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About Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1919-1980 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 1948)
Capital A Journal An Independent Newspaper Established 18S8 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 and Tht 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 Tear, 19.00. By Mail In Oregon: Monthly, 60; 6 Mm.. S3. 00: One Tear. $6.00. United States Outside Oregon: Monthly, 60c; Tear, $7.20. 1 Salem, Oregon, Saturday, February 21, 1948 School Issues Join After weeks of feinting and sparing in an attempt to rec oncile their differences over the need for wisdom of float ing a $3,500,000 bond issue with which to improve the phys ical facilities of consolidated Marion county school district No. 24, proponents and opponents have at last joined issues along the lines on which their battle will be fought out at the polls next Tuesday, February 24. Superintendent Frank B. Bennett, who has led a battery of speakers who have been appearing before service clubs and civic organizations as well as community groups of parents which have met in various parts of the district to listen to the school board's case, accepted the challenge of critics of the financing plan at one of these community gatherings in the Highland school Thursday evening.. Proponents of the project had been accused by the opposi tion of failing to provide the voters (property owners) with all the facts necessary to competently judge the financial feasibility and timeliness of the proposal. Bennett replied with the assertion that not only had the newspapers been furnished full statistical data and other arguments favorable to the bond issue, but that this material has been distributed to persons attending the neighbodhood meetings and to those present at Chamber of Commerce and other luncheon meetings of businessmen. Superintendent Bennett laid particular stress upon the thorough ness with which the board's case establishing the need tor added physical facilities had been documented in the mimeographed bulletins distributed at these gatherings. The Capital Journal has and we know of no other outsooken opponents of the bond plan who does not subscribe to the same thought conceded from the first that the data supplied by the board relating to the growth of the district from a standpoint of population and the disproportionate tendency with which school age children are increasing in number, is notably thorough and complete so much so that this newspaper has accepted these estimates of need without question. - But the Capital Journal still contends that the board has been remiss in supplying data on the financial aspects of the proposal. Had the school board been as alert in presenting the financial picture, as has been Superintendent Bennett in presenting the problem of the district's needs, the present bond issue would never have been submitted to the voters for their approval at this time. We challenge Superintendent Bennett to show us one state ment in the mimeographed material issued as information on the proposal that even attempts to back up or justify such an added obligation being asumed by the district at this time. Neither do these informational bulletins point out that sale of the bonds of a serial variety maturing in 10 years and bearing 2.5 percent interest will increase the taxes on Salem property by 15 mills, or 23 percent, bringing the total levy for 'schools alone up to approximately 46 mills next year; that with contemplated increases in city and county taxes for other purposes such as sewer and war memorial bonds by the city and road and courthouse bonds by the county, will boost the possible property levy in Salem and surrounding parts of Marion county up to 95 mills or better within the next two or three years. That the board has no assurance that the proceeds from the bond sale will be adequate to finance the program as outlined, or even a fourth or a half of it ; that for the first two or three years after the bonds were sold the district would be without a margin of credit even in a case of emerg ency, because the bond issue would completely wipe out the legal limit to which the district may obligate itself. Nor even is there a hint given that the assessed values placed on the estimated cost of the various units to be added to the system are nothing more than the "best guesses" of the architects, nor that it is very doubtful whether the board could spend more than a million and a half for new buildings within the next two years if they had it to spend. A Distinguished Visitor Harold Edward Stassen, republican candidate for presiden tial nomination has made a very favorable impression in his brief campaign in Oregon. He is the only republican presi dential aspirant to campaign in this state, the only one to personally file his candidacy for the primaries. Stassen is of imposing physique, has a friendly manner, has considerable magnetism, is an indefatigable hand shaker and in his brief talks has none of the politician's fear of "sticking his neck out." He is a good speaker. Hp calls for and answers