Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1919-1980, June 14, 1949, Page 1, Image 1

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    Control Board
Asked to Split
Bids on Building
Master General Con
tract Opposed by
Plumbers, Electricians
The Portland Muter Plumb
ers association Tuesday request
ed the board of control to split
all buildini project! to five
plumbers and electrical con
tractors an opportunity to sub
mit separate bids.
At present the state calls upon
general contractors to bid on
the entire building project and
sub-let the plumbing, heating
and electrical work.
Roscoe Watts, secretary of
the plumbers' association, told
the board that his group felt
the present policy of the board
led to too much "peddling
around" by the general contrac
tors resulting many times in a
poor grade of workmanship and
materials because of the low
price the sub-contractors are
forced to submit.
Extra Costs to State
However, Roy Mills, secretary
of the board, said that the pro
posed splitting of the contracts
would result in extra costs to
the state and would increase
the architects' fees inasmuch as
the standard contract for the ar
chitects requires an extra four
per cent In fees if more than one
contractor is engaged on a proj
ect. The state board of higher edu
cation has been splitting its
building contracts and members
of the board of control instruct
ed Mills to investigate the re
sults obtained by the other board
and report back. No other ac
tion was taken on the proposal.
Vets Cemetery Costs
Condemnation proceedings to
acquire 96 acres in Portland for
use as a portion of the proposed
Veterans National cemetery was
ordered by the board after Sec
retary Mills had reported that
the 11 owners of the property
had submitted figures that he
considered too high. .
The average asking price
made was $700 an acre and Mills
felt that condemnation proceed
ings would result in the state
obtaining lower prices.
The government has stipulat
ed that the state must furnish
the 96 acres involved before the
cemetery will be established.
(Concladed on Pare 5, Column S)
College Board
To Move Offices
Portland, June 14 W) The
state board of higher educa
tion voted, 6 to 3, to move the
board's administrative offices
from Eugene.
Salem was mentioned as the
possible new site, but time and
place of the move will be de
cided after a study by a com
mittee consisting of R. E. Klein
sorge, Silverton; Leif Finseth,
Dallas, and George F. Cham
bers, Salem.
The action was taken at the
annual budget meeting of the
board which approved alloca
tions of just over $15,000,000 in
annual operating funds to 14 in
stitutions, divisions and services
of the system.
Thirty percent of the funds
for the fiscal year starting July
1 comes from other than state
tax sources, announced R. E. Ca
bell, Portland, chairman of the
finance tommlttee.
The proposal to move the
board's office, which includes
the office of Chancellor Paul C
Packer, evoked spirited debate
wim mree memoers oojecung
. to expressing intent before a
committee reports. Mrs. Cheryl
S. MacNaughton, Phil Metschan
and Finseth said the matter had
not been discussed in previous
meetings. They voted no.
President Edgar W. Smith and
others said it had been discus
sed many times informally,
Chambers adding that the move
is strongly favored by many
members of the legislature, and
was. discussed frequently during
the recent session.
Gen.
Ike Eisenhower
Speaks Out Politically
For the First Time
Read his Ideas on the
American way of life,
as outlined in the
recent Columbia Uni
versity Commence
ment Address. (Re
produced In two
parts).
TURN TO PAGE 4
of the
CapitalJournaJ
clem L .iM KitiiMt
61st Year, No. 141
Justice Kelly of
Supreme Court
Passes at 78
Ended today by death was the
long and distinguished judicial
career of State Supreme Court
Justice Percy R. Kelly, 78. Jus
tice Kelly, a member of the su
preme court since September,
1930, and before that circuit
judge for 19 years, died at a lo
cal hospital following an ex
tended illness.
A resident of Oregon since
coming to Albany with his par
ents, Mr. and Mrs. Christopher
C. Kelly, when a young boy.
Justice Kelly was born in Ar
lington, Iowa, July 13, 1870. He
was educated in the public
schools of Iowa and Oregon and
in 1887 received his bachelor of
science degree at Albany col
lege.
Practiced In Albany
Justice Kelly read law in the
office of the late Hon. Charles
E. Wolverton in Albany and was
admitted to the Oregon bar in
1892. He practiced law in Al
bany until 1911 when he was
elected circuit judge for the
Third Judicial district of Ore
gon. During the time that he
practiced law in Albany Kelly in
1898 served as senator from
Linn county; from 1899 to 1903
was deputy district attorney
and was city attorney for Al
bany in 1909.
