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About Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1919-1980 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 6, 1948)
Capital A Journal 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, Newsroom, Want Ads, 2-2406; Society Editor, 2-2409. Full Leased Wire Service of the Associated Press and The United Press. The Associated Press is exclusively ntitled 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, 25c; Monthly, 11.00; One Year, S12.00. By Mall in Oregon: Monthly, 75c; 6 Moa., $4.00; One Year, J8.00. U.S. Outside Oregon: Monthly, $1.00; 6 Mm., $6.00; Year, $12. Salem, Oregon, Wednesday, October 6, 1948 So the People Can Know Mayor Elfstrom is writing an interesting series of arti cles, which is appearing in the Capital Journal. The idea behind the articles is to let the people of Salem know the facts about their government. Too often those in control of public affairs, whether they be city, state or national, fail to let the people know what goes on in that government. Too often the thought seems lost that government happens to belong to the people and not to any one administration. Most of the time this lack of information is certainly not intentional, merely a lack of time or concern for put ting the facts together in some form of presentation. In the case of Salem's city government for the past two years, it could probably be described as coming from a feeling that a good job of administration is being done, so the good deeds speak for themselves. Those good deeds are not always known, however, unless they are properly announcd to all. Therefore, it is encouraging to find that this shroud of silence is being cast off locally. The articles are an indica tion of a desire to present frankly information on the gov ernment to the citizens of Salem, the stockholders, so to speak. It is interesting to find admission of certain problems and certain affairs that should be corrected or that are being corrected. Some explanations are coming out, too, that would fill in on questions which people have had re garding certain phases of government that have perhaps puzzled them before. Sometimes the changes in administration policies are gradual and not what might be described as "newsworthy" on any particular clay because they are spread out over a period of time. Those in the fire department, with new equipment and department handling, are an example. ThuB, this type of change lends itself to a periodic report. Mayor Elfstrom is doing the people of the city a service in his explanation of the functions of Salem's government. It is to be hoped 'that a continued policy of explanation will be followed. The idea of a frank relationship between government and citizens is one that could properly be copied by the at and national administrations, also. The 'Give 'Em Hell' Campaign Much criticism has been showered upon President Tru man for the "give 'em hell" campaign he is making over the nation at a time of the gravest foreign crisis since the war ended. He is not campaigning against Dewey and Warren, but against the Hoover administration, the 80th congress, Wall street and the National Association of Manufacturers, whom he castigates as "gluttons of privi lege." Dewey and Warren talk of the necessity of national unity in times of international crisis. As far as the 80th congress is concerned, Dewey can not be held responsible but Truman himself can be, for he antagonized his own party and democrats in congress voted for many of the measures enacted, and helped stall those that failed to pass. The non-partisan columnist, Walter Lippman, says in a syndicated article that the real issue of the campaign is, "Are we to have a president in fact, not merely in name?" He continues: "The country, by this time has realized that Mr. Truman is not exercising the powers of his office. His long absence from Washington during this period of Intense international crisis is the outward and visible proof of the real state of affairs in Washington. For the first lime since Harding the powers and responsibility of the presidency are not actually in the hands of the man who occupies the office. "They are distributed loosely and casually in bits and pieces all over the government departments and bureaus and agencies. Co-ordination and central direction, such ns it is. is achieved by Interdepartmental groups and committees, trying some times successfully, often in vain, (o work out among them selves a temporary substitute for that central Judgment and decision which only the president can provide." What Mr. Truman seeks to do in this campaign by personal appearances, is to win votes, enough to elect nlm, especially in boss-ridden big cities which elected Roosevelt four times. But he is not the master politician the late president was, and the coalition of northern rad icals and leftists in the north, laborites and conservative democrats in the south has already been hopelessly shat tered. And there is no sign of their uniting in support of Mr. Truman. Lewis Can Only Blame Himself John L. Lewis perpetual president of the United Mine Workers, ran