off-hand all queries. He is well in formed on all current issues, and has a truly liberal viewpoint. He is not allied with any group or faction and is opposed by party leaders. So was Wendell Willkie. Moreover Stassen's record is one of constructive accomp lishment. He was the youngest governor ever elected by any state when at the age of 31 he was chosen governor of Minnesota and twice re-elected. He resigned during his last . term to serve in the navy in the Pacific and made good in the war against Japan. The fearlessness of the man is shown when he announced his single-handed campaign for the presidency when all the other aspirants were, and some still are, pussyfooting. For one not in public office he has surprised every one by keeping himself in the limelight. Whether Stassen will be the nominee remains to be seen for politicians and party stooges and not the public will decide. But if a young man and a war veteran, from the grass-roots and a real libcrnl is wanted, he may be the choice. He is 18 years younger than Taft, 23 years younger than Vandenberg and five years younger than Dewey and has more vitality than any of them. Who's Who gives the following data on Stassen: Born in West St. Paul, April 13, 1007. Student at Minnesota university college and law school. Admitted to bar 1929; county attorney Dakota county, 1930-38; elected governor of Minnesota, 1938, for term 1939-40; twice re-elected for 1941-43, and 1943-45; Resigned to enter U. S. navy, 1943. Served on staff of Adm. W. F. Halsey in South Pacific, 1943-44. Appointed assistant chief of staff In 1044. Cited for outstanding performance of duty in second battle of Philippines October 24-27. 1944. Appointed one of V. S. delegates to San Francisco conference of United Nations. Temporary chairman and keynoter of Republican National con vention, 1940. National chairman of governor's conference, 1940-41. Selected as outstanding young man by National Junior Chamber of Commerce, 1938. Elected for International district citation by the International Society of Christian Endeavor and World's C. E. Union, 1941. Awarded Legion of Merit (West Pa cific campaign), February, 1943. Warmed Up His Engine, All Right teidvllle, Cola. (Pi Unable to start his 12-year-old sedan, Lucas Lucero built a fire under the engine. Before he eoutd control -U, the blase destroyed both auto mobile and traie. Firemen saved two adjacent houses. BY BECK Recollections THE FIRESIDE PULPIT K"T I UNDERSTAND VOU FOLKS ARE 5 W CONSIDERING BUYING A NEW CAB 7 NO. THANK VOU 1 I'D LIKE Tp TAKE YOU OUT fOB A M I'M VERY BUSY AND pV DEMONSTRATION IN OUR LATEST V YOUD BE WASTING yl MODEL. JUST A SPIN OF AN HOUR J jf MOUR TIME.. MY V OR TWO 50 .YOU CAN SEE MOVJTl HUSBAND DECIDES 1 Washington's Prayer Cited To Attention of Americans BY REV. GEORGE H. SWIFT Rector, 8t. Pftul'i Episcopal Churcb The Gettysburg address of Abraham Lincoln is well known to the American people. It is a great document. George Washing ton, on the occasion of the disbanding of the Continental army wrote a prayer which should wt never have been forgotten by the people of America.. It too is a great document. It is fitting that atfc least a portion of that prayer should be brought to our attention aur- r. g. n. swill ing the season of our first presi dent's anniversary. Washington wrote, "I now make my earnest prayer that God will keep the United States under His holy protection . . . And finally that He will most graciously be pleased to dis pose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind, which were' the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, and without a humble imitation of whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation." The great leaders of our country have always emphasiz ed the place of religion in the development and progress of our people. The framers of the Con stitution of the United States were determined that religion should be unhampered in Am erica, and took special care that a clause guaranteeing such free dom was incorporated in that document. More recently, the warld leaders have recognized the place of religion among all peoples everywhere when among the Four Freedoms put forth in the Atlantic Charter they in cluded freedom of religion. Freedom of religion was not put Into the Constitution of the United States nor into the At lantic Charter to assure people that they may be free from re ligion, but it was put in to MacKENZIE'S COLUMN 3 LV Commies Tread Lightly In France and Italy BY DeWITT MocKENZII IAP Foreign Affelrs Analret) Moscow seems to have soft-pedaled temporarily the violent red tactics aimed at establishment of communist governments in Italy and France. The general strategy of course remains the same. This is to sovietize these two strat egically Impor tant count rl e s whose control would b r 1 n g Russia immeas urably nearer her goal of dom I n a t i n g DeRIII Hiektntlo western as well as eastern Eur ope. For some weeks things have been relatively quiet In France after a long period of violence and disorganization due to bol- shevist strong-arm methods. Now we have the unusual de velopment of a peace truce in Italy