(Concluded on Pace 5, Column 7)
Ask T-H Repeal
Not 28 Chanoes
Washlnfftnn .Tuna 14 tJPi Sen
ator HumDhrev (D Tpnn l tnlH
the senate today the 28 changes
in tne Ian-Hartley act sponsor
ed by Senator Taft (R., Ohio)
would be a "betrayal of Ameri
can workers."
He said thev don't an far
enough to constitute "repeal" of
me laur as nipncrerf hv thn riamn
cratic party last fall.
Resuming a long senate speech
Friday. Humnhrev islri the (Has
that Taft's nroeram wntilri fulfill
the will of the people "insults
tne intelligence of our citizenry
and vulgarizes the values of our
democracy "
He said the nennl want th
lait-naruey act "annihilated,
not rehashed, polished over, or
covered un bv a chanced sttrai.-
uve new look."
Humnhrev enntenrieri Taft'
proposals would leave three
fourths of the nresent law nn th
books.
Senator Lucas nf Tllinnic th
democratic leader of the senate,
told reporters the !M
senators will hold another con
ference soon, maybe Thursday
to discuss labor legislation
A plan which would c1cm the
aoor tignt against use of in
junctions to block strikes imper
iling the national welfare l he.
ing worked up by Senator Morse
tH., ure.).
Group Burial Set
Washinaton. June 11 m
Group burial services for the
248 servicemen killed when the
cargo ship Serpens exploded off
iruaaaicanai .inn 7Q lad ,m
be held tomorrow at Arli'mrim
National cemetery. The disaster
was termed one of the worst in
coast guard history.
Robbers Net $200 in Nickels
At 2 Polk County Taverns
Two Polk county taverns netted robbers around $200 mostly
in nickels in break and entries Monday night with state police
investigating the similarity of the two robberies hinting that
both Jobs may have been committed by the same person or
persons.
The "Y" cafe at the junction
with the Independence and Sa
lem-Dallas highways was the
heaviest loser, Ervln York,
owner, placing his loss at $144
B. M. Foley, oprator of the Eola
Inn on the Salem-Dallas high
way, has not determined the
exact amount taken but places
it between $40 and $50.
York discovered his loss
shortly after opening at 8
o'clock Tuesday morning. En
trance had been made through
a basement window and the
money taken from cigar boxes
which had been hidden. The
coin was from music boxes and
pinball machines which had
been rifled.
The robbery occured two
months to the day from the time
that a safe was removed from
the "Y" cafe with several hun
dred dollars taken. The safe was
later found in the Luckiamute
river and four young men sent
to the penitentiary for five
years each for their participa
tion. Foley says he was closed since
midnight Sunday as the Eola
Inn suts down Mondays. He dis-
covered hit lost when he open-jof
C apital A Journal
Entirtxl u second claw
matter at altm. OrtcoB
Salem,
Death Takes Justice Su
preme Court Justice Percy R.
Kelly, who Tuesday morning
died at a Salem hospital fol
lowing an extended illness.
Ike Opposes
School Aids
Washington, June 14 VP)
Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower ap
peared today to have gone a
long way toward torpedoing one
of President Truman s "must
bills before congress federal
aid to education.
A critical letter by the gen
eral, now president of Columbia
university and acting chairman
of the military chiefs of staff,
plunged school aid advocates in
to gloom. It started talk among
some lawmakers about the pos
sibility that Eisenhower intends
to make his political weight felt.
In a letter to Rep. Gwinn (R
NY), Eisenhower opposed fed
eral school aid grants to all of
the states, a proposal already
approved by the senate and now
pending in a house labor sub
committee.
He said he favors helping on
ly states that can't raise enough
taxes to support a high level of
education and then only "un
der formulas that would permit
no abuse, no direct interference
of the federal authority in edu
cation processes and no oppor
tunity to expand the flow of
federal money into areas where
need could not be clearly dem
onstrated." a. '
New Trouble on
British Roads
London, June 14 VP) Brit
ain's month-long waterfront
strike ended today but there
were signs of new trouble on
the state-owned railroads.
