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About Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1919-1980 | View Entire Issue (April 24, 1947)
Lewis Gels Back $2,800,000 of Contempt Fine United Mine Workers Present $100,000 Check To Telephone Strikers Washington, April 24 VP) John L. Lewis today got back S2, 800, 000 of a $3,500,000 con tempt fine imposed against his United Mine Workers and promptly contributed $100,000 to striking telephone workers. Less than an hour after Fed eral District Judge T. Alan Goldsborough refunded the $2, 800,000 UMW officials arrived at telephone strike headquar ters with a check for the $100, 000 to help support the 18-day-old cross-country tieup. Injunction Still Alive In refunding the $2,800,000 to the UMW, Goldsborough add ed a warning that a preliminary injunction prohibiting the min ers from striking against the government is still in force and can be invoked at any time." Goldsborough fined the union last December because it ignored his order to call off a contract termination notice Lewis had served on the government. The supreme court, on March 6, reduced the fine to $700,000 provided the union showed that it had fully complied with Goldsborough's orders. Government Satisfied It was reported today the gov ernment is satisfied that the union complied with the man date by withdrawing the con tract cancellation notice and by distributing the word of the withdrawal to its members. The court was told that coal pro duction has been "about nor mal" since April 14. Lewis called off the safety stoppage at that time. It was ordered originally on April 1, as a me morial to 111 miners killed in an explosion March 25 at Cen tralia, 111. A $10,000 fine which Golds borough imposed last Decem ber on Lewis individually al ready has been paid and the union promptly offered a certi fied check today for its $700,- 000. It also submitted another check for $35,000 representing a one per cent poundage charges on the $3,500,000 in bonds which the union ' posted as se curity for the fine. The poundage charge for keeping the bonds is required under District of Columbia law. On the surface at least, the proceeding appeared to wind up the legal sparring in connec tion with the government's pos session of the soft coal mines Death Date oi OPA Set June 1 Washington, April 24 (fl) OPA, its death date set offici ally for June 1, estimated today that about 2750 employes will receive dismissal notices in the next week. An executive order by Presi dent Truman fixed the windup date for OPA and its two com panion agencies in the office of temporary controls the civilian production administration and the office of war mobilization and reconversion. '5 Most of the functions of the three wartime agencies will be transferred to other government offices on May 4 under the pres- idential directive issued yester day. To help carry on the duties to be transferred, commerce will take about 1200 employes from OPA; 550 from CPA and 100 from OWMR. The housing ex pediter will get about 6100 from , OPA, while another 125 from OPA will go to RFC. ' '05C Chemist Goes To Texas City Blast Corvallis, April 24 W) The Monsanto Chemical company has called J. S. Walton, head of the Oregon State College che mical engineering department to Texas City to appraise blast damage. Regarded as an authority on plants of the type Monsanto had at Texas City, Walton has been employed previously both by that firm and by the govern ment in connection with surplus property. He expects to be in Texas City about two weeks The Weather (Released by United State Weather Bureau) Forecast for Salem and Vicin ity: Partly cloudy tonight and Friday. Lowest temperature to night 45-50 degrees. Conditions favorable for dusting and spray ing will prevail Friday. Maxi mum yesterday 71. Minimum to day 46. Mean temperature yes terday 56 which was 4 above normal. Total 24-hour precipi tation to 11:30 a.m. today .00. Total precipitation for the month 1.96 which is .12 of an inch be low normal. Willamette river height Thursday morning 1.8 feet. Capital i Journal 58th Year, No. 98 Motors Rejects Auto Workers Wage Proposal Detroit, April 24 (U.R)-Gencr-al Motors corporation today re jected a CIO United Auto Work ers proposal for arbitration of a dispute over division of a 15 cent hourly wage increase ac ceptable to both parties, GM and the union have agreed in principle to the 15-cent boost but disagree as to how it should be paid. The UAW wants a flat wage increase while the corpo ration has offered to pay 'a straight 11 'A cent raise plus the equivalent of three and a half