woman
A Salem woman, who city police
saw maae ner nome ioi- iwo nays) Ab , , , , court
in the rest room of the Gryhound on tne cnar2e
Bus Depot, was charged Tuesday i
with vagrancy,
-She was sentenced in municipal ! UN,0N FIGURE DIES
court to five days in jail, but later! LONDON 11 Arthur E. (Jock)
released by order of Judge Douglas i Tiffin, 60, leader of Britain's big
L. Hay. She said she had decided gest trade union, died Tuesday. He
to leave her husband and was was elected general secretary of
awaiting money from a sister in
Texas, police said.
Tom Collins Drink
Originator Dies
ST. LOUIS k-'TIl have a drink
like that one you make for Tom."
. John Dittrich, a bartender at the
Old Flanters Hotel in the early
1900s, knew this meant gin, lime,
sugar and lemon. Members of the
Dittrich family say Dittrich named
the drink for the customer
habitually ordered H Tom
11ns.
c t nAU,flnnu. t...j.. 1
In rsnni-lins nitlrioK'. Attatk n i
heart attack Christmas eve at 63,
credited him with originating the
drink.
1fs a big carcass all right
but net very testy."
The king-sized cave is the
Floyd Collins Crystal Cave,
now found to be the nucleus
of a great system of inter-connecting
caves.
It was in one of its narrow
passageways nearlv 30 years
ago, that Floyd Collins, a dar
ing explorer, became pinned
by debris. His life ebbed
away before rescuers coukl
reach him.
The 32-miles of passages
and rooms criss-cross, with
the deepest of them being no
more than 200 feet deep, said
Brother G. Nicholas, FSC,
Cumberland, Md., vice-presi
I Cascade Meat plant and east of
the Southern Pacific tracks.
It is there that the nationwide
can making company has option
ed from the local meat firm an
Il-acre tract on which it is ex
pected a $2,500,000 plant will be
built
One Condition
One condition of the property
transaction, which is now expect-;
ed to come to a head, was that
the selling firm provide an access
road.
The new street which Cascade
Meat plans to develop would ex
tend east from McDonald Street,
a short street running east from
Brooks Avenue near the meat
plant. .The new 60-foot right-of-way
would curve northward and
parallel the SP tracks for some
430 feet to and alongside part of
the west boundary of the option
ed tract.
The street could serve other
industries in the area, if devel
oped later.
Industrial Expansion
Another industrial expansion
reflected in last night's Council
session is the recently announced
new building for Blue Lake can
nery in West Salem. The Coun
cil completed legislation to va
cate a unused part of Lister
Street which already is lined by
Blue Lake installations.
The City Council also made
into law the acceptance from
Southern Pacific Bailroad of
easement to a strip of property
along 12th Street which will per
mit the widening and extension
of that street in a long-pending
project to improve traffic safety
along the SP mainline.
(Additional Council news Sec.
1, Page 2.)
Officer Finds
Occupation
Perilous One
Motorists are really keeping one
state policeman on the jump.
Pete Nicholas D' Alfonso, 41, Eu
gene, was fined 125 and costs in
Marion County District Court Tues
day after Patrolman Arthur Jincks
reported that D' Alfonso ran through
a series of warning sicnals and
forced him to jump to the safety
of a bank to keep from being run
down.
This occurred last Thursday after
a rock slide near Illahee on ME.
Jincks reported. D" Alfonso said he
was listening to the car radio nd
did not notice a slow sign, four
flare pots, two red (usrs and the
officer's red and white flashlights.
Five minutes after citing D'AI
I fonso, Jincks arrested another drlv
' er -on the same charge, same cir-
cumstanccs. after narrowly e. cao-
ing being hit. Joe Rose Strunk,
the 1,300.000 strong Transport and
General Workers Union six months
lago after the death of Arthur
Deakin.
Dionne Parents Claim Quints Ignored
Them at Christmas; Girls Issue Denial
NORTH BAY, Ont. ( - The
parents of the Dionne quintuplets
said Tuesday the four surviving
girls ignored them at Christmas
wl,0 - ana aian i sena so mucn as a greei
Co'. ing card.
