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About Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1919-1980 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 1946)
Fir, Hemlock Lumber Prices Upped March 5 Average Increase of $1.10 a 1000 Board Feet in Ceilings Washington, Feb. 21 MV-OPA today announced an average In crease of approximately $1.10 a thousand board feet in mill price ceilings for Douglas fir, western hemlock and true fir lumber, effective March 5. The agency ordered a read justment of prices which it said will increase ceilings on some of these items and reduce them on others. S Percent More Profit The readjustment, OPA ad ded, will give mills a profit three percent greater than at present, and an approximate average realization of $40 per 1000 board feet on Douglas fir. OPA said the new price regu lation is designed primarily to stimulate production of lumber needed for home construction. It added that the measure will not increase costs to builders and home owners, since "the margins of retail distributors are ample to absorb the increase to an extent which will hold the average level of price to that existing before the in crease." New Order Provides: 1. Increases ranging from $2 to $10 per 1000 board feet for basic grades of lumber used in home construction, except for common boards. 2. Elimination of premiums for special grade and grain spec ifications which OPA said were seldom charged before the war "but which have been charged considerably during the war." These premiums ranged from $1 to $6 per 1000 board feet. OPA said elimination of them will largely offset the price increas es granted in basic construction grades. 3. Lower ceilings on some items not used in construction which are cut from the same part of the log as certain -construction items, such as floor ing. 4. Other changes in prices de signed to bring them in proper relationship to peacetime de mand. 5. A scaling down of ceilings for off-standard fractional widths and thicknesses. Explanation Given Explaining the new regula tion, OPA said that before the war clear grades of Douglas fir normally were cut into flooring, ceiling and siding for use jn construction of homes. During the war, the agency added, these grades were needed for ship decking, pontoon lumber, and for other war requirements. As a result, OPA said, exist ing price ceilings made the cut ting of wartime items more prof itable. The new regulation incorpo rates these changes: Dimension An increase of $3.50 per 1000 board feet on all grades No. 3 and higher. Stress and grade premiums of $1 to $6 per 1000 board feet are elimi nated. (Concluded on Pafce 13, Column 5) Chinese Youths Riot Over Reds Chungking, Feb. 21 OI.B More than 10,000 students and 1,500 professors and teachers from 17 schools struck today in a demand for immediate with drawal of Russian troops from Manchuria. Bitterly charging the Russians had violated the Chinese-soviet friendship treaty, the students hoisted banners saying, "We won't hesitate to fight another war." This was the first time since the Japanese seizure of Man churia in 1931 that a patriotic movement had developed among students on such a scale. The students issued a "mani festo to the world" setting out their opinions on the Manchu rian situation. These stipulated that Russia strictly carry out terms of the treaty; opposition to any new Russian demands beyond the treaty; immediate withdrawal of Russian troops: return of ma terial looted from Manchuria; strict observance of cease-fire terms in Manchuria by the com munist party and that the gov ernment announce actual condi tions in Manchuria. The Weather (Released by the United States Weather Bureau) Forecast for Salem and vicin ity: Cloudy with occasional light rain showers tonight. Part ly cloudy Friday with an occa sional shower. Little change in temperature with lowest tonight 45. Fresh to strong southerly winds tonight reaching an occa sional gale force. Max. yester day. 57. Min. today. 44. Mean emperature yesterday, 48. which was 5 above normal. Total 24 nour precipitation to 11:30 ajn. today. 