among the warring politi cal parties, pending the elec tion for the republic's first par liament on April 18. This pact provides for a campaign "with out hate" and for abstention from the use of force, which caused more than a score of deaths and much property de struction during the latter part of 1947. The most unusual and con sequently significant aspect of the situation is that the truce (for what it Is worth) was pro posed by Umerto Terracinl, communist president of the re cently adjourned constituent assembly. The fact that It is a communist move emphasizes the likelihood that it represents a Moscow order to tread light ly for the moment. The meaning of this, In my view, is that the communists r going to pursue the course Pi make the worship of God ac cording to the dictates of one's conscience easy and without any interference from any organiza tion or person. ' There was once a time when people assembled to worship God in peril of their lives. Hun dreds of thousands have died a martyr's death to achieve this blessing for those who came af ter them. These God-fearing and self-sacrificing people, as far as we are concerned, have died in vain, when we neglect to exercise the privilige of wor shiping God. SIPS FOR SUPPER Watch Your Step, Joe BY DON UPJOHN Joe Louis, he of the powerful punch with a long string of vic tories behind him, says when he's through with the prize ring or it is through with him he intends to enter politics. Joe has had plenty of rough and tum ble times from h i s babyhood up, in the ring and out, but we're prone to feel that with all the rough and tumble stuff he ain't seen nothing yet. In the po litical ring the Don TJpJeha boys never heard of a Marquiss of Queensberry, there's no such thing as winning a round if you get hit below the belt and if sportsmanship is at a low ebb in the prize ring, it was forgot ten long ago in politics. We're a little fearful that after Joe takes on a few political battles he'll be a bewildered old man, shak ing his head and wondering what hit him. He's been up against some tough babies in his life but nothing like the chal lengers he'll meet in the political of least resistance pending po litical developments in Italy and France, They are gam bling that a swing of fortune in elections may give them the control they want without their having to employ force. That would endow them with a bene ficence which would be calcu lated to win friends in other western European countries. There's another point to which I called attention in yes terday's column. Bolshevist tactics which were possible In countries of eastern Europe, under Russian military occupa tion, can't be used in western Europe where the reds have no armed forces. , So the communists must move more circumspectly In their campaigns in Italy and France, and It wouldn't be .surprising If there is a peri od of comparative calm In those countries for a bit. This doesn't mean that the disruptive tactics of the reds will cease, but rather that they will work quietly and by indirection as they are doing in the United States and in many other countries of the western hemisphere. However, strikes and politi cal strife and politico-economic sabotage will continue as a pre lude to the ultimate all-out ef fort to establish soviet regimes. Of this we may be sure: The communists will go all-out to prevent the Marshall plan from working. If they can't do this through control of the French and Italian governments, then most assuredly strong-arm me thods will be employed. WASHINGTON MERRY Backstage Pressure Seeks To Call Off Thomas Probe BY DREW PEARSON Washington Behind the move to shift the grain speculation probe from the Senate Appropriations Committee to the Senate Expenditures Committee is a strong backstage attempt to hush up the facts regarding the amazing grain and cotton deals of Sena tor Elmer Thomas of Oklahoma. The drive to let Senator Thomas off the hook is spear headed by Sen ator Millard T y d 1 n g s of Maryland, with the support of most other Democ rats in the Appropria tions Commit' tee. Drew Fuihi They don't like to see a fel low Democrat in trouble, and Thomas himself happens to be a member of this committee. During a recent closed-door Appropriations Committee meeting, Tydings bluntly de manded of Senator Ferguson of Michigan, Republican, that the Thomas probe be called off. He's written you a letter telling of his market transac tions," declared Tydings. "What more do you want? There's no use continuing this persecu tion." "Nevertheless," replied Fer guson, who is chairman of the Sub-Appropriations Committee probing grain speculations, "I'm going to continue the investiga tion of Senator Thomas and all others until I get the facts." However, Tydings and col leagues have managed to block an expenditure of $20,000 which Ferguson needs to pay investi gators before he can proceed further. Appropriations Comml 1 1 e e Democrats are expected to vote against this $20,000 unless their colleague, Thomas, Is exempt from further inquiry. Also it looks as if enough Republicans would join them to save the : game. Those boys still carry brass knuckles. Mr. Stassen