Striking stevedores went back
to their jobs at Bristol and Av
onmouth, ending a walkout that
had tied up nearly 100 ships
along the west coast
The men had quit work in
protest against being assigned to
unload Canadian ships involved
in a strike of the Canadian sea
man's union. Troops finished un
loading the last Canadian ship
today, and the men went back
to their jobs.
In London, meantime, railway
executives and union leaders
met to map plans for heading
off a "slowdown" scheduled for
July 4.
Workers on London's surface
and undergrouncfrail lines have
threatened to begin a slowdown
then unless they are granted a
ten shilling ($2) a week pay
raise.
ed about 8 o'clock Tuesday
morning. He was in the inn at
midnight Monday to get some
supplies for his family but did
not notice anything amiss. The
night light was still burning this
morning.
Entrance to the Eola inn was
gained through a kitchen win
dow at the rear. The coin boxes
had been removed from the
machines and carried to the rear
of the place where they were
broken into. As in the case of
York, Foley had placed some
of his money in cigar boxes
which had been hidden about
the place.
The quartet pleading guilty to
the theft of the safe from the
"Y" cafe was received at the
penitentiary May 1 under a
maximum sentence of five years
each following their appearance
before Circuit Judge Arlie G
Walker, In Dallas. They were
arrested at Sacramento, Calif.
The four are Charles Gepner,
Sslem; Otis Langley, Douglas
Samuel Boyington and Jasper
Boyington. all former residents
California.
Oregon, Tuesday, June
Morse Opposes
Any Reduction
Of Cherry Tariff
Washington, June 14 W Sen
ator Morse (R-Ore) asked the
state department today If It in
tends to reduce the tariff on
cherries from Italy and France.
'If there is any intention of
negotiating for such an outra
geous cut in the tarriff," he said
in a letter to the department, "I
want to know it now before this
reciprocal trade treaty debate
starts in the senate.
Morse said that eastern buyers
are offering low prices for Ore
gon cherries, telling growers
they anticipate a SO percent cut
in the import duty and saying
that such action will result in
flooding the U.S. market with
Italian cherries.
Cutting Cherry Price
Morse told the department he
had just returned from a week
in Oregon, during whicn he con
ferred with cherry growers.
Last year he said eastern buy
ers, who provide the chief mar
ket for Oregon cherries, paid
growers 12 cents a pound.
This year, he said, they are
offering five cents a pound for
Royal Anne cherries ana 4V4
cents a pound for the black va
riety of Oregon cherries.
He said the growers say it
costs them three cents a pound
to pick cherries and one cent a
pound to haul them to market.
This leaves them a profit of only
one cent on the Royal Annes and
Vt cent a pound on the black va
riety.
Means Bankruptcy
"This means." he said, "the
Oregon cherry growers will
suffer tremendous financial loss
es this year and a greater num
ber will go bankrupt.
Morse said that if there is no
likelihood of a tariff reduction
the department should make a
statement to that effect so that
eastern buyers "can be prevent
ed from using the state depart
ment in this matter in their ne
gotiations with the Oregon cher
ry growers.
Morse said it was very im
portant that he have a quick re
ply "because northwest cherry
growers are entitled to protec
tion from the assumption of
state department action.
Previously Rep. Holmes (R
Wash) and Rep. Horan (R
Wash) also protested against
any cut in the duty on Italian
cherries.
Pickets Force
Mines Closure
Pittsburgh, June 14 VP) Pick
ets patrolled the nation's coal
fields today, forcing some non
union mines to close as the "sta
bilization holiday" entered the
second day.
John L. Lewis ordered the
walkout of the 480,000 soft and
hard coal miners. He said it was
in their interest.
In another development com
pleting the cycle of UMW moves
for new contracts in all divis
ions of the coal producing indus
try, Lewis made public at Phil
adelphia today a letter asking
for contract talks in the anthra
cite coal fields. There was no
indication of what the UMW
demands will be.
The present anthracite agree
ment has no expiration date, and
does not contain the "willing
and able" clause under which
the UMW said it ordered the na
tionwide shutdown. Lewis' let
ter to Ralph E. Taggart, chair
man of the anthracite operators
wage agreement committee ask
ed discussions on "wages, hours,
rules, practices, welfare, health,
safety" and virtually every ma
jor phase of the current agree
ment. Taggart's office said he was
out of town and could not be
reached for comment. Industry
sources said it was likely the
UMW request for a meeting
would be approved. There are
some 80.000 workers in the
eastern Pennsylvania anthra
cite field.