0.04. Total precipitation for the month 3.50. which is 0.05 inches above normal. Wil lamette river height, 2.5 ft. apital AJomraal 58th Year, No. 45 A-Bomb Secrets Fully Guarded Says President Washington, Feb. 21 .VP) President Truman told his news conference today that security measures In this country are adequate to protect secret mili tary information. He added that these measures have been ade quate in the past and he thinks they still are. Secretary of State Byrnes said on Tuesday that as far as he knew the United States still re tained the exclusive know-how regarding the manufacture of the atomic bomb, although Brit ain and Canada cooperated on the bomb project. Replying to reporters' ques tions about disclosures that cer tain secret information in Can ada had leaked to Russian sources the president said Cana dian Prime Minister MacKenzie King told him first about the investigation in that country. This was before the November meeting in Washington on atomic energy between the pres ident, MacKenzie King and British Prime Minister Clement Attlee, Mr. Truman said. No Comment on Plot , The president would not com ment on reports that justice de partment agents were investi gating activities of foreign agents in this country. Another reportei reminded the president that sometime ago he said he did not "share the unholy fear of Russia" which the reporter said some people held and asked whether he had anything to say on that in view of recent disclosures. . The president replied no com ment. Mr. Truman said he had not read and therefore would not comment on a speech to parlia ment by Sir Harold McMillan, former member of the British conservative cabinet, in which' McMillan said that cooperation between the big three was vir tually in abeyance. Loan to Russia He replied negatively when asked whether he planned to asK congress tc approve a loan to Russia. But the president added that the possibility of such a loan was not excluded. In reply to another question, Mr. Truman said United States British policy with respect to Russia did not come up in his recent conference with Winston Churchill, former British prime minister. He said the talk con cerned only their visit March 5 to Fulton, Mo., and Churchill's speech at Westminster college there. Trainmen Call On President Washington, Feb. 21 (U.B President Truman today inter vened personally in an attempt to avert the threatened nation wide railroad strike by the Bro therhood of Railway Trainmen and Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, both independents. He scheduled a noon confer ence with BRT President A. F. Whitney and BLE President Al vanley Johnston, presumably to urge them to utilize fully the peaceful procedures of the rail way mediation act to settle their wage and rules dispute with the major carriers. The 300,000 members of the two unions are completing a poll favoring a strike to enforce de mands for $2.50 a day pay in crease and important rule chan ges. Under the railway proce dure, the next step would be to set a strike date and for Mr. Truman to appoint an emer gency board. Appointment of the board would force delay of the strike for 30 days. Russia Asserts Canadian A Bomb Expose Unfriendly London, Feb. 21 VP Russia said today its representatives had obtained "insignificant . . . secret data" in Canada and its press accused the Canadian government of using the espionage expose lor "an unbridled anti-soviet campaign." The Moscow newspaper Prav da, organ of the communist party, charged editorially that Canada made the statement to distract attention from the "po litical failure" of British For eign Secretary Ernest Bevin at United Nations assembly meet. A Canadian spokesman com mented in Ottawa: "The soviet statement started out as an admission of guilt suf ficient to cause the withdrawal of its military attache, and then proceeded to minimize the whole matter and sought to make political capital by imput ing the motives of the Canadian government." "S"?. Salem, Oregon, Thursday, February Si Risto Ryti Ex-President of Finland 10 Years Prison For Rislo Ryti Helsinki, Feb. 21 UP) Former President Risto )Ryti was sen tenced today to 10 years at hard labor. A special tribunal con victed him of leading Finland into war with Russia. Seven other defendants were sentenced to imprisonment as follows: Former Minister of Finance Vaino Tanner and former Pre mier Linkomies, five years and six months. Former Premier Jukha Ran gell, six years. The former minister to Ber lin, Toivo Mikael Kivimaeki, five years. Former Foreign Minister Sir Hanrik Ramsay, two years, six months. Former Minister of Education Antti Kukkonen and the former second minister of finance, Tyko Reinikka, two years. General Ike Off to Frisco Tacoma, Feb. 21 UP) Carry ing with him four hitch-hiking passengers ranging from a Pfc. to a captain in the army nurses corps Gen. Dwight D. Eisen-: hower, army chief of staff, took off from McChord field, near here, for San Francisco at 10:32 a.m. today in his C-54 Sunflow er II. The unscheduled passengers were Pfc. Irwin R. Wilcox, 1st Sgt. Lloyd E. Alexander, 1st Lt. Archibald A. Herrington and Capt. Mildred Redakovichzm. The plane expected to