came, he also saw, but he's going to have to wait until next November to find out whether he's going to conquer. We were somewhat surprised today to see that the current is sue of "Your Town," local pic torial, sorta turned its columns over to some of our choicest avengers, and even carried a picture on its front page of a guy sitting in a barber chair, his face screwed up like. profes sional football player carrying the ball over for the last three inches to a touchdown and in dulging, in all things so it is ex plained, of expressing his opin ion of us and our column. If we'd ever thought in our balm iest days we could be writin' enough to cause any guy to go into such apparently internal torments, doggone it would have made the way seem easy and the burden light. All the time we've been doing this sort of thing we'd hoped we could stir some body up to such a hatin' misery for us and at last we turn into, the little local kid who has made good. Incidentally, the pictorial went further and let Col. Bill Crawford turn his column over to letters from our enemies and they did us a right smart raking over what with such guys as Ethan Grant and Evert Gibbens taking a poke at us with their typewriters. Yea, it's bAn quite a day for us getting stuck with hatpins by our friendly enemies. Puddle Beats Engines Tacoma UP) Five fire-engines and two battalion chiefs answer ed a fire call to a downtown garage yesterday, , but Moiher Nature was credited with the put-out. The fire was extinguished by jerking out the burning back seat of an automobile and drop ping it into a puddle of water in the alley. OPEN FORUM Must Not Happen Here (Editor's Note: Contributions to this column must be confined to 300 words and signed by writer) To the Editor: The taxpaying public must keep in mind that if the school bond issue carries, they will pay approximately $15 per thousand of the assessed valuation above what they are now paying on their property, which will bring the total tax up to approximately $90 per thousand. This is certainly getting up to the breaking point. Only a few years ago some of our cities and school districts, which had as sessed valuation that high, could not pay the interest on their bonds. We do not want this to happen in Salem. The excessive costs should be taken into consideration in building at this time. No pri vate individual would make ex penditures under existing con - GO - ROUND gentleman from Oklahoma. In fact, when the question' of publicizing grain speculators arose last December, Senator Chan Gurney of South Dakota ar.d Senator Leverett Saltonstall of Massachusetts joined the De mocrats in voting no. That is why hard-hitting Sen ator Styles Bridges of New Hampshire, Chairman of the Appropriations Committee and who favors a full and fearless investigation, has worked out a plan with Ferguson to trans fer the speculation probe over to the Senate Expenditures Committee. Ferguson is also a member of this committee, and would have the support not only of its courageous chair man, Aiken of Vermont, but of a more liberal committee mem bership, including Thye (Minn.), Ives (N.Y.), and Tay lor (Idaho). NOTE Aside from Bridges and Ferguson, the Senate Ap propriation Committee includes some of the most reactionary members in the Senate McKel lar (Tenn.), Brooks (111.), Wherry (Neb.), Dworshak (Idaho), McCarran (Nev.), Ov erton (La.), and Thomas him self. LOYAL U.S. SERVANTS People who have been worried about the Red Scare and the specter of spies working inside the U.S. Government should be reassured from J. Edgar Hoov er's investigation of so-called "disloyalty." Actually, Hoover hasn't found very much of it. Hoover's efficient G-Men . have now been able to investi gate 418,104 U.S. employes. Of this number, only 399 were found to have records which warranted even the re motest suspicion. Of these 399, in only 8 cases did any disloyal data develop. Twenty-five Government em ployes resigned during the in vestigation, and some of the oth er remaining cases have not yet been finished. However, it looks' as if so-called disloyalty is go ing to run far less than 110 of 1 percent. ARMY VIOLATES LAW Congressman Forrest Harness, Indiana Republican, is preparing (Conclude don Page 12. Column 3) STORIES IN LIFE Gob Claims He's Been Two Years . AWOL Under Assumed Name San Francisco u.R) The navy put James Leroy Telfer in dry dock today, while it investigated his story of being AWOL two years without leaving the Treasure Island Naval base. Telfer, 23, of Wichita, Kan., was listed as AWOL since Feb. 12, 1946, but he never really "went over the hill." He just changed his name and joined the baseball and fowling teams. Telfer said he went AWOL because of dissatisfaction over a forthcoming assignment on the aircraft carrier Lexington. Strip Tease Teaser Los Angeles (PI The strip tease gals at a local burlesque theater were doing some very, very strange steps, and the stage director was calling them to task. "You aren't in step with the music," he complained. "We know it," they answered, "but something is hitting us, and it hurts." Police were called and found William C. Kiele, 23, sitting in the eighth row with a rubber slingshot. They said he was peppering the dancers with half inch steel staples. Kiele was jailed on charges of suspicion of attack with a dead ly weapon. The dancers went on dancing. Toothy Baby Memphis, Tenn.