true to form in assailing President Truman for prosecuting the L'MW in recent coal strikes at the union convention and advised the miners to "do some thing about it" at the coming election, but he didn't say what. Lewis is of the rule or ruin type and attacks anyone who refuses to do his bidding. He similarly assailed KDH and ordered his followers to vote for Willkie in 1!M0, but they voted for Roosevelt just the same. Lewis said, among other things: "Mr. Truman is a man totally unfit for the presidency. His principles are elastic. He is careless with the truth. He is a malignant, scheming sort of an Individual who is dangerous not only to the United Mine Workers but dangerous to the United States of America." The UMW lender said that Mr. Truman was "too cow ardly" to put him in jail in 1940 and last spring when the president invoked injunctions to halt crippling mine strikes. Fines totalling $2.1.'!0.000 were imposed on Lewis and the union for contempt of court for refusing to obey court orders, "Men have to dig coal to pay that fine," Lewis said. "How many men are going to die to pay it? How many men will break their backs to pay that fine ? Harry doesn't care." Who was responsible for these fines? John L. Lewis himself who conceived that he had become more powerful than the government of the United States including the president and the judiciary. It is because of Lewis' willful defiance of the law that "men had to dig coal, break their backi and die to pay for it." The government acted to prevent a national calamity and for the welfare of all the people and Mr. Truman de serves credit for his enforcement of the la-v in both coal strike and the railroad strike. BY BECK A Dog's Life SIPS FOR SUPPER ( YOURS JUST HERB ) $L KflMfW T0 BE BOARDED. Wt!s, but me may be C3? ra&ii , .Vi LOOK AT THAT X? V) IT MAKES A . .iv. The Long Equinox By DON It seems a new record is being set up, same being the longest equinox in history. Hedda Swart, the sage of Table Rock who swears by that landmark as the one true local weather condi- ioner, vowed the day that au tumn came in and the equinox started on its annual fall job that the signs on Table Rock told him as soon as the equinox had its say j there would be j a straight 30 days of as pret Don Upjohn ty weather as ever seen in any autumn, Indian summer, or whatever you care to call it. When he said that little did he reckon that this here equinox this year, once it got started, didn't know enough to quit. When we asked him about it today he sorta drooped his head a bit and said, "Just wait until the equinox is over and we'll see what we'll see." So there's nothing much left to do now but to go back and sit down, fold one's hands and wait. But right now it looks like a long wait for that bright and cheery 30 days. Courthouse Pome North, south, east and west, Which way do you like the courthouse best: Or south, north, west or east, Which way would you like it facing least? ' They can do their worst, and what care we, As long as they leave the Christ mas tree. We Can't Nuther Dear Sips: I never can under- Plenty of Huff But No Stuff Shanghai WP The municipal government today decreed a ..sweeping rationing system for Shanghai residents. Woolens, cottons, edible oils and a score or more of other Hems were listed on the "restricted purchase" list. Meatless, porkless and chlckenless days for each week were decreed. One thing was overlooked. No administrative or enforcement machinery was provided. POOR MAN'S PHILOSOPHER 'Boxers Are Human Beings' By HAL BOYLE New York T) The neat, middle-aged little man had sad, bloodshot eyes, and he rapped his "I don't know how you say it," Press sports editor, "but I have things in here I want to say. It is on my conscience like . . ." And the rest wns hard to un- dersta n d , be cause his Puer to Rican emo tion filtered through a veil of broken Eng lish. The 1 1 1 tie man said he was Tony RoJ as, fight mana ger and Latin llal novlt American sports promoter. Wordlessly, he held out a let terhead. It was printed in purple Ink and it showed the picture of a cleancut. tnwny-skinned boy in boxing trunks, fists poised wide apart. That was Kid Dinamita, 147, and the purple sheet of stationery said he was "The Sensational Welt e r w e 1 g h t Champion of Central America, Autentic." But Rojas doesn't manage him any more. The kid died last Wednesday night in Chicago af ter a fight. Rojas looked silently at the letterhead. Then slowly he be gan to find the words he had walked into the office to say: "What I want to say is . . . boxers , . . they should be treat ed like human beings. There should be padding in the ring . . . more padding . . . not enough now. Not enough for the cush' ion when the fighter he fall, over backward . . . that some time do more than the punch." That was what happened, said the little man, when the kid was fatally hurt in his fight with Bobby McQuillan of Port Hur on, Mich. A Chicago coroner's Jury a found Dinamita's death UPJOHN stand why: The sidewalk on the Court street side of the post office building remains cracked and broken and a menace to humanity while private prop erty owners get a notice