reach San Francisco at 2:17 p.m., where the general will inspect Letterman General hospital. The general, accompanied by his wife, Lt. Col. James Stark, and Maj. Gen. Alexander Surles, chief of army public relations, arrived here Tuesday on an in spection tour of military instal lations which began last Thurs day.' While here the general vis ited his brother, Edgar N. Ei senhower. The general ended his official but informal inspection of Fort Lewis yesterday by visiting bed patients in Madigan General hospital and pledging to patients gathered in the hospital's Red Cross hall all resources of the country to restore them to health and civilian life. "I bring you the very deep est sense of gratitude of which I am capable of feeling," he told the veterans. He described them as "lead ers in peace as you were in war." GI Cleared of Murder Vienna, Feb. 21 IIP) A Unit ed State:, court martial acquitted Sgt. Shirley B. Dixon of To ledo, Ohio, today of all charges preferred when he killed a Rus sian officer and wounded an other after they boarded an American military train be tween Salzburg and Vienna. The Canadian government was under increasing pressure to lift the news blackout on the inves tigation into the alleged spy plot. While the wordfest continued across the Arctic wastes, a sur vey in Washington showed that the top secrets of the atomic bombs remained with the Unit ed States exclusively. These included the industrial process for mass production of the bomb material; the com ponent parts of the completed bombs; and the precise informa tion on pressures, radioactivity, heat and other characteristics of the explosion. Open Mutiny in Indian Navy Erupts in Battle Bombay, Feb. 21 (U.R) Mu tinous Indian seamen barri caded in Bombay's Castle bar racks hung out the white flag; and offered to "negotiate" to day after an official an nouncement that strong Brit ish land, sea and air reinforce ments were en route to put down the mutiny. Bombay, Feb. 21 Mutiny in the ranks of the Royal Indian navy erupted in bloody violence today, prompting a threat by Vice-Admiral John Henry God trey to put down the insurrec tion at all costs, even the de struction of the fleet itself. "A state of open mutiny pre vails, in which the ratings (sail ors) appear .to have completely lost control of their senses," Godfrey said. Mutinous sailors seized con trol of several ships in the Bom bay harbor and fought a pitched battle with British and Indian troops around the Castle bar racks in the center of the city. Godfrey, commander of the Royal Indian navy, broadcast a stern warning from Bombay headquarters in the face of the spreading mutiny. Battle of Barracks Godfrey said the government was determined to use its over whelming forces "to their utter most, even if it means the de struction of the navy of which we have been so proud." The government, Godfrey said, will "never .give in to vio lence." He told the mutineers that it was "the height of fol ly" to continue the struggle. Tentative reports on the bat tle of the barracks, where a band of sailors were barricaded and holding out against besieg ing troops, said at least 20 per sons had been wounded. No authoritative casualty report was available. Four Days Rioting The sailors have been riot ing for four days after strik ing for faster demobilization and better service conditions. Up risings spread to Karachi and other points in India. Mutineers seized control of several' riavy ships in the Bom bay harbor and gave dockwork ers a 10-minute ultimatum to get out. The dock workers fled. Another large group of sail ors barricaded in the Castle bar racks, fought an hours-long bat tle with troops summoned to subdue them. . Military pickets drove the sailors into the barracks at bay onet point last night. During the night the mutineers broke into the armory, armed them selves and built log barricades. The mutineers posted men with machine guns along walls of the barracks and opened fire on the army guards. More than 500 British and Indian soldiers were rushed up as reinforce ments. Truman Backs Pauley to Limit ' Washington, Feb. 21 'IP) President Truman said today he intended to back Edwin W. Pauley to the limit in his fight for confirmation as navy under secretary. The president told his news conference he usually backed any man he was for, when ask ed whether the suggestion of Senator Stewart (D., Tenn.) that Pauley should withdraw would change his attitude. A reporter, repeating a ques tion that has been asked of the president at two previo"us news conferences, wanted to know whether Mr. Truman intended to withdraw Pauley's nomina tion. The president gave a flat