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About Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1919-1980 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 21, 1948)
CapitaiAJournal ItlSSII. An Independent Newspaper Established 1888 GEORGE PUTNAM, Editor and Publisher ROBERT LETTS JONES, Assistant Publisher Published every afternoon except Sunday at 444 Che meketa St., Salem. Phones: Business, 8037 and 3571; Want Ads, 3571 ; News Room, 3572; Society Editor, 3573. Full Leased Wire Service of the Associated Press ond The United Press. The Associated Press Is exclusively entitled to the use for publication of all news dispatches credited to it or otherwise credited in this paper and also news published therein. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: By Carrier: Weekly. 20c: Monthly, 75c: One Year, 19.00. By Mail in Oregon: Monthly, 60c; 6 Mos., $3.00; One Year, $6.00. ! United States Outside Oregon: Monthly, 60c; Year, $7.20. Salem, Oregon, Wednesday, January 21, 1948 Governor Stands the Heat Only the intervention of divine providence or the unlikely but possible presentation of new evidence which might cast doubt upon the guilt of the accused can prevent Warden Henderson, 27-year-old Portland negro, from paying with his life for the cold blooded murder of Walter Poole of Van port on Christmas eve, 1945, in the state penitentiary gas chamber Friday morning at 8 :30 o'clock. That is the decision of Governor John H. Hall, announced yesterday after the chief executive had heard all of the petitions, read the letters urging clemency for the negro oughly the 105-page record of In refusing to intervene as requested by a large number of church groups and organizations interested in racial rela tions, the governor said "the law must take its course." He further said that no cause recognized by the law as justifying his intervention existed in the showing made in Henderson s behalf by anyone. All of the appeals were based upon senti ment or emotions, he declared, denying the truth of any allegations to the effect that Henderson would not have been sentenced to death but would have been sent to prison for life had he been a white man. In a lengthy statement showing careful preparation the governor said: "There is no evidence or claim that the defendant did not receive a fair trial. There is no indication that racial prejudice had any part in the case," adding that it was his belief that the governor's power to commute should "be exercised, only for the purpose of preventing a miscarriage of justice, such as a showing that the accused did not have a fair trial or every opportunity to present a defense, the presentation of newly discovered evidence since com pletion of the trial, or other extenuating circumstances. The determination of such appeals as this have been the bane of the official lives of every Oregon governor since Julius Meier, who on July 3, 1934, commuted the death sentences of two convicted slayers, one of them also a negro. Every gov; ernor since then has faced the ordeal of passing final judg ment upon one or more condemned men. All have stood the test and have stood firm in the performance of a judicial duty arbitrarily imnosed unon the executive department where, by no stretch of the imagination, can it be reconciled to the proper order ot things. Amolifvinor his statement son's behalf were voiced by individuals or groups opposed to capital punishment, the governor charged them with neglect ing to take recourse to the initiative and thereby lay the entire question of capital punishment or its repeal squareiy in the laps of the voters for their decision. But even though retained as nart of the Denal code the final decision in death penalty cases should rest in the case of last minute development ot evidence conclusively establishing the innocence of Labor Leaders Deserting Henry Wallace's declaration of his candidacy for president on a third party ticket, with a platform of peace by appease ment of Russia, together with President Truman's left of center messages on state of the nation and budget, in which he bid for New Deal support in the FDR manner, seems to have brought the labor leaders back into the democratic fold. Even those who have hitherto been staunch supporters of i.Bimuc me joining ine paraae 10 tne white Mouse and pledg ing democratic support in the coming election. As a matter of fact these labor czars are realistic enough to know that a third party is a futility in our political system ar,d like all bloc leaders with their pressure politics are inter ested mainly in immediate special privilege for the groups they represent, rather than in the long range welfare of the nation. Hence though they know Truman will not go all the way with them, Wallace can only get them in bad with the public. The latest labor boss to make the pilgrimage to the White House is A. F. Whitney, president of the independent Broth erhood of Railroad Trainmen, who in May, 1946, when the president forced an end to a strike which would have tied up the nation's transportation system, denounced Mr. Truman as a "political accident" and promised vengeance. He said his union would spend "millions to defeat" him in 1948. Whitney