from the city to repair the slightest irregularity in their sidewalks? Signed: John Q. Public. The price of pork is reported to be coming down and why not, with all the frozen food lockers chuckablock with veni son? Swat's That! (By Elbert' Smith, 2595 Brooks Street) The reason that the Red Sox lost the pennant yesterday Is because they wore their hos iery the conventional way. The Indians were cannier; they demonstrated that The place to wear the socks is on the baseball bat. Gosh, the old column is fair ly dripping with lyrics today, which some of the more fastidi ous might call doggerel. Parents Must Learn Hackensack, N.J. flJ.R) Teen agers will open a clinic here under the sponsorship of the YMCA for the education of par ents. Among the subjects will be dating, money allowances, use of the family car, the rights and privileges of the home, night hours and free speech. heart with the force of a blow. he said to Ted Smits, Associated was accidental and recommend ed two changes in the Illinois boxing code to keep physically unfit fighters from the ring. "The kid was knock down in the seventh," said the little man. "When he come to his cor ner ... he was weak. We reviv ed him, and I told him . . . keep away from the other fighter . . . to clinch. "He was strong again when he wont out for the eighth. The people, they start to boo him . . . see he does not clinch any more ... he start to what you say? mix it . . . yes, he mix it. "When the round it is over, we get him back to his corner ... he Is still conscious. But he say his shoulders they are very tired. "So I tell him . . . take it easy . . . see his legs, they are trem bling." The kid never came out for the ninth, and lost on a techni cal knockout. "The kid say he is all right," said the little man, his voice thickening, "but when he stand up ... I see he cannot carry his weight ... so we put him in the stretcher . . . and later the ambulance it comes. "I am talking to him on the way to the hospital . . . the kid laughs . . . that afternoon be fore the fight he had talk only about his family , . . about go ing home for Christmas But in the ambulance he talk only about fighting . . . about how he will win the next fight okay. But he talk natural . . . very natural ... It look like nothing wrong ... I didn't believe he going soon be deceased " Kid Dinamita was to get $217 for his last fight. He arrives by plane In his native Santo Domin go soon in a casket. PEARSON'S MICHIGAN CHICKENS Last week In Michigan a federal grand jury Indicted four auto agencies on charges of making illegal campaign contri butions to the republican party. This came Just two weeks after Drew Pearson's sensational column of Sept. 13, revealing how the big political money was raised in Michigan. Pearson stuck his neck out by naming names and calling a spade a spade. Several of those indicted last week were named by him, Including Otto P. Graff, a Ford and Lincoln dealer In Flint, and Roy H. Burgess, also of Flint, a General Motors dealer. WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND J. Parnell Thomas Irked By Trooper's Actions By DREW PEARSON Washington Congressman J. Parnell Thomas of New Jersey, chairman of the un-American activities committee, is a most sus picious person. Not only has he investigated all sorts of alleged communists, but he also sought to investigate a policeman who arrested him. Thomas is not, however, at all happy over the current FBI in vestigation o f himself and the kickbacks h e received from four w o m e n I who returned all or part of their govern ment salaries to 1 Drew Foarion him. Nor does the congressman rel ish the investigation of the way in which he kept two soldiers out of combat and then later collected several hundred dol lars from their families. The policeman Thomas want ed investigated was Maryland State Trooper Kaplow who ar rested the congressman near Port Deposit, Md., some time ago, for violating a 50-mile speed limit and passing other cars on a curve. Complaining about the inci dent in a letter to W. Lee El gin, Maryland commissioner of motor xehicles, Rep Thomas wrote: "I signaled to the trooper to stop and then told him who I was." The trooper phoned head quarters for instructions, and was told that since congress was not in session, Thomas had no congressional immunity. The congressman was then taken before Magistrate J. How ard Pugh at Port Deposit where, despite his plea that he was in a hurry to keep important en gagements in Washington, he was fined $17.50. Apparently, Thomas's be havior was such that State Trooper Kaplow was suspicious. He didn't really think the con gressman was an un-American communist, but he did think he might be un-American in jeopardizing the safety of other vehicles. So Trooper Kaplow decided to keep a friendly eye on the gentleman from New Jersey. The congressman's own de scription of the matter is much more graphic than anything that could be written by e column ist. So we will Quote from his own indignant letter to Com missioner Elgin. After going about two miles, Thomas said, "I noticed that Trooper Kaplow was following me. At the time I was driving about 30 