Meantime, Lewis, with one
contract session over headed for
another. His lieutenants are slat
ed to resume negotiations today
with southern bituminous mine
operators at Bluefield, W. Va.
Bond Issue Offered
Portland, June 14 VP) A mil
lion dollar Port of Portland
bond issue will be offered for
sale tomorrow to finance long
er runways for transoceanic
aircraft at the municipal airport
here.
The port commission yester
day approved the 8,800 foot run
way plan, already adopted by
the C A A, Other improvements
are planned with the bond rev
enue.
14, 1949 (18 Pages)
ft :1k ft ;'
1
Chosen "Miss Salem" Miss Connie Cross, daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. Olin Cross of 2370 Fairgrounds road, who has
been selected to represent the city of Salem at the "Miss
Oregon" contest at Seaside, July 21-23. "Miss Salem", who
is 21 years of age is five feet six inches tall and weighs 120
pounds. She is on the staff of Miller's store. Winner of title
of "Miss Oregon" will complete for the title of "Miss
America" at the contest at Atlantic City later in the summer.
Ratzlaff to Resume
Bus Service to Coast
John Ratzlaff. operator of Pacific Coast Lines buses, will re
sume operations between Salem and Newport on June 17, It was
reported Tuesday, but on a curtailed basis.
Ratzlaff plans to make two round trips daily, but will use
only one bus. The first trip will leave the Salem terminal at
Pacific Trailways depot at 7
a. m. and the second will leave
Salem at 4 p. m.
Upon arrival at the coast im
mediate return will be made.
The bus will leave Newport
about 9:45 a. m. and 6:45 p. m.
After Ratzlaff had received a
permit from the public utilities
commission to operate the line
and had operated only a few
days, he withdrew from the
field because a permit had been
granted the Roy M. East lines,
which would cover the same
territory between Salem and
Valley Junction.
From that place the East
buses go north to the Tillamook
beaches, while the Ratzlaff
buses make a south run to the
Lincoln county beaches. East
buses, however, make connec
tions at Valley Junction with
Greyhound buses making stops
at Lincoln beach points.
When he started his operation
Ratzlaff was using two buses.
In the hearing before the public
utilities commission on his ap
plication for a permit he had
strong support rfrom beach
points as well as from the Sa
lem area.
112 4-H Club Girls
Go to Corvallis
One hundred and twelve 4-H
club girls of Marion county left
at 12:30 Tuesday afternoon for
Corvallis and the annual 4-H
club summer school session
sponsored by Oregon State col
lege which extends from June
14 through June 24.
All of the boys and girls have
earned their way by merit to
this prize-plum of the year for
them, their expenses being
sponsored in each case by some
club, organization or commun
ity as a reward for outstanding
work done in their projects.
They will be divided up
among 17 sorority and frater
nity houses for their living
quarters and are chaperoned by
County Club Agent Anthol Rhi
ney, Miss Anne Bergholz, coun
ty extension agent, and Mrs.
Katherine Weddle of Stayton.
Methodists at Ashland
Ashland, June 14 " The an
nual Oregon Methodist church
conference opened here today, to
continue through Sunday. Bish
op Gerald H. Kennedy, Port
land, conferred with his four
district superintendents on pas
toral transfers. The appoint
ments for the coming year will
be announced Sunday.
Price 5c
PT'mt'. mtl .mii"ii)M""i Hi
Columbia River
Continues Drop
Portland, June 14 VP) The
Willamette river was below flood
stage here today for the first
time in 31 days and the Colum
bia was dropping steadily at
Vancouver, Wash.
Today's Willamette reading
was 17.7 feet, just under the
flood mark of 18 feet. The riv
er hit a peak of 22.3 feet May 19.
The Columbia st"od at 18 feet
today, 5V4 feet below the May
19 crest, but still three feet over
flood stage. The weather bur
eau forecast a steady drop for
the next three or four days.
Meantime, hot weather and
low humidities made Oregon's
-forest fire hazard the worst of
the year.