announced after his White House conference that he had had a "wonderful talk" with the president, that he was all for Mr. Truman's re-election and predicted any of the republican hopefuls could be defeated this year, and added that "Taft would be the softest bet." Whitney's visit followed his resignation from the Progres sive Citizens nf America, which he helped organize. It is the left wing out fit, which with the Communist party is most active in Wallace's presidential effort, and endorsed his can didacy at the Chicago convention this week. Wallace cannot count on the support of many of his former adherents be cause they are political opportunists after the spoils, but he can always count on the crackpots and the lunatic fringe along with Stalin's cohorts. Not-So-Eager Beaver Dams Downtown Traffic in Denver Denver W) A beaver built a traffic jam In Denver. Traffic blocked up and a crowd gathered as the not-too. eager beaver waddled down a main downtown street. It was undetermined how the animal got Into town, but patrolmen wanted It out. One, unrecalllng anything about beavers In his training, railed headquarters for help when the animal actively resented the hand of the law on lt paddle Then the heaver scooted tinder a car. Advice from a lot of bystandlng would-be beaver experts was unavailing. Finally, a visitor here for the National Western Livestock show, Elmer Randall of Buffalo, Okla., and a police reinforce ment, Patrolman Ed Draper, got a loop over one foot of the animal and quickly bundled It up for delivery to some nearby stream. Hey! 'Dream House' Is Stolen! Detroit (IP) Police today joined James C. Peterson In a search for the partly-built seven-room ranch type home he reported waa stolen from Its foundations. The 31-year-old war veteran and father, employed as a fac tory crane operator, told officers he had been building his "dream home" himself and had completed the entire frame work, three walla and half the rough flooring before beginning a brief vacation three weeks ago. Not i splinter waa left when he returned to his construction work yesterday, Peterson reported, and a pile of lumber beside the frame was gone too. "I'm going to pitch right In and start all over again," aald Peterson. He estimated he bad spent about $3000 o.i the house m far. slayer and had studied thor testimony in the trial. that all the appeals in Hender the courts except, possibly, in the condemned man. Wallace IBY BECK Actions for Regret -fl7WM5 THE ,,, IN THE ALLEY. -Clf ...-T. fJ1 "Z7i? SIPS FOR SUPPER What Goes on Here? BY DON UPJOHN The world seems to get topsier and turvier with each passing day. This country is turning itself Europe because, so it is averred, start another global war. The inference is that there will be no war when there are full turn mics. Yet, over on the other side of the world a frail, wistful 1 o o k i ng little creature called Mohandus Don Upjohn Ghandi went on a hunger strike for a few days and just by the simple process of eaining an empty stomach stop ped what threatened to be the bloodiest war in the history oi his benighted nation. One place. they eat to keep war away from the door, another place they don't eat for the same purpose- Anyway. Mr. Ghandi has the ad vantage of having proved hi? point very quickly and effica ciously. The other idea is still in the theorizing stage. But we hope it works as well. Free Ride for Van Foster Van Osdol, sales man ager for Hogg Brothers, copped a free if involuntary ride on the Espee the other evening. He and Mrs. Van Osdol went to the train to say au revoir to Mrs. Mabel Olson of San Francisco, Mrs. Van Osdol's sister who has been visiting here. Mr. Van Osdol carried Mrs. O 1 s o n's suitcase aboard the Pullman but had no sooner got aboard than the porter pulled up the footstool, slammed the vestibule doors, the train got under way and there was Van. Mrs. Van Osdol told the ticket agent here what happened, he wired to Albany to put Van aboard the next train north as a guest of the railroad company and Van was back at 8 p.m., chipper and happy and no poorer than when he started out. Word comes up from Califor nia that the feud between that state and Florida has become so intense the Californians have been refusing to use the Florida stamp recently Issued on their mail. This was a pretty green stamp with a picture of a flamin go on it. But little good that'll do em, as the post office depart ment has just issued the new California stamp commemorat ing the gold rush days there, and we bet they won't sell enough of them In Florida to pay for ship ping 'em there. And then there'll be Don Wiggins and Ben Max- STORIES IN LIFE Cartoonist Al Capp Won Fame With 'Li'l Abner' Despite Handicap Many people both men and women have achieved fame and fortune despite heart-breaking creator of Li'l Abner. the comic Capital Journal, might be put In this same category. As a boy of twelve. Capp lost a leg in an accident and he nas been walking on a wooden leg ever since. Sure, in the beginning, he was afraid to dance or drive a car, or go out with girls, or even to meet his own friends in his home town in Connecticut He hated his wooden leg. But he got a job in a gas sta tion because he had to work. He