miles per hour. We were traveling' on a road where there were signs showing the speed limit was 50 miles per hour. "I lowered my speed, Kap low lowered his. Then I raised my speed to see what he would do, and he still followed me." The chairman of the un American activities committee has tapped the telephones of a great many people. He has em ployed a young army of investi gators to shadow suspects and dig through their past. But he became highly indig nant when the Maryland state trooper trailed behind his auto mobile. In fact, he became so indignant that he stopped and demanded that Kaplow stop following him. "To which Kaplow replied," as Thomas later reported to the Maryland commissioner of ve- hiclcs, "That he was going to follow me. And for 10 miles Kaplow trailed my car. As far as I could find out, he did It for just one reason, and that was to annoy me." All of this touched off the congressman's suspicions. A sus picious soul anyway, Thomas decided that there was some thing dire and foreboding in the action of this policeman. Probably he was un-American. So he asked the Maryland commission for an official in vestigation. "I appeal to you for an in vestigation of this case," he wrote Elgin. "I do not want any favors. I am perfectly willing to take my medicine along with everyone else, but I am con vinced that there were aspects to the case that were not only unduly annoying, but which lead to suspicion." 0 0 0 The congressman was so sus picious that he also got the sup port of his then colleague. Con gressman Dudley Roe of Mary land, who wrote Commissioner Elgin that Thomas was "a very outstanding member of congress and warm personal friend of mine." "He hat been driving car for 30 years," continued Roe, "and has never had a summons before. Public officials greatly regret having any summons ap pear on their records, and any thing you can do in this matter to straighten out the incident for Congressman Thomas will be sincerely appreciated by me." The Maryland authorities, however, weren't worried about Trooper Kaplow's possible un Americanism. They did abso lutely nothing. Meanwhile, Rep. Thomas was so suspicious, so irate, and so indignant that he even asked A. W. Magee, New Jersey mo tor vehicle commissioner, to in vestigate. Embarrassed, Magee gave him the brush-off. DEWEY SHUNS MICHIGAN Tom Dewey is sticking to his traditional role of crime-buster in the Michigan mess Despite the fact that big GOP politicos are involved, plus im portant auto-dealer contribu tions to the GOP campaign chest, Dewey is not interven ing to help them. He has decided to let the Michigan chips fall where they may. It happens that Michigan's attorney general, Eugene Black, who first started after his fel low republicans, is a strong Dewey supporter. Furthermore, his sister, Mrs. Lois Black Hunter, is on the Dewey pay roll as New York's assistant la bor commissioner.' Only move the Dewey forces have made was a quiet warn ing by Ed Jaeckle of Buffalo, Dewey's chief political brain truster, to Mrs. Hunter to stay out of the Michigan fight. It happens that GOP National committeeman Arthur Sum merfield, who spearheaded the big republican campaign con tributions from motor men, was against Dewey at Philadelphia. Summerfield was 100 per cent for Vandenberg, and today is accused by some republicans of not working hard for Dewey in Michigan. If true, this may be because Mrs. Summerfiend is being kept rather busy himself by a fed- eral grand jury which is prob- ing his and other GOP bicwiu violations of the corrupt prac tices act. Summerfield is credited with raising around half a million dollars from Michigan motor magnates in 1944 and a similar amount in 1946. Only trouble was that he didn't report all of this big money. Furthermore, a state grand jury in Detroit has found that some of these motor men reneged on sales taxes to the tune of several million. Attorrney General Black says this was a payoff. Having con tributed to the GOP, the state's republican tax collectors look ed the other way when it came to auditing their books. This forced the rest of the people of Michigan to pay high er taxes, points out Black. (Copyright 1948) He Should Have Known Better Portland (IP) The traffic bureau was apologetic but, well, police figured at least one of six motorists whose cars were towed from a restricted parking area to the police lot should have known better. He was State Police Sgt. Jack Bcarrs. l h ll 1 - '"' '' Here's richer, flntf m W" " I mil whisky, thanks lo JL j j Muster Blending. j 1 mm, WilAII 1 $'m5 Jgjg5 GOeraD (XwGGD v74IfI"' I 1 Pinter f igi 'Ian: j ,i :T mi 7 ' f MacKENZIE'S COLUMN Red Acrobatics to Avoid Being Branded Aggressor By DeWITT MacKENZIE (AP Forelm Affatri Anarjft) The long-suffering United Nations security council Monday heard an argument in Paris to end all arguments. Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister Vishinsky took the floor and, with a perfectly straight face, declared that there is no Sov iet blockade of Berlin. A few mem bers of the! council smiled K wryly at the au dacity of this claim. Mr. Vishinsky has a very agile mind, as bene DeWltt MteKenil fits the noted lawyer who for merly was Soviet public prose cutor, but this is the first time so far as your correspondent recalls that he has ventured such an acrobatic stunt. However, he was pursuing typical communist tactics. The existence of the blockade has been a recognized fact by both sides for months, until the other day when Marshal Soko lovsky, Russian commander in Germany, made the same crack about there being no blockade. Vishinsky was, of course, fighting to keep the security council from consideration of the charges by the western powers that the blockade is a menace to world peace. He declared the demand for UN consideration of the dispute was groundless, "as it does not fall within the scope of the se curity council." 'YOUR CITY GOVERNMENT' Fire and Police Departments Reported on by the Mayor ARTICLE V By ROBERT L. ELFSTROM . (Mayor of tht City of Salem) Because progress Is slowly cumulative, it is almost never fully appreciated or recognized by the average citizen. Changes and improvements must necessarily be made slowly Even the tremendous growth of Salem during the past few years has been so gradual that most of us have only a broad general appreciation of the many changes. Improvements In the conduct of your city government, its in-' creased efficiency and its prog ress, have had to follow that same slow trend. To the aver age busy citizen, it is scarcely noticeable. In the improved efficiency of its government, Salem has made the greatest progress in the past two years. . ' As an example, you now have the most efficient fire depart ment Salem has ever had. Under a new chief, your fire men have been trained. A fire man today is required Dy ex- amination to know his Job, and he does. Your city also has more and better fire-fighting equipment, and it renders a better brand of emergency service to the pub lic. As one example of what has been added, you may have noticed the little red truck with the high-frequency siren that trails the other apparatus to all fires. If you have had a fire at your home, you know the crew on that truck does a job that you like. It is the clean-up crew. After a fire has been put out, these men stay behind and clean up the mess in jour home. And without charge to you. Salem has four fire stations, all well located, and in the event of a fire in an particu lar section, the program of ef ficiency includes the shifting of apparatus from one station to another if necessary, thus So in order to clinch his argu ment he cooly caused the block ade to vanish with a wave of his hand. The deputy foreign minister argued that the issue should be sent to the big four council of foreign ministers. This, In its turn, was another astonishing proposal, in view of the fact that the council of for eign ministers has long been rendered impotent by Soviet obstruction. Obviously the Rus sians are stalling for time. Well, it's easy to understand the anxiety of the Bolshevists to keep the UN from passing judgment on the charge of ag gression. They have no intenl tion of abandoning their cold war, but they can have no de-. sire to be branded as aggres sors by a majority of the world's nations. Russia was booted out of thriA league ui iiatiuiiD 111 uuo xui aggression against little Fin land, and it does not boost Mus covite stock any. So Vishinsky fought to escape the ignominy of this brand, and the United States battled with equal vigor to get a coun cil hearing of the charges. Anyway, the democracies seem determined to risk a split in the peace organization in or der to get a showdown. providing for possible gency protection at all emer tlmes. Until about two years ago, the city hall siren was sounded each time a fire was reported. You may not have noticed the change in policy, but that does not happen any more. Except at the regular noon hour on week days, the city hall siren is now used only (jv a signal for calling out all fire-J men, including volunteers, when there is a fire of such pro portions that it is felt they are needed. These changes are minor ones, and there are others, but collectively they nevertheless represent the over-a)l improved efficiency of the department. efficiency of the department. We have made similar im provements in the operation of your police department. We do not claim to be unique in that respect, for police methods have in the past few years under gone some radical changes alt over the U. S. The qualifying standards have"1 been raised and we are getting a new, more intelligent type of officer, the type of man whor can quickly recognize the dif ference between a normally good citizen who has merely made a mistake and the tough or ignorant violator who makes j deliberate trouble. . . ! We recognize that there is still room for improvement and we are going about the job irf an orderly, well-conceived plant) As we said before Salem is a good place to live and we want to make it even better The job cannot be done over night, but it can be done by; persistent effort to follow a pro gram of cooperation betweerisp your city officials and you, the"; citizens. Tomorrow we want to report:: to you on the functions of your1 city engineer. 'i