The situation was most serious
in southwest and south central
Oregon, where humidities alrea
dy were below the danger point
and are expected decrease to
morrow. In th.-. southwest region hu
midities ranged from 17 to 53
percent and are expected to fall
to 10 to 44 percent in the inte
rior tomorrow, with clear and
warm weather and temperatures
around 100 degrees.
South central Oregon humidi
ties ranged as low as 17 percent
today and are expected to fall
Water Service Restored to
Kingwood After Main Break
Services were restored to the Kingwood Heights section early
Tuesday morning after a West Salem water department crew
worked most of the night to repair a break in a water main
carrying water from Salem.
A leak in an eight-Inch main buckled pavement at the inter
section of Wallace Road and
Edgewatcr street about 9 o'clock
Monday night. Water bubbled
through cracks, in the pavement
before it was discovered and the
main line from Salem shut off.
The intersection leak partial
ly flooded the Savings Center
store but did not damage the
property. Some residents along
Edgewater street from the
bridge to Kingwood avenue
were also affected. While the
Blue Lake cannery felt the drop
in pressure, operations were not
hampered because the mains
supplying the cannery are also
tied into the Bassett street line
and also the plant shut down
about 2 o'clock this morning.
Feeling Runs
Hot and High
In Pay Fight
Mayor Wins Battle
With Committee and
Roble on Salaries
Feeling ran high and hot at
the city budget meeting Monday
night over the question of sal
aries for policemen and firemen.
Mayor Robert L. Elfstrom, sid
ed mainly by Sephus Starr, bat-
tied Fire Chief W. P. Roble and
the special committee on sal
aries, and won out in his con
tention that policemen should be
paid $20 more a month than fire
men to offset the difference in
the amount the city pays into the
firemen's and the police pension
funds.
The decision, however,
Was
tentative, for adoption of the
budget estimates and the may
or's plan was with an under
standing that the city council is
obligated to make a readjust
ment if it later finds there is a
discrepancy.
Alderman Albert H. Gille,
chairman of the special commit
tee, said emotionally after the
vote:
"I don't want to be unkind, but
I regard this as only a subter
fuge, and I see no possibility
that the council will later take
any other action."
Special Report Scores
It looked as if the committee
was deadlocked on the question
when it first voted down a mo
tion by Gille to adopt the spe
cial committee's recommenda
tions, and then voted down a
motion by Mayor Elfstrom to
adopt the budget estimates. Then
the committee tabled the fire
men-policemen matter until ev
erything else was out of the way.
Though the special committee
lost that fight it exerted plenty
of weight on the budget as a
whole and got approval of cuts
totaling $23,213, mainly in sal
ary items. The shaving, how
ever, does not reduce the $1,-
658,355 budget, but is added to
the emergency fund, giving it a
total of $35,001.
The committee completed Its
action on the budget and dated
the public hearing for Monday
night, July 11.
The special committee's first
attack was on salary items in
the state engineering department
where it recommended a cut of
$5000 without specifying the
employes or individual amounts.
Discussion indicated this was il
legal, so the result was obtained
by transferring a computer,
whose salary was put at $:1000.
and an office assistant at $2580
for the general fund to the mill
age account and making a reduc
tion of $5580 in an $11,500 labor
item.
Other Changes Made
Some of the other things done
by the committee were:
Adopted all other fire depart
ment items except $5500 for a
fire station in Kingwood annex
ation. Took away City Manager
Franzen's auto expense allow
ance of $500 a year.
(Concluded on Pare 5, Column 8)
Recaptured Convict
On Trial for Escape
Robert Earl Lee, convict who
on May 12 walked away from
the state prison farm and was
arrested about a week later at
Scotts Mills after laying out in
the woods for seven days, went
on trial before a jury in Judge
George R. Duncan's court.
His attorney, John Stcelham
mer, named by the court, advised
the Jury that Lee's defense would
be on the ground of temporary
Insanity suffered at the time of
his escape. It is understood evi
dence would be put in to indi
cate there had been insanity in
the defendant's family.
Lee was serving a term for
eight years from Lakeview on a
charge of assault with a danger
ous weapon and had a compara
tively short time to go to be el
igible for parole, it was stated.