studied art, too. A certain girl encouraged him. When he left to challenge the big city, the girl called him a dope for wait ing so long to pop the question. ' Just ask me, ' she demanded ..ley were married in Boston. But they went broke, so Capp hitchhiked back to New York where, earlier, he had tried his hand unsuccessfully In cartoon ing. He found temporary haven In Greenwich Village. Ha started peddling his car toons, but without success. Then one day he was stopped on the street by a stranger who said, "I'll bet what yor've got under your arm Is rejected cartoons." inside out to rush food over to empty stomachs over there will well who won't use any of them either. It looks like a poor deal for California. MacKENZIE'S COLUMN Greek Newspaper Flays Notes of U.S. Mission BY DeWITT MacKENZIE IAP Foreign Affaire Analyst) The Greeks are a proud and independent folk, with a glorious past and, we trust, a glorious future. One of the things we admire about them is their Spartan cour- age a n d their f? quic k n e s s in defense of their rights. More power to theml Still, there is on old saying, and true, that discr e t i o n is the better part of valor, and we take the liberty of commending this thought to D.WItl M.ekenele the Athens royalist newspaper Vradyni, which seems to us not only to be indiscreet but ill in formed and rather ungracious toward a very good friend Vradyni, which frequently speaks for the dominant royal ist party, has taken the Ameri can aid mission, headed by Dwight P. Griswold, to task for notes to the Greek government. The newspaper says these notes have sounded as though writ ten for "The Japanese or Ho a country inhabited by gang sters." It hopes that the threaw of the communist guerrillas in the north will be ended before long so "We soon can forget our friendly allies and return to were we were before Vradyni doesn't specify what; the notes contained but it is known that Griswold recently told Foreign Minister Tsaldaris that America won t tolerate a "dictatorial solution" of Greece's problem. We also know that some Greek politi cians have discussed the possi bility of a semi-dictatorship under which parliament would be dissolved. Heaven preserve Greece from another such dictatorship as she suffered under the late General (Little John) Metaxas who ruled with an iron hand from 1938 to 1941 when he died, during the Italian invasion. It isn't that Metaxas lacked capability. Most successful" dictators have been capable, and Little John was successful." However, Greece lived in the shadow of fear, as physical handicaps. Al Capp, strip which is appearing in the This was correct, but It marie Capp sore, and he start ed to walk on. The man called him back and Introduced himself. He wag one of the country's noted comic artists, and he gave Capp a job as his assistant. Racking his brain for an ori ginal Idea, Al suddenly recall ed a walking trip he had taken years before through the moun tain country of Georgia, Ken tucky and,, Tennessee. The pic turcsqueness and humor of the Southern mountain folk had made a vivid and lasting im pression on him. Diving into an old packing box, he pulled forth a picture of a hill-billy boy he had drawn at that time. Opportunity was knocking a ; Capp realized it. His imagi nation began working. That hill-billy boy would make a comic strip hero different from any ever used before. He could be both funny and appealing. Thus "Li'l Abner" was born. So the work of Al Capp, who overcame a physical handicap, now comes to Capital Journal readers every evening on the feature page. WASHINGTON MERRY Boss of Farmers' Union Wants Truman Dramatics BY DREW PEARSON Washington James Patton, rugged boss of the National Farm ers' Union, urged President Truman to walk up to congress some day just like any other American citizen and lay his views before a congressional committee. "What you ought to do sometime," snorted the Colorado farm leader, "is take your hat in hand, walk up Pennsy 1 v a n i a avenue, go be fore a congres sional commit tee and say, 'Gentlem en, I am here to tes tify in the peo ple's interest.'" The president smiled and Drew Fearaon shook his head. 'My most effective weapon," he disagreed, "is to stand before a mike and talk to the people." "If you want to win the next election," persisted Patton, "you have to do more than talk. You have to dramatize your views. Instead of stroll ing on the White House lawn, stroll up Pennsylvania ave nue with a purpose. It would be the first time since Jef ferson that a president ap peared personally before a congressional committee." "Well," admitted Truman, that would be rather drama tic." Note Patton also invited the president to address the Nation- I found when I was there in 1838 as the world war was boil ing up. Metaxas was born on the is land of Ithaca. He is said to have started his working life as a dock laborer but he became a soldier and showed so much promise that he was sent to the German war academy in Berlin to complete his education. May be that's where he developed his admiration for the Germans. Anyway he was very pro-German. Metaxas rose to be Greek chief of staff during the Balkan wars and finally when King George II was recalled to his throne in 1935 