I But in Montreal, Yvonne, one of
. I . j : j . i !
no '" mum, ucniro mrre is a
"lly Till
She told a reporter the
quints had sent Christmas greet
ings.
I "We did "send one," she said.
"Can we help it if they didn't get
itr
Oliva Dionne. their father,
blamed unidentified "outsiders" for
the girl's drift from home ties,
especially after each came into al
most $230,000 on reaching 21 last
May.
Yvonne was interviewed in the
hospital nursing residence where
she is m training. Her biggest emo
tional outburst came when a news
man resd a dispatch quoting her
father as saying the girls' atti
tude changed alter receiving their
money.
"Don't believe it, it's not true,H
she burst out, and an crying into
dent of research of the NSS.
He has been one of 100
members of the society who
have been exploring and
mapping the rave system.
Some passages are so nar
row the explorers had to
crawl for a quarter mile on
their' stomachs. At other
points, the cave opens up in
to chambers 50 feet high and
100 feet wide, said Nicholas.
The cave system was all
formed by water eroding
wav limestone.
Blind ' fish, beetles, bats
and cave rats have been
found in the caves. Brother
Nicliolas said.
Last Hand
i
BRATTLEBORO, Vt Contract
bridge expert Ely Culbertson
died Tuesday after a heart
attack.
Culbertson,
Noted Bridge
Expert, Dies
BRATTLEBORO, Vt. Of) - Ely
Culbertson, 64, internationally fa
mous bridge authority, died Tues
day after a short illness.
Culbertson had been suffering
for years with a lung congestion
condition that resulted in a short
ness of breath. Death was ascrib
ed to heart failure due to insuf
ficient oxygen. . .
In addition to developing his
contract bridge system, Culbert
son added to his fame and wealth
by his books and lectures, and also
was renowned as a crusader for
peace.
At the peak of the popularity
of his bridge system, which he
guided with his first wife, the
gross income was some $300,000
a year.
In 1942. he founded World Fed
eration Inc., to promote his plan
to achieve freedom.
Longest U.S.
Marriage Ends
SAGLE, Idaho (1 The 80-year
marriage of Ben and Drusllla
Hartley, regarded as the nation's
longest, ended in his death Monday
night.
Benjamin J. Hartley, 96, who
married his childhood sweetheart
in Tennessee when both were 16,
had been in failing health since he
fell on his son's farm near here
last July 11.
He is survived by three sons. 15
grandchildren, 51 great-grandchildren
and 51 great-great-grandchildren,
plus his wife.
Choice of Motor Bureau
Chief Due in January
A State Motor Vehicle Director
will be appointed next month. Gov.
Paul Patterson said Tuesday.
The new office, created by the
19S5 legislature, will become ef
fective next July 1. The office now
is under the Secretary of Slate,
but will be transferred to the
Governor.
another room.
Dionne had made no effort to
hide his grief when he said:
"We didn't even receive a card
OUVA DIONNK
No Word Fram Glrta
v i ... . ft i
, 3
nvz
K ft '.i I
105th Year 2 SECTIONS-H PACES The Oregon
New Income Tax
Forms Simpler,
But Not Simplest
PROVIDENCE, R. L OB A
brand new set of income tax
forms are in the mail and "We
think they are more understand
able than any we have produced
in recent years," Russell C. Har
rington, Commissioner of Inter
nal Revenue, said Tuesday in a
speech. '
But Harrington said his office
doesn't claim these are the ulti
mate in simplicity. He suggested
that would be a four-line Job
like' this:
"1. How much money did you
make last year? '
"2. How much fid you spend?
"J. How much do you have
left?
"4. Mail it to the Internal
Revenue Service."
i .
Tax Bureau
Relents, Will
Fill Out Forms
WASHINGTON Ml The Intern
al Revenue Service has relented
and will, after all. fill out tax
forms for anyone who wants such
help.
Revenue Commissioner Russell
C. Harrington disclosed the change
in attitude Tuesday.
(Word of the change had not
been received Tuesday at the In
ternal Revenue Service office in
Salem, agents said.)
This reversed orders which went
to all Revenue Service field offic
es on Oct. 17." before Harrington
succeeded T. Coleman Andrews as
commissioner.