The line in which the break
occurred is the same as install
ed two years ago and swings
under the bridge, crossing be
neath the Wallace Road and
connects with the main West
Salem line at the intersection at
the foot of the bridge.
Point of the break was Just
inside Salem territory near the
boundary of the West Salem
property and the area recently
annexed to Salem. Because of
this and also because the annex
ation election is still in litiga
tion It was necessary to use the
West Salem crew, according to
Mayor Walter Musgravt.
'Big 4 Agree to
lace Saving
Secret Session
At Soviet Request
Meeting Called to
Wind-up Negotiations
Paris, June 14 (u.PJ Big four
foreign ministers agreed today
to a Russian request for another
secret session at which to seek
agreement on a face-saving for
mula to wind up their futile con
ference Thursday.
Soviet Foreign Minister An
drei Vishinsky asked that the
public meeting of the council
scheduled for this afternoon be
cancelled and the ministers
meet in secret instead. The
western ministers, trying in vain
to keep their own face-saving
Bi-nci, ikiccu.
Gag on Delegation '
Secretary of State Dean Ache-
son went to extreme lengths to
gag his delegation. He cancelled
press conference which was
to have been his first since he
came to Paris. He ordered each
member of his delegation to an
swer all press inquiries with
no comment."
The order for secrecy was so
effective that the U.S. delega
tion delayed for hours announc
ing that the regular meeting of
the ministers had been can
celled and a secret session would
be held.
Vishinsky had been seeking
delays since Friday. It now ap
peared reasonable to conclude
that he had new instructions
from Moscow which would de
termine whether this confer
ence on Germany would dis
solve In anger or adopt a work
ing arrangement in anticipation
of another council meeting in
New York next fall.
Already Packing Up
The western delegations al
ready were packing up. The last
session of this conference was
expected to be held tomorrow
nifiht or Thursday. Thus the
British and French ministers
can attend a Brussels pact con
ference in Luxembourg Friday
and Saturday. '
The afternoon meeting will ..
open as a secret session w
only the four ministers ar
limited number of aides pre. jS
Later it might become a pl-0 -ary
meeting of the full council,
with proceedings made public
afterwards.
It was understood the compro
mise plan calls for continued
study of the German problem by
the foreign ministers' deputies
after the present conference ad
journs this coming Thursday.
Berlin Strike to
Be Continued
Berlin, June 14 VP) Western
Berlin railway workers voted
six to one today to continue
their strike rather than knuckle
under to a communist threat of
reprisals.
Only a three-fourth majority
was needed to assure continua
tion of the 24-day-old strike
which has become in effect a
"little blockade" of Berlin.
The striking union announced
the results of day-long ballot
ing on a compromise proposal
as follows: For continuation of
the strike, 12.626. Against con
tinuation, 2,085.
The plan which was voted
down was worked out by the
United States and had the ap
proval of the other three occu
pying powers Britain, France
and Russia. The workers voted
after Soviet - licensed newspa
pers renewed threats of repris
als against the strikers.
The strike is directed against
the Russian-controlled railway
system. The compromise plan on
which the anti-communist strik
ers balloted was sponsored by
all four occupation powers.
Despite predictions by union
leaders of a favorable vote, there
was concerted resistance. Plac
ards were installed at polling
places urging workmen to turn
down the compromise and vote
to continue the strike.
To Test Liquor Law
Portland, June 14 VP) Safe
way Stores, Inc., yesterday filed
suit to test an Oregon liquor
control commission order prohi
biting the grocery chain from
storing beer and wine in central
warehouses for redistribution to
its stores, to determine whether
such storage violates the state
liquor control act.
WEATHER
(Released bv United States
Weather Bureau)
Forecast tor Sslem and Vicin
ity: Clear tonight and Wednes
day. Little change in tempera
ture. Lowest temperature ex
pected tonight 50 degrees; high
est Wednesday. 85. Conditions
will continue favorable for farm
work. Maximum yesterday 83
Minimum today 47. Mean tern
perniure yesterday M which was
1 above normal. Total 24-hour
precipitation to 11:30 a. m. to
dy 0 Total precipitation for the
month .13 of an inch which la
4.1 of in lnr.h hlnf nntmi
J Willamette river height at Sa
lem Tuesday morning, o.
V