cents in six paid holidays an nually. . Reuther's Proposal UAW. President Walter P. Reuther suggested last night that the ll'A cent increase go into effect immediately and that an arbitration panel decide how the remaining three and a half cents shall be paid. Today, General Motors reject ed that proposal. Harry W. Anderson, GM vice president and corporation chief negotiator with the UAW, said in a letter to Reuther that Gen eral Motors was "opposed to ar bitrating matters which should be settled by collective bargain ing." Points Out Loss "We consider our offer to be extremely advantageous to the employes represented by your union," he said. "Delay in ac ceptance is at their expense." Anderson said that had the UAW accepted the GM offer on April 18, when it first was made, General Motors employes rep resented by the union would have profited by some $8,000,000 between that date and May 31, when the current contract ex pires. Reduction in Funds Decried Washington, April 24 VP) The phrase "sabotage of the west" was used by Senator Taylor (R-Idaho), today in describing the interior department appro priations bill recommended by a house committee. The committee reduced the $295,420,420 requested by the president to $156,538,513. Taylor commented in an in terview: "They chopped off slightly below the head." The committee's action, he said, given no evidence that it carefully considered each item and the effect of reductions, adding: have thrown a wad of gum at a wall chart with the pledge: 'Where the wad sticks that's where we will cut.' " He predicted the action will hasten depression and retard de velopment of the west many years. As an example, he cited the committee's action on the Pali sades project in eastern Idaho. It was given $876,000 of a re quested $2,629,000. "At that annual rate of ex penditure," he said, "it would take 33 years to complete the project. The bureau had ex pected to finish it in five years. "It's a good long-term proj ect that way. A young man could begin work on the dam now and spend his whole life on ust that one jdt. He condemned the commit tee's denial of funds to the Bon neville Power Administration for transmission lines, includ ing one to serve North Idaho farmers and one to reach the phosphate beds in the southern part of the state. Both Tax and Debt Slashes Possible Under Present Plans Washington, April 24 VP) John W. Hanes, former undersecre tary of the treasury, said today the nation could have both tax reduction and debt reduction if congress proceeds with its "pres- sent plan" of slashing President- Truman's 1948 budget. He urged, in a statement to the senate finance committee, that the income tax reduction bill already passed by the house be enacted speedily. Hanes was one of the first advocates of an income tax cut invited to testify before the committee which has devoted two days to hearing government officials criticize the bill. Hanes told the committee: "The general feeling that the (federal) debt must be reduced during this, period of prosperous business is most wholesome. I heartily agree. But to attempt to pay off debt without reliev ing the taxpayer of at least a part of his excessive tax bur den is wrong. It will defeat the ZrsTi," Salem, Long Distance Lines Sabotaged In Eleven States Washington, April 24 VP) The government today went after a new formula for settling the 18-day-old telephone strike amid reports that long distance lines have been sabotaged in at least 11 states. The striking National Federa tion of N Telephone Workers quickly accepted an invitation from Edgar L. Warren, federal conciliation director, to renew ed bargaining talks with three strategic units in the Bell sys tem. The only immediate accept ance by the other side came from the Southwestern Bell Telephone company. The West ern Electric company and the long lines division of the Ameri can Telephone and Telegraph company said they would think it over. Phone Lines Cut Between them the three units employ about 93,000 of the 340,- 000 workers made idle by the union walkout April 7 to en force new contract demands in cluding a $12 a week pay hike. Complaints by telephone com pany officials that lines have been cut were heard in Tennes see, Mississippi, Kentucky, Cali fornia, South Carolina, Michi gan, Wisconsin, Missouri; Okla homa, Texas and Florida. New Wage Pattern The government hoped to brijig peace through the new negotiations by establishing a settlement wage pattern which might be acceptable for the en tire chain of 29 Bell units. But even officials of South western Bell, in agreeing to be represented in the new