The original orders directed rev
enue offices to discontinue the
practice of actual preparation of
tax returns fur any but persons
who are illiterate, those unable
to read English and persons phvsi
cully unable to prepare their own
returns.
Additionally, the new orders di
rected all revenue offices to help
taxpayers on any' day they come
in lor help.
Tugboat Loses
Pilothouse to
Draw Bridge
PORTLAND HI - A tugboat lost
a bout with a swinging draw
bridge over the Willamette River
Tuesday.
The boat's pilothouse went fly
ing into the river, but the skipper,
Loren McRae, and his deckhand,
Roy Wilkins, leaped to safety just
in time.
Managers of the two contenders
had differing versions of how it
happened. McRae said the swing
ing span did not open far enough.
The bridgetender blamed a cross
current of the swollen Willamette
River for carrying the tug against
the Morrison Street span.
McRae and Wilkins leaped to
the bow just before the pilothouse
was sheared off and knocked into
the river. Disabled, the tug drifted
downstream until its anchor
caught. A harbor patrol boat later
towed the 60-foot tug, the Dix III,
to a seawall berth, and another
harbor patrol boat retrieved the pi
lothouse. Temperatures in
Mid -20s Forecast
Temperatures in the mid-20s
were forecast for tonight by Mc
Nary Field weathermen, but the
outlook was comparatively dry.
Less than a .10 of an inch of
rain fell Tuesday and only a
few scattered showers and snow
flurries were expected today,
they said. Patches of ice were
reported Tuesday morning and
more are expected as the weath
er turns colder.
A county highway rrew was
called out about midnight by the
sheriff's office to sand icy spots,
starting in the Lake Labish area
of the Mt. Angel-Woodburn high
way. from them. They didn't write, they
didn't phone. They did nothing to
tell us where or how they planned
to spend Christmas."
Asked why she didn't telephone
her parents, Yronne exclaimed:
"We were on duty. It's not easy,
this job."
Yvonne said, "Marie and An
nette are supposed to be going
home for New Year's. Cecile and
I will be working."
In speaking of his disappoint
ment, Dionne said:
"All our other, children (eight)
either came home or called us on
Christmas Day. But not the quints.
Thev didn't even send Christmac
ffTMtinM In thair hrnlhjtrt nt !.''-" Angcltt
-" --- - - i
ters. . . ' . ;.
"It's not something that just hap
pened at this Chrixtmas. We have
seen it growing for a long time
now. Wc suspected that outsiders
, were trying to influence the Quints
some years ago, and we were sure
, of it by the way they acted after
ithey left home, and then more no
when they reached their 21st birth-
day and came Inte their money."
Floods
Sta te to
State Civil Defense Direc
tor Arthur M. Sheets was ask
ed by Gov., Paul Patterson
Tuesday to make surveys of
flood damage to bridges,
sewers and water systems.
Oregon deaths attributed to
the floods climbed to 12.
When the survey s are com-
pleted, the federal emergen
cy restoration fund will be
Lumber Salvaged From Wrecked Span
T''t t- V
Marioa Cennty bridge erewsa'ea
bridge la the MUslea Bottom area aorta er saiesa. two crewmea, t irgu raaey, ieii, ana bob
Martin, are shewa ia foregreaad salvaging planking (rent wrecked span's deck te be placed back
ea original undamaged pilings (at left). Waea bridge was opened marooned families streamed ever.
(Statesmaa photo). ...
Bridge Repair Crew Reunites
Mission Bottom With 'Outside'
By CONRAD PRANCE
Staff Writer, The Statesmaa
A dozen or so Mission Bottom
families whose farms were ma
rooned by Willamette River flood
waters for four days, were re
united with the outside world
Tuesday noon.
Marion County bridge crews
worked non-stop Monday after
noon and night to repair a bridge
washed away last Thursday night.
The 300-foot bridge spans a
slough on the north edge of
Clear Lake in bottomland lying
between Clear Lake road and
the river about eight miles north
of Salem. , ,
No cases of hardship were re
ported from the cut-off families
who spent Christmas on. their
water-logged farms. A boat was
available for those who had to
travel and the damaged bridge
supported foot traffic.
"I knew the water was rising,"
said Floyd Herrold who has farm
ed there for 30 years, "so I went
into town Thursday and stocked
up. I just stayed put. No trouble
at all."