no. "Does that mean that Pauley will have your full support if he insists on fighting it out?" a reporter pressed. . The president replied that when he gets behind a man he usually stays behind him. Pauley, meanwhile, brushed aside demands that he ask Mr. Truman to withdraw his nomin ation. Lancaster Strikers End Transit Strike Lancaster, Pa., Feb. 21 VP) Lancaster transit workers voted today to end their 16-day walk out which grew into a general AFL sympathy strike call. Bus and trolley operators ra tified a union-management agreement reached a little more than nine hours earlier which, they said provided a 12 cent-an-hour wage increase. The work ers asked 20 cents an hour. 21, 1946 Mickey Gets a Medal VP) Mai. Gen. A. R. Boiling (left), pins the Bronze Star on T-3 Mickey Rooney, young screen star, for meritorious service while entertaining troops during shell fire. The presentation was made recently in Frankfurt, Germany. Rooney, a member of the army's special services units, expects a discharge from the service shortly. (AP wirephoto via signal corps radio.) Mayor Asks OPA for Probe of Salem Rentals Mayor I. M. Doughton, by direction of the city council, today sent to Walter A. Durham, rent director of the Portland district office of OPA, a letter asking for an investigation to determine whether federal control of rents in Salem is feasible. Another development in the Salem rent and property value picture is preliminary organization of Home and Property Owners as sociation, with a starting mem bership or indicated members representing some 250 housing units which hopes to forestall OPA rent control. J. F. Ulrich and Ed Piasecki are temporary president and secretary of the organization. Mayor Doughton's letter to Mr. Durham was directed in a city council resolution Monday night and goes in to the OPA of fice regardless of a request from the opposing group that it not be sent. Mr. Durham said Wed nesday that the city council's action would doubtless carry great weight with the OPA in deciding whether ah investiga tion inould be made here, but that opposition also would be sounded out and considered. Should the OPA decide that an investigation is warranted the Portland office will request the regional office in San Francisco to ask the bureau of labor sta tistics to make the survey. (Concluded on Page 13, Column 6) Bevin Peaceful Toward Russia London, Feb. 21 U.R For eign Secretary Ernest Bevin told commons today that he could conceive of no circum stances in which Russia and Britain would go to war. He said his belief in friend ship with Russia was so great that he would like to see the 20-year Anglo-soviet pact ex tended to a 50-year term. 3evin spoke after Anthony Eden, his predecessor, told com mons that Russia wanted to col laborate with America and Brit ain, but aparently only on her own terms. Bevin addressed commons amidst open acknowledgment of deterioration of Anglo-soviet re lations to near the crisis stage, aggravated within the last 24 hours by charges and counter charges growing out of Russian acquisition of certain secret in formation in Canada. "It is said we are drifting toward war with Russia, or are likely to," Bevin said. "I cannot conceive of any circum stances in which the soviet and Great Britain would go to war." "I cannot see what we have to fight for, and it never enters my mind." Shotgun Squads Crimping Crime Portland, Feb. 21 OT Chief of Detectives James Fleming credited the new roving "shot gun squads" today with putting a crimp in the city's crime wave. The squads, touring the city during night hours, ' have sim ply made crime difficult," Flem ing said. "The mental handicap alone of never knowing when one of these cruising squads might show up has been a strong deterrent to crime." The best accomplishment, he said, has been preventing crimi nals from action by picking them up on charges of "after hours" a city ordinance which enables police to arrest anyone out late at night. Price Five Cent 6' .r. Ml- Port Tie-up at Portland Looms Portland, Ore., Feb. 21 (IP) Threat of a tie-up of all cargo loading in the port here was seen today after the waterfront em ployers association issued an ul timatum to cargo checkers that officers of the CIO affiliated union said they would ignore. A loading dispute originated a month ago between the super cargo and checkers' union ,and the American Hawaiian Steam ship company over the number! of checkers to be hired for two ships. The Amarillo Victory has since departed without its Portland cargo, but the Boise Victory has been berthed since Jan. 27 waiting cargo. R. E. Ferguson said the wa terfront employers association