parley, said "We are going with the explicit understanding that no cash offer will be made." Joseph Beirne, president of the NFTW, has said repeatedly that it will take a pay increase to get the union members back on the job. Injunction Secured San Francisco, April 24 (fP) Striking telephone workers in northern California today were prohibited by court order from interfering with the use of tele phones and from mass picket ing. Superior Judge George W. Shonfeld issued the temporary order late yesterday, climaxing a day in which telephone wires were cut in San Francisco. Los Angeles and San Diego. Paci fic Telephone ai d Telegraph company officials charged the strikers with maliciously dis rupting the service. Union officials denied knowl edge of the acts. Fire Traps 11 Miners Noranda, Que., April 24 (U.R) One man was killed early to day in a fire at the East Malartic mine about 40 miles east of here and 11 men were reported trap ped underground but believed safe. Rescue crews went to work to get them out. The East Malartic is a gold mine, with some production of copper. The man killed was Traien Lucaci,42, Timmins, Ont. He was overcome by smoke as he attempted to force his way through the flames from the lower level. The body was re covered. A call to nearby mines brought 18 volunteers- who went underground to rescue the trapped men. Sixteen men were at work when the fire started. Four reached the surface safely. very purpose we are trying to achieve. Hanes startled capital tax ex perts April 9 when he predicted in a letter to the finance com m i 1 1 e e that the government would find itself with a surplus of $3,000,000,000 to $4,000, 000.000 at the close of the cur rent fiscal year. He referred to his estimates today and noted tbey varied sharply from official estimates He recalled that in January the president predicted a S2.300. 000,000 deficit by June 30; that Secretary of the Treasury Sny der was "equally pessimistic but has gradually upped his fi gures," and on Tuesday "con ceded" that a "surplus of $1, 250,000,000 was in prospect." Oregon, Thursday, April HTTI f - ; S" Jt, Lfcfc. V . Acting Governor of Oregon Falls, president of the senate, acting governor during the absence of Governor Snell in California says that he has no other plans than to sign necessary papers during his tenure in the executive office. He will deny any petitions for daylight saving time, if presented. - 700 More Adair Buildings Sold, Only 100 Now Left Portland, Ore., April 24 U.R buildings produced a near sellout, Portland war assets admin istration's office of real property disposal said today in announc ing successful buyers. Some 700 of the structures went to approx imately 260 individual buyers, Marines Stay Says Patterson Washington. April 24 (U.R) Secretary of War Robert P. Pat terson said today there was "no foundation" to reports that the Marine corps would be reduced to a mere "dress parade" unit under the proposed unification of the armed forces. He made the statement in testimony before the house ex ecutive expenditures committee. The senate armed services committee had called on him and Secretary of Navy James V. Forrestal to produce purport ed "secret plans"' by the joint chiefs of staff for reducing the Marine corps. Gen.. A. A. Vandergrift, Ma rine corps commandant, testi fied earlier in the week that under the pending unification plan the corps would be vir tually wrecked as a combat force. Rep. Ross Rizley, (R-Okla), asked Patterson about press re ports so quoting Vandergrift. "In my own opinion," Patter son said, "I don't think there's any reason for it. The Marine corps is continued by the act it self. It is covered in the same way the army, navy and air corps are covered." Camp Offered Problem Boys Mrs. Nona White, county pro bation officer, announced Thursday, that a rancher near Jefferson, who does not as yet wish to have his name revealed has offered a privately financed camp for Marion county prob lem boys and that she hopes to see the plan carried out, the main drawback now being find ing the right kind of a woman to cook at tne camp. Location of the proposed camp is on a river bank in a mint growing section. The do nor has purchased army camp cots and equipment and can handle up to 12 boys at a time. The plan contemplates develop ment of a mint growing proj ect by the boys who would re ceive wages and returns from the project and in return would work Dart time and the rest of the time be afforded recreation al privileges such as swimming, tennis, horseback riding and other games and amusements. "The program as planned will be very helpful this sum mer if it can be worked out," commented Mrs. White. "The proposed location is an ideal one. The man in question has two sons who have returned from army service and are able to take over his farm so he wi be left free to supervise the camp and handle the details and he has made the offer in the hope of being some help to the boys. If we can find the proper woman as a cook I am confident the plan can be work - ed out very beneficially." 