the general was made war minister and then premier in 1938. It took the two fisted Little John just four months to make himself com plete dictator. . He abolished all political parties and put several thousand of his political foes in cluding many prominent states men, aboard ships and sent them into exile among the Greek is lands. I was told that a lot of the exiles suffered terrible hardships. Plain clothes police spied on the public and anyone who spoke disparagingly of Little John ended up in jail. The cen sorship on news was so fierce that a Greek newspaperman committed suicide after being hounded and arrested many times because the authorities figured he was disclosing too much. PRIZE OF WAR Barque, All Sails Set, Rounds Cape in Near-Record Voyage BY DAN L. THRAPP London U.R A tall ship, her 45,000 square feet of canvas furled to the spars of her four masts, was towed proudly up the Thames She went past the gallant old clipper, Cutty Sark, past the hulk of HMS Worcester, now used as a schoolship, to a berth at Vic toria Docks. She was the barque Pamir, 3.200 tons, 81 days out of Wel lington, N. Z., with a cargo of wool, tallow and, in odd spac es, Red Cross gift parcels. She was the first barque to make London after round ing Cape Horn in 40 years. She also was the first square rigged sailing vessel to come up the Thames since the Cut ty Sark herself arrived from Falmouth 11 years ago. , . . . The Pamir was nine days ahead of schedule after a near record passage when she round ed the Horn with all sails set. That was in seas where more great ships have been dismasted by hurricane gales than off any other cape In ,the world. She averaged nearly 200 miles daily for the 15,000-mile voyage. "We had a very fine trip Indeed," said Capt. H. S. Col lier. "If anything, we had not enough wind before we reach ed Cape Horn, but she re sponded lightly to what little there was. She Is a fine ship, easy to handle and light as a feather In any breeze." "We had ideal wind once we entered the Atlantic and often logged 12 to 14 knots better than most steam freighters." Many notables, government dignitaries and common citizens watched the ship glide up the muddy Thames to her berth Hundreds of old sailing ship men.- veteran sea dogs of the age of sail, crowded every vantage - GO - ROUND al Farmers' convention In Den ver March 8, where the chief subject discussed will be recla mation. "I hope," said Patton: "that you don't turn all the Col orado valley development pro jects over to the army engin eers." More Rent Control Washington's best friend of the real-estate interests, gruff talking Sen. Harry Cain, has been given the paradoxical chore of drafting a new rent control law. An outspoken foe of rent control, a senate sub committee gave him the assign ment of drafting the new bill. Immediately he hustled over to see Senate Boss Robert Taft. "Let me get this clear," rasped Cain, "do you want leg islation continuing rent con trols?" "Yes," said Taft. "What kind of a bill do you want?" Cain asked, bewilder ed. "I can't say, Harry," re plied Taft. "That is up to you." So the senatoi who doesn't believe in rent control has been given the job without guid ance from the party bosses to draft a bill continuing rent con trol. He will have to work fast. The present weakened rent-control bill expires February 29. Meanwhile, Senators Spark- man of Alabama and Myers of Pennsylvania, democrats, have introduced rent-control bills with teeth. Where Money Went For years Jesse Jones' Re construction Finance Corpora tion was the one and only gov ernment agency not subject to scrutiny by the government ac counting office. Lindsay War ren, eagle-eyed comptroller gen eral and boss of the general ac counting office did his best to have his auditors examine Jes se's books, but Jesse's pull on Capitol hill was so strong that he remained exempt. Now, however, Comptroller General Warren finally has been able to probe certain op erations by RFC subsidiaries. Simultaneously, indefatigable Congressman George Bender of Cleveland, Ohio, Is plan ning to air certain deals that the general accounting office has unearthed. Here is the first: The Andrews Steel plant of Newport, Ky., is located along the Ohio river where it needs costly repairs every time the river is flooded. In 1942 it was owned by Lehman Bothers, the New York banking firm, which sold it in June 1943 to Paul An- gell and Charles Stamm of Chi cago, who had scarcely moved in before they threatened to close down unless the govern ment took the plant over. The Defense Plant corpora tion, a subsidiary of Jesse Jones' RFC, sent its assistant vice pres ident, T. W. Atkins, to inspect the plant. He reported that it was run down, needed repairs and that no more than $472,- 890.68 of the total inventory was worth purchasing. (Concluded on Page 9, Column 3) point to see the arrival of a type of craft which -made Eng land a great maritime power. One pipe-smoking, stolid, re tired merchant officer, watching the ship being warped into Victoria Docks for unloading summed it up: "A trim ship," he said. "I'd like to command her." . The Pamir, built of steel 43 years ago, waa taken as a prize by the New Zealand gov ernment when Britain declar ed