he manages set 5:00 p.m. to day as a deadline for the check ers union to either work ships as directed or arbitrate their grievances according to their contract. Otherwise, he said, the waterfront employes would can cel jts contract with the check ers union. Union spokesmen said such action would probably precipi tate a general tie-up. R. J. Wolf, president of the checkers' union now affiliated with the International Long shoremen's and Warehousemen's union, said the situation was complicated by a change of af filiation since the dispute origi nated. President's Views On Conscription Washington, Feb. 21 IIP)- President Truman said today he did not believe it would be prac tical to try to abolish peace time conscription throughout the world. He expressed this opinion at a news conference after he was told the house military affairs committee might propose such a loan before acting on the prsident's request for univer sal training legislation. The conscription prohibition has gained strong support in the committee. Tt Post-war Production Peaks To be Hit Soon says Truman Washington, Feb. 21 (IP) President Truman expressed belief today that production and distribution will hit its postwar peak before long if everybody works and co-operates. He told his news conference that he had hoped last fall that restoration of full civilian production would have been achieved by now. Asked what he thought of present economic conditions, he said he always was optimistic and he stilt is. He said that an order re constituting the office of eco namic stabilization would be is sued soon. He attributed delay in its issuance to the necessity of working out details. This order is a part of the new program under which he shook up his top stabilization command and established a new wage-price policy. Lewis Calls Miners' Meeting to Reopen Contract With Operators As Transit Strike Ends in Lancaster General Motors Strike Still Deadlocked Detroit Dairy Workers Cut Milk Supply from City Pittsburgh Power Strike Set February 25 fBr the Associated Prs John L. Lewis today called a meeting March 11 of the United Mine Workers policy committee the body which has authority to reopen the union's contract with soft coal operators and transit workers voted to end their 16 day walkout at Lancaster, Pa., which had snowballed into a general AFL sympathy strike call. These were the day's major developments along the labor front; 1. Lewis made no announcement of his Intentions after a day and a half of conferences with his district presidents. The present VMWA contract expires April 7 provided either side gives notice to that effect within 30 days prior to that time. 2. Bus and trolley operators at Lancaster ratified a union-management agreement which they said provided a 12 cent an hour wage Increase. The strikers originally had demanded 20 cents. ' 3. The CIO United Auto Workers in Detroit reported the union was "as far apart as we were' 10 days ago" in reaching agree ment with the General Motors corporation on the issues of wages and promotion preference on a seniority basis. 4 A power strike in the vi tal Pittsburgh industrial area was set for 12:01 a. m. Feb. 25 but negotiations for a settlement of a wage dispute will continue until the deadline. The indepen dent employes of the Duquesne Light company conducted a 19 hour work stoppage earlier this month, affecting 1,500,000 con sumers. Detroit Milk Strike 5 The Detroit dairy workers' strike spread to additional con cerns with 11 companies in the walkout and bringing to more than 500,000 the number of De troit families without regular milk supplies. Four dairies were closed yes terday as 1400 workers left their jobs. These included the city's "big three" of the indus try. Today an additional seven plants, mostly small ones, join ed the strike. It was estimated that approxi mately 70 percent of Detroit's milk supply had been cut off by the walkout of 1200 members of the CIO United Dairy Workers demanding a wage increase of 20 cents an hour. Telephone Strike Warren telegraphed Joseph A. Bierne, president of the Nation al Federation of Telephone Workers who last night re quested government interven tion that the conciliation ser vice "will render whatever as sistance possible." The federation, meeting in Memphis, Tenn., has given its executive board authority to order a strike "whenever it con aiders proper," but has not yet set a strike date. John J. Moran, president of the federation of Long Line Telephone Workers, acting as spokesman for 17 of the NFTW's 50 affiliates meeting in Mem phis, Tenn., said "There is still strong sentiment in favor of a strike call." - Seek