24, 1947 Marshall Cornett of Klamath The offering of 800 Camp Adair leaving little more than 100 of ?the original lot of 1512 surplus buildings still to be disposed of. Three Washington contractors were heaviest buyers. They were Matheny and Bacon of Seattle, 74 buildings; Henry Bacon of Seattle, 137 buildings; and Good Hope Wrecking company of En umclaw, 104 buildings. The Gates Women's club, Gates, Ore., bought the only guard house on the list. Other organizational buyers included Nehalem Rod and gun club, regi mental exchange buildine- Agate Beach Country club, mess nan; Gorvallis American Legion post No. 11, -regiriieritar ex change building, and Marion Linn Farmers union of Jeffer son, Ore., a storehouse and mo tor repair shop. (Concluded on Page 17, Column 7) Top Experts on Palestine Due Lake Success, N. Y., April 24 VP) Top experts on Palestine problems converged upon Unit ed Nations headquarters today as the fast-working secretariat completed plans for opening the first U. N. special session on Palestine next Monday. Two major questions have been put on the provisional agenda upon which the as sembly must decide by a two thirds vote. They arc: 1 A British re quest for appointment of a spe cial committee to prepare for consideration of the Palestine question at the regular session in September. 2 Identical requests by the five members of the Arab Lea gue who are U. N. stales for the special session to consider termination of the British man date over Palestine and the de claration of Palestine's indepen dence. The United States. Britain and several other delegations have indicated opposition to the second item. They insist that the special session must not go into the questions itself beyond appointing the investigating commjttcc. CommiesAsked to Help Expose Fascists Washington, April 24 (IP) Communists, who have been getting rough handling from the house committee on un-American activities, were invited to day to help the committee ex pose fascists. Rep. McDowell (R., Pa ), told reporters that preliminary checks by a subcommittee which he heads show some revival of fascist activities in America. He said there is evidence of it in Georgia, New York, Chicago, parts of Texas and southern California. And he added that he will ex tend a formal invitation to com munists to supply any informa tion they may have, since they are always "screaming" about it. The trouble, McDowell said, "is that they consider evcry- 1 thing that isn't communist fas cist." Price Five Cents tonaress ku ti0 ,oaaVt Own Diueprit.i On Foreign Aid Washington, April 24 VP) Congress showed signs today of scckin ga global blueprint of its own on foreign relief needs and American ability to meet them. That was the situation as the house delayed until next week decision on the administra tion's $350,000,000 measure to do part of the relief job in Eu- ope and China. Delay Relief Action The house abruptly hailed its consideration of the measure yesterday in the midst of (a) protests against "excessive" drains on the treasury, (b) de mands that congress first find out the final amount to be need ed, and (c), a controversy over banning any aid to communist dominated nations. The interruption was ordered to give priority consideration, beginning today, to the sharply pruned measure carrying ap pripriations for the interior de partment. Meanwhile, however, the pow erful house rules committee was taking these two important steps of its own: House Program 1. It approved a measure to set up a 15-member house com mittee with broad powers to study relief needs and the do mestic and international sources to meet them. Such a study was proposed by Rep. Herter (R Mass), close friend and one' time relief associate of former President Herbert Hoover. 