Herrold said this was the first
time the bridge has flooded out,
although it Is not the first time
the area has been visited by high
water. In 1M3, be recalls, water
rose to withia several inches of
his floor.
Yale Plans Changed
"There were ears on both sides
of the bridge," said Jack R.
Chapin, another farmer-resident
of the area. "By pooling trans-
The Weather
Maa. Mia. rrnla.
Portland,
B.krr , .
Mad ford
North Bnd
Roburf ....
sa
so
S3
3S
as
43
SS
27
.01
.IS
M
.IS
.1)1
m
M
3a frnrlco . S4
chlril
Nfw v
34
Nrw Vara .. SS
IS
Will.mfttt River IS I fttl.
: FORCAST I from US weather bu
reau, McNrT Held. Salem t:
Partly cloudy with very law wide
ly rittrl llfht ahowera or inow
mirrtea today na patrhea of enailow
( loniiht; hl(h today 40-42. low to-
;"'h J'2
Terrerature at 11 SI a.m. today
sai.vm raariprr tiow
Store Start of Weather Veer Seat. I
Thsii'"' W VJT1
.. 41
,
as
. 43
44
MUNBJB
Statesman, Salem, Oregon, Wednesday, December 21, IMS
Ease;
Tally Flood Damage
asked for money to make re
pairs. -
Gov. Patterson Tuesday
stressed, however, that appli
cations for grants should be,
deferred until a complete
survey has been made.
Gov. Patterson said heavi
est damage from the floods
probably occurred in Coos
and Douglas Counties.
-1 V,;'-W '"
are shows Taetday shortly after
portation we ' rosde out nicely.
Some Christmas plans were
changed, though. Families who
anticipated travel left their cars
on the safe side of the bridge."
Neighbors helped Dean Wall,
a dairy farmer, haul milk out on
foot over the wrecked bridge
during -the Isolation period.
Prake was - expressed for the
speedy efforts of county crews
In repairing the bridge.
Ordinarily families in that area
use another exit road in time of
flood over the bridge which
spans the lower end of Clear
Lake near the old Lakebrook
ranch. But that bridge is im
passable now because it is under
new 'construction.
By Early May
Private contractor Tom Lillebo
expects to have it completed by
early May, according to County
Engineer John A. Anderson.
. " ' , -"v-fl 4.r ,. ,r''.'-v
Cartoonist Ham Fisher
Dead, Victim of Suicide
NEW YORK (A Ham Fisher,
creator of Joe Palooka,' a comic
strip favorite for 2) years, wss
found dead In a friend's studio
Tuesday night. Police called it ap
parent suicide.
Fisher left a pathetic note which
said his eyesight was failing and
he had diabetes. He wrote that he
had swallowed some pills.
Fisher, 54, was found dead at
the studio of a friend, Moe LWf.
Fisher had telephoned his moth
er early in the afternoon. An oniy
child, he spoke to her sentimental
ly and at some length.
Fisher, a self-taught artist, be
gan his career on his hometown
newspaper, the Wilkes Barre, Pa
Record. He soon emigrated to New
York and In 1930 he started his
"Joe Palooka'" comic strip with
the McNaught syndicate.
At the time of his death the
strip was syndicated in some W0
newspapers. ..
Hammond Edward risner also
j weah I)d (rom ni
'creation.
u. betjm, t vice president of I
1 thl JE& h Chester Bailroad!
Toll
Reports Tuesday indicated
that the flood situation is im
proving. Flood waters in Oregon
have involved about 1,430
families and 157 business or
ganizations, according to a
state civil defense commis
sion report being compiled.
(Additional Oregon flood
story, Sec. 2, Pago 1).
'-i'jf
7 ..'
sees) rebuilding fleed damaged
The other bridge was wrecked
Thursday when barked up river
water lifted the plank deck from
its piling and dumped it along
side. When the waters receded
Anderson and Assistant Engineer
Ted Kuenzi and Bridge Foreman
Joe Robl brought in a crew of
16 and began work at about 2
p.m. Monday. -
Using the old planking they
repaired the bridge temporarily
by Tuesday noon. Anderson said
eventually a new bridge would
be built.