- (IP) They didn't let Billy Hughes, Jr., keep his first tooth very long. Billy was born at 2:54 o'clock yesterday afternoon. An hour later doctors extracted the tooth when they found it was loose. . ditions. The bond issue should be put up for a smaller amount and this could carry over the present pressing need of the dis trict for additional school facili ties. Homer H. Smith. Dance Saturday CRYSTAL GARDENS 1 Floors t Bands 1 Price Old Time and Modern Get That Critter POOR' MAN'S PHILOSOPHER 'Am I My Brother's Keeper?' Question Could Be Put to Jim BY HAL BOYLE New York (fP) Today we have a little short story revolving around Cain's sullen and timeless query: 'Am I my brother's keeper?" The story came in a letter" from a correspondent and he says it is true. He said he be lieves it should be titled "Grat itude." The names of the char acters have been changed, he says, but otherwise the facts are on the line: Jim was something of a town character in the community where he lived just after the first world war. He was palsy walsy with a fellow c a LI e d Red. They : w e r e the kind who spent their days in the pool rooms and had a great grudge against ine De- HaiBorie cause they thought they had been born behind the 8-ball. Both were small-time offenders the breed who clutter up po lice blotters and keep precinct captains busy getting them out of their troubles. Finally they decided to pool their talents. Together they planned a theft in a nearby city. It wasn't a big job, but it was too big for them. They bun gled it, and a citizen who Mir prised them was shot to death. When they came to trial, blinking at their new notoriety, He changed his name to James Leroy Johnson, but kept his rank of Watertender 3-C. He said he had no trouble at all living on the island. He played baseball and bowled and also managed a Waves' softball team. Nobody recognized him be cause the island was full of sailors coming and going. The only places he didn't dare go were to his regular mess hall and his old barracks. He earned money enough for chits at the ship's store by um piring baeball games. He slept in abandoned barracks. The only time he got "lib erty" was whem he went on the road with the baseball and bowling teams. Otherwise he couldn't leave the island be cause he had no pass for James Leroy Johnson. His only mistake was con finding his secret recently to friends. He told them the navy was wonderful if you didn't have to bother with the rules. It wasn't long before security officers heard that James Le ,roy Johnson was the long sought James Leroy Telfer and he was put into the brig. The Navy charged him with desertion. WE Specialize in MADE TO ORDER STORE FIXTURES Of All Typei RESTAURANT. GROCERY MEAT MARKET TAVERN CLOTHING. DRUG KITCHEN CABINETS WARDROBES LINEN CLOSETS. ETC. FREE ESTIMATES Beavercraft Co. 575 No. Lancaster Drive Salem. Oregon Phone 1414 Off the Track! I Red thought it all over and de cided his own skin meant more to him than the traditional honor among thieves. Red's reward for squealing was a short term in the pen. Jim's relatives chipped in and hired a good lawyer. But feel in., it, a VilaV, In IVib ninimiinllv over the cold-blooded nature of the murder. The attorney was lucky to save Jim from the chair and get him a life sen tence. ' . Long after Red was free, Jim was still in the place where they make little ones out of big ones. His family stuck by htm, particularly his brother Frank, and helped him in every way they could. . After a dozen years or more, Frank began a cam paign to get his brother a pardon. The bitterness still hadn't died down. The district attor ney who had sent Jim up fought the pardon, and it was refused. Year after year Frank kept on fighting to win his brother's freedom. Year after year the pardon board turned his request down. But Frank's selfless effort fi nally began to win sympathy. A lawyer who had been a mem ber of the parole beard when it first considered the case con sented to join In the appeal. HeL volliritpr.rprl tn hnnrilp the lpcral ' aspects without charge. He and Frank went before the board together and won the parole. After nearly twenty years behind bars, Jim was free. That was a number of years ' ago. Jim had learned some thing in prison. When he came out, he went to work, and today he is prosperous. Frank, who stuck faithfully by him, is now a hopeless crip ple. And Jim? "Jim hasn't visited his brother In two years," said the man who wrote me this tale. "I forgot to tell that the vic tim of the killing was shot through the back." PTTlRUE ARTISTRt PfHf JL of design is at mf mSf once apparent in' If jf charming Gorham Mjf jiff 1 Strasbourg ' !j$j wrought by (fM. ijtvi Gorham lilver vfctt rwM craftsmen to grace wfrfflr your table and jMlm delight you always! ;p per place-setting fljfil lfS m 8rc THIS LCrWLT GORHAM STER- LINO PATTERN AT OUR STORE II II II m T0DAY 139 Court St. Salem ,