2. It ordered a hearing Mon day to determine the procedure for bringing to the floor some time next week the senalc-ap proved measure t o bolster Greece and Turkey against en croaching communism with $400,000,000 worth of supplies and limited military aid. Reds Release U. S, Attaches Nanking,' April 24 (U.R) The U. S. embassy announced today that Maj. Robert Rigg and Capt. John Collins, assistant military attaches held prisoner by the Chinese communists since March 1, were released in good health today. The two American 'officers reached Changchun five hours after their release by the com munists at noon. The release was made by prior arrangement at Hung-Fangtze, 10 miles north of the edge of the Nationalist bridgehead over the Sungari riv er. Brig. Robert Soulc, tile Amer ican military attache, said both Rigg and Collins were in good health after their 55-day deten tion. Rigg is from Chicago and Col lins from Galleon, Ala. They were captured while on an ob servation assignment with Na tionalist troops. Body of Boy Found In Boston Sewer Boston, April 24 UP) The body of a three-year-old Ja maica Plain boy, who toppled through an open manhole, was found last night lodged against an outlet screen at the Nut Is land pumping station after pass ing through nine miles of sewer pipes. The victim, Anthony Tam maro, dropped through the opening while he and his broth er, John, 4, were tossing stones in a nearby brook. Westerners Plan Assaults To Restore Reclamation Cuts Washington, April 24 (U.R) W reclamation," western house me: assaults on republican plans for department budget. The sharps ly-trimmcd interior department bill came up for house debate with western republicans ready for a war of amendments in be half of reclamations projects. They were certain of some dem ocratic support and hoped for general minority backing. The republican-ruled house appropriations committee sent the interior bill to me floor car rying only $150,538,513 of the 295,420,420 requested by Pres ident Truman. It was the might iest economy blow yet in the committee's drive for a $6,000,- i 000.000 cut in President Tru- man's total budget for the fiscal year starting July 1. I The measure was slated for J two days of house debate with Big 4 Moscow Conference Ends in Disagreement on All Major German-Austrian Issues oo3g Set for London in November ss iiO TietfivT. u,' 0S6 Be Referred MSJaiV D " "..jjii mmiMeis ui t ruwei -uumii in ueiiiii Moscow, April 24 VP) The four-power conference of foreign ministers in session since March 10, ended today In disagreement on all major German and Austrian issues. U.S. Secretary of State Marshall expressed disappointment that tile council had failed to reach agreement on the Austrian treaty and the American-proposed four-power pact to keep Germany disarmed. The next meeting was set for London in November, but there was a possibility that the foreign ministers might meet earlier in New York, during a session of the United Nations general asse-m bly. At last night's session, at which Marshall declared that if an Austrian peace treaty remains uncompleted in September the United States would favor tossing the question into the lap of the United Nations, the ministers finally disposed of many long- debated issues blocking agree- ment on a peace treaty for Ger many. The disposition, for the most part, however, consisted of referring the questions either to the deputy foreign ministers or the four-power control council in Berlin. American sources said neither group could solve the major problems on which the council of foreign ministers itself had fallen clown. Ends with Banquet The conference ended tonight with a banquet given at the Kremli n by Generalissimo Stalin. Secretary of State George C. Marshall will leave for Wash ington by plane tomorrow morn ing barring unexpected last min ute developments. Apparently only large and unexpected So viet concessions could cause a change in the windup plans. Stalin's First Meeting The final business session was perfunctory. After that, the delegates went to the Kremlin for the state banquet. It will be Stalin's first meeting of the seven-week conference with the visiting ministers in a group. He has talked with each of them privately. The first large group of the American delegation will fly to the United States tomorrow afternoon. Special trains are waiting to carry the British and French delegations home. Blames Molotov Ten men from each visiting delegation were Stalin's dinner guests. The dinner began at 8:30 p.m. (12:30 p.m. EST). Marshall blames Molotov for the ministers' failure to reach any major concrete agreements on Austria and Germany dur ing their seven weeks of debate. He charges the Russians with widening rather than narrowing tne at iterances on Austria Molotov accused the United States of "obstructing" progress by refusing to consider the So viets' blanket amendments to the American draft of a four power German disarmament treaty. Biggest Battle Rages in Greece