Floodwaters have caused con
siderable damage to other roads
in the county, Anderson said, es
pecially in river bottomland.
Ankeny Bottom and Stayton area
roads were pitted with sections
washed away.
High water continues to close
roads near the Buena Vista ferry
south of Salem, he said.
and a director of the American
Title k Mortgage Co. of Miami,
Fla.
His widow, Marilyn, survives.
tv
' Ja . '"'
HAM FISHER
Leaves suicide note
mmm
PRICI 5c
No, 27
Known Dead in
2 States 46;
19 to 35 Lost
(Pictures. Sec. t. Page S
SAV FRANCISCO W Th
known death toll from California's
tragic week of floods mounted
Tuesday te 34 as the swirling wat
ers dropped sharply and further
danger diminished.
Five new victims were added te)
the California death list Tuesday,
raising the Pacific Coast total Cal
ifornia 34, Oregon 12 to 41
How many more dead will be?
found as searchers and reconstruc
tion crews continue the giganti
task of cleaning up the debris is)
extremely uncertain with Motile
tions scattered. Some towns were
virtually destroyed. Estimates of
missing who could be presumed
dead ranged from It to J$ er
more.
Fair Weather Dee
A welcome forecast of fair weath
er was broadcast by the weather
bureau for the first time in 11
days, bringing new hopes to those?
struggling to restore their beaten.
homes and communities.
A potential new danger in Umj
San Joaquin-Sacramento delta area .
near Stockton, an inland port 70
miles east of San Francisco, failed
to materialize late Tuesday. A
high ocean tide did not back :
up river waters over the leveea
around the numerous delta islands, -as
had been feared.
Water Net as High
Water from the Feather Rive
pvw ,u Nil vuji a wn wiy '
early Tuesday, but it was only
bout a (not or two ln mi-
trasted with the previous flood
which inundated the peach grow
ing community some 100 milefl
northeast of San Francisco.
Construction crews toiled to re
pair a big break ia the Feather
River levee should further raina
cause the river to rise again.
Gov. Goodwin J. Knight Tuesday
ordered. 300 more sational guards
men to aid in the Yuba City-Maryt-villt
area. (Additional flood details).
Sec 3. Page I.)
Walla WaUa
Cons' Tunnel
Discovered
WALLA WALLA A new
plot of unidentified state prison
inmates to join the outside world
in a Happy New Year was sipped
in the early tunneling stags Tues
day.
Prison officials reported discov
ery of the scheme and the plug
ging of a 1-foot deep hole under
the orchestra pit of the prisoa
auditorium.
Warden Lawranra TVlmnra Jr.
said the attempt appeared to be)
similar to the one that carried 10
men to brief freedom Nov. S after
a long tunneling effort.
The latest escape effort appar
ently was carried on during re
hearsals in the auditorium for
Dec. 2S show for the pbulic.
Bob Rhay, associate warden In
charge of custody, said the orches
tra pit, normally below the stage,
had been moved to the side for
the Christmas musical program.
The old pit was covered with cot
ton, fir trees and other decora
tion!.
oars to in pit were cut id gain
n . ,l. u . ! .
access to an unfinished basement
under the stage and auditorium.
The prison officials said fresh
dirt had been found in the base
ment. Stage tools and props may
have been used in the digging. The
officials said they believe tbs bars
were cut Monday night.
The auditorium is on the east
side of the walled prison grounds..
At least SO feet of digging would.
have been required to reach the
outside of the wall.
Oregon Lands V
Yield Over Million
Christmas Trees
More than 1,250.000 Christmas
trees were harvested this year on
state timberlands, . Charles JL
Ladd. stats, fsrm forester, said
Tuesday.
These trees were valued at
$1,500,000, and were sold by com
mercial harvesters. The salt was
the largest in several years.
He said that few trees were un
sold.' ,
Today's Statesman
Sec. Page
Classified .tl -7
Comes the Dawn I
Comics . H 1
Crossword II . S
Editorials I 4
Home Panorama I 7
Markets ............... II..- S
Obituaries H S
Rattle, TV .. II 4
Sports . llf,2
Star Gaxer .... I 4
Valley I S
Wlrephote Page ..II 3
Ysar-Ensi Review JILm 4