Closure Of Willamette Astoria. Feb. 21 (IP) Com mercial fishing groups recom mended today that the Willa mette river be closed to all angling for three or four days a week to protect the salmon run. Henry Niemela, secretary of the Columbia River Fishermen's Protective union, and Anton Sorensen, manager of the Union Fishermen's Cooperative Pack ing company, said they would ask a joint session of the fish and game commissions to take action as an emergency mea sure. They declared that hundreds of salmon have been lost be cause of floods, and that sports fishing in the Willamette would make further inroads into fish numbers. The already arranged closure of the Columbia river to com mercial fishing during March will be In vain, he asserted, un less the fish which pass through the Columbia that month are allowed to proceed up the Wil lamette. The annual sportsmen's catch in the Willamette, Sorensen said, ranges from 250 to 300 tons. The president, in response to a question, said he had nothing to report on the strike of the CIO auto workers against Gen eral Motors. Meanwhile the government opened the way today for settle ments In score of labor disputes left hanging for a week by pay provisions of the new wage price policy. Stabilization Administrator John C. Collet postponed until March 15 the effective date of the rule that wage increases must be approved in advance by the national wage stabiliza tion board. Boost Output Of Clothing Washington, Feb. 21 (IP) The government is ready to restore some wartime production con trols and grant higher prices to ease the acute shortage of cotton clothing. OPA and the civilian produc tion administration believe this double-barrelled program even tually will boost by about 50 percent the output of shirts. shorts, pajamas, dresses, work clothing and other scarce gar ments. Officials of the two agencies told reporters late yesterday that despite price increases to be authorized, the program will not cost the public more lot clothing In general. They contended the plan will increase the supply of inexpen sive garments, and that in the long run this will save money for many families. To assure greater output of cheaper clothing, the civilian production administration plans "soon" to Invoke a wartime reg ulation which required textile mills to turn out certain types of cotton fabrics needed for es sential garments. , This Is the kind of measure Chester Bowles, the new stabili zation administrator, had in mind when he said a few days ago that price increases will be coupled with production con trols to meet demand for scarce products, Egyptian Mobs Attack British Cairo, Feb. 21 (U. Anti-British rioting flared through Cairo todny with inflamed Egyptian bands storming all British mili tary establishments in the cen ter of the city and 140 casualties were reported in only one of the many bloody skirmishes. Thousands of Egyptianl thronged the Cairo streets bran dishing clubs and clamoring; "revolt against the British" and "down with the British." As fast as harried authorities dis persed crowds, the demonstra tors regrouped at other points., British machine g u n n e r a opened fire on a mob charging the Ksar El Nil barracks. Early reports said 10 men were killed and 130 wounded in the battle touched off when the demon strators broke through'the gate and onto the parade ground. Army Infantry and tanks, both British and Egyptian, went into action on a battle scale. They took over from the out matched Cairo police and impos ed virtual martial law on the city which for two weeks has been wracked by sporadic mani festations against the British. The demonstrations began as student affairs. Today masses of Cairoites, armed with sticks or whatever weapons came to hand, were In action against the British military centers, with outburst!, of violence reported from all quarters of the city. Admiral Wilkinson Drowns from Ferry Norfolk. Va., Feb. 21 UP) Vice Admiral Theodore S. Wil kinson, attached to the joint chiefs of staff in Washington, D. C, drowned today when his automobile plunged overboard from a Norfolk-Portsmouth fer ryboat on the Norfolk side of Elizabeth river. His wife, Mrs. Catherine Wil kinson, escaped from the sink ing car by breaking a window and was taken to General hos pital where she was being treat ed for shock and exposure. Coast guard divers recovered the admiral's body. Mrs. Wilkinson was rescued by ferry company employes. She told police she believed the brakes on the car failed to hold. The automobile was owned by a friend. , Liquor Stores Close All state offices and liquor stores will be closed tomorrow for Washington' birthday. V .-.(