war on Finland. She was one of the great sailing fleet owned by the late Capt. Gus tav Erikson, of Marlehamn, Aaland Islands. She is now operated by the New Zealand government. A second Erikson barque was tak en as a prize by the South Afri can government and is now op crated from that dominion. Three others are sailing under Erikson s flag and others are undergoing refits or their own ership is disputed. These sailing ships are young men's ships. The crew of 33 aboard the Pamir averaged 20 year of age. The youngest, 15-year-old Charlie Green, is a New Zealander. George Gunn, 19, was sallmaker. One of the British members was Viscount Traprain, ion and heir of Lord Balfour, who ship ped before the mast as Jerry Balfour, and reached England just In time to celebrate his 22nd birthday. THIS FUNNY WORLD II ' W 1 "'tiiriff(IL7 ' .11 '' 4-21 ' ', OPEN FORUM Hot Rods and Delinquent Parents (Editor's Note: Contributions to this column must be confined to 300 words and signed by writer.) To the Editor: After reading the enclosed article (ouster of hot rod boys from airfield) in your issue of January 19, it makejf me wonder why such a condition should exist. I would suggest that the par- ents of the boys who were op erating the 75 to 100 cars be contacted by the officials instead of the boys. It is my honest belief that they will find that the said hot rod cars and also the fuel for same are being paid for by the par ents. After reading this article from Aurora, and an article from Monmouth, Ore., stating that the Faculty club at OCE had met to FILM CAPITAL Beauty, 21, Refuses Movie Bid; Fighting Wolves Not Worth lt BY VIRGINIA MacPHERSON Hollywood (UB Juanita Cole, a 21-year-old beauty who won the "Arthur Murray Girl of 1948" contest against her will, doesn't care what the judges think. She refuses to sign a movie contract and face that. band of howling Hollywood wolves again. She did it once. And it wasn't worth it. Miss Cole came out on top as the queen su preme among 3,000 Arthur Murray dancing vlrfllli, M.ePner, lectuiicrs, tiuuges were Actor Glenn Ford, Artist Varga, Photographer George Hurrell, Make-up Expert Perc Westmore and Boss Murray. They all figured . Juanita would be a cinch for a starlet's contract. But she said "no." "I was under contract to a major studio for a year and a half," Juanita said grimly. "Yon have to be too nice to too many people. Producers make passes at you. And all the wolves see your picture In the paper, think 'wow' here's a deal, and call you np con stantly." She might have played the game so many other ambitoius girls do, Juanita said, If she'd been hepped on being a movie star. But all she wants to do is dance. She said she wasn't even happy about winning the contest. And she looked like she might even mean It. "It's just one big, black head ache, as far as I'm concerned," the be-dimpled beauty complain ed. "I didn't want to enter my picture in the first place. But I'm a supervisor and I couldn't very well make the teachers un der me enter theirs unless I did. So I sent one in just to be a good sport." V Next think she knows she's "It." That means she has to have her picture taken in seductive poses with as little clothing on as her conscience will allow; she has to give out her life story to the press; she PARTS MEN WANTED $1.42Vi to $1.79 per hour Tine end M for overtime. 40-aoar week. All helldevo and vacation witb ar. Satardave and Snndare off. Ei eellent .ehanee .for .advancement. Fine vorfclni cendltlona In ene af the Northweit'f eldeet and lancet Chevrolet eempaniee. Write, wire or. eall . eelloett Mr Thatcher. Westlok. Chevrolet Co. 8th & Lenorj, Seattle. Wash. Eliot 4122 e CAPITOL LUMBER CO. North Cherry Art. rv.gjW vi-. it continue the further guidance of the students not to bore ypu with a lot of words that can be expressed by a few I frankly state without any reservations that these boys need further guidance from their respective parents, instead of placing our officers and faculty members of our schools in the present pre dicament. Thomas R. Smith. Independence, Ore. has to appear on radio shows; and she has to listen to job of fers from movie studios and modeling agencies. Juanita who comes from Council Bluffs, la., said "no" to everything. The boys who dreamed up the contest twisted her arm on the publicity angles. But, she mutters darkly, they . can't make her take a job she doesn't want. And she doesn't want to be movie queen. L - "I've been a dancer since I' was 3," she explained. "I'm happy doing the job I have now. It's a job I know I can get ahead on. Some day I'll have my own dance studio, I hope. But I'd make a lousy actress." Juanita is unmarried, wears a size 36 sweater, and weighs a curvaceous 19 pounds. She also photographs like a million In those poses they put her in. She just wonders what her mother back in Council Bluffs will think when she sees 'em, that's all. KING COLE DRIVE-IN GOOD SANDWICHES MALTS -FRENCH FRIES Service to Your Car RAIN OR SHINE OPEN 5 P.M. Week Dayi And Sundays Closed All Day Thursday So. Commercial at Liberty 'Y' QUISENBERRY'S Now LOCATION 419 FERRY ST. PHONE 9123 (In Phone Directory) QUISENBERRY PHARMACY Hi is for efficient 'Prco-to-logo THE CIEAN FUEL Phono 8862