Athens, April 24 (U.R) Greek press reports said today that the year's biggest battle was raging at Orthris mountain, north of Lamia in central Greece with re gulars striking at forces under the direct command of top guer rilla chieftain "General" Markos Vifiadcs. According to newspaper dis patches, Greek regulars of the first and second corps clashed yesterday morning with 1000 guerrillas, driving Ihcm toward mountain heights in fighting which was still going on. Sixty three guerrilla bodies were pick ed up after the first few hours' action, accounts said. One guerrilla body was that of their Thcssaly leader, Capitanos Faros. Greek planes made di rect attacks on one position and left 33 guerrillas dead and 40 wounded. Deputy Prime Minister Con- stanlin Tsaldaris said he had re ccived reports indicating only 20 of 150 gendarmes survived an ambush near Sparta yesterday. ilh a cry of "more money for mbcrs buckled down today for 43 percent slash in the interior consideration of amendments ex pected to come tomorrow. The 43 percent slash voted by the committee brought angry outbursts from westerners, whose reclamation projects would feel it most. Secretary of Interior J. A. Krug charged the action would run the nation into "bankruptcy of its natural resources." Republicans from the 1 1 rec lamation states met twice to con sider strategy for their fight, to save the projects. Chairman Richard Welch (R., Calif.) of the house public lands committee, said they fell short of achieving a master plan to increase funds in the bill. Meanwhile to Deputy r :i d-.i: ? Priorities On Surplus to Go Washington, April 24 (Pi War Assets Administrator Rob ert N. Littlejohn today asked congress to wipe out by Decem ber 31 priorities on all purchases of surplus property except real estate. The proposal, designed to speed surplus sales, would elimi nate preference now given vet erans, states and local govern ments and non-profit institu tions such as schools and hos pitals. Rising national production will make it unnecessary to keep priorities in force beyond the year-end, Littlejohn said. idding: "It should be borne in mind that priority claimants are interested almost exclusively in 'short supply' items. By December 31, the resi due of 'short supply' items will be extremely small. This will be due both to reconversion and accelerated disposal." Real property includes plants, glazing and farm lands, and fixed military installations. In these cases, however, Littlejohn said the 90-day period in which real property is held for its former owners should be cut to 30 days. No Decline in Meat Prices Washington, April 24 (A) ' The agriculture department pre dicted today that meat supplies will not be large enough to cause a material price decline unless there is a business recession. Latest reports indicate, the agency said, that consumer de mand for meat probably is at a record level despile current prices. Consumption during the January-March quarter was said to have been the greatest for the period in at least 35 years, or at the rate of more than 150 pounds per person a year. The department said total pro duction of meat this year prob ably will be somewhat greater than last year, but not enough greater to pull down prices no ticeably unless there is a rather sharp decline in consumer buy ing power. Destruction of Lidice Avenged Prague, Czechoslovakia, April 24 (!) Gestapo Chief Harold Wiesman and five of his men were sentenced to death by hang ing today for the destruction of Lidice. Nine other Gestapo men were convicted of participating in the Nazi razing of the little Bohem ian village and the slaughter of its men. They were sentenced to prison terms ranging from nine to 30 years. One other was convicted, but no sentence pro nounced as yet. Lidice, destroyed in 1942, in reprisal for the assassination of Rcinharc! Hcyclrich, Hitler's "protector" of Czechoslovakia, became a world symbol of Nazi savagery. Pioneer Albany Resident Dies Portland, April 24 tV) W. Sherman Thompson, 85, who mi grated from Kentucky as a child with his family and arrived ill the Willamette valley via the South Santiam fork in 1867, died here yesterday at a nurs ing home. He taught school in Lebanon and' Albany and later was cash ier of the Bank of Oregon i .ict a partner in business in Albany. About 1900 he moved to a wheat ranch in eastern Washington, but returned to Oregon in 1920. Itoyally Going Home Capetown, April 24 (U.Rl The British Royal family winds up its South African tour today. The Battleship Vanguard was sched uled to hoist anchor this after noon for the return trip to England. 1
