ON THE LOCAL SCENE:
Capital Journal. Salem. Ore., Friday, December 23, 194913
Big News in Salem: Merger,
d i j . rw t . l r
By C. K. LOGAN
News today becomes tomorrow's history and much of that
which holds the attention for a brief period, and which often is
widely discussed at the time, fades with the passing of the days
and is only recalled with difficulty.
Stories that have the significance of permanency and affect
ing the greatest number of per "
sons usually are not spectacular
and as they unfold are taken in
daily stride.
Looking back over the past
year, the files 01 me uapnai
Journal recall outstanding devel
opments or occurrences in
Salem that set aside the period
as distinctive from other simi
lar periods in the past.
As a resume of the past twelve
months, the Capital Journal is
offering what it believes to be
the most outstanding of these,
reflecting the trend of the times
in various activities, though not
all are necessarily in either
chronological order or sequence
of importance.
JUDGE HAROLD MEDINA
Judge Medina Tagged
U S. Man of the Year'
By SHERRY BOWEN
(AP Newafcaturw Writer)
Npw York Judce Harold R. Medina, who presided at the year
long trial of 11 top U.S. communists, was "Man of the Year" for
1049.
He has been so named by vote of Associated Press newspaper
editors.
The court drama started Janu
ary 17 and did not end until all
defendants were sentenced Octo
ber 21.
Defense attorneys helped
make headlines by their disrup
tive tactics. They kept the
court in an uproar day after day,
refused to heed warnings from
the bench and, in the end, won
jail sentences for contempt.
Judge Medina won headlines
early in the trial for his patience
in dealing with the lawyers. But
in one hectic session he had to
call a recess and retire to his
chambers for a few minutes to
calm his nerves.
It was not patience alone that
got attention for the judge. It
was also his firmness in insist-
ing that no one, defendant or
attorney, would be permitted to
benefit from disorder. Warnings
were followed by action. In
appropriate testimony was cut
off. Side remarks were strick-
en from the record.
Before the trial, Medina had
not been widely known. When
he came to the federal bench in
1947 he gave up a $100,000-a
year practice for the $15,000 job
He was known as a lawyer's law
yer and had written 15 books on
federal law.
When the editors voted for the
leading men in special categor
ies, they found that President
Harry S. Truman was first in
politics; Dean Acheson, U. S. sec
retary of state, led in foreign af
fairs; Philip Murray was top man
in labor; Henry Ford II in indus
try; Vannevar Bush, president of
Carnegie Institution, was the
leader in science.
In literature, Thomas Merton, a
trappist monk and author of two
best-selling books, was chosen.
Ezio Pinza, opera basso turned
musical comedy star, got the nod
in entertainment.
YEAR'S HEADLINES:
News That Russ Had A-Bomb
Considered Top Story of 7949
By PAUL R. MICKELSON
(Auoclited Preu General News Editor)
New York The biggest headlines of 1949 were black but the
subjects were red.
So predominant was the subject of Red Russia and her satel
lites that seven of the top 10 stories of the news-packed year,
selected by newspaper editors in the annual Associated Press
poll, dealt with the spectre of
the mysterious colossus benind
the iron curtain. Topping them
all, by a margin as wide as the
news was frightening to a war
tired world, was President Tru
man's announcement that Rus
sia at long last has atomic energy-
On Sept. 23 President Truman
called his cabinet into an hour
long session, then he gave out
the historic news, comparable
only in significance to the an
nouncement of the Hiroshima
blast of August 6, 1945. In calm
tones, the president said:
"We have evidence that with
in recent weeks an atomic ex
plosion has occurred in the
U.S.S.R."
He did not say it was an atom
bomb but the announcement was
a fateful portent, confirmed la
ter by Russian leaders, that the
Soviets had broken the Amer
ican A - bomb monopoly on
which the non-communist world
had depended so heavily.
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. more remote?
ATLANTIC TREATY
But for the fear of Russia the
number two story of the year
never would have happened. It
was the signing of the Atlantic
treaty.
On October 6, President Tru
man set in operation a $1,314,-
010,000 arms program designed
to help provide 14 nations of
western Europe, signers of the
historic pact, with military as
sistance against attack.
"We are not arming ourselves
and our friends to start a fight
with anybody," said President
Truman. "We are building our
defenses so that we won't have
to fight.
Soviet Russia, target of the
pact, charged it was aggression
directed against it.
BERLIN BLOCKADE ENDS
After 327 days, during which
it grew from an infant into the
most impressive giant in the cold
war, the Berlin airlift was lifted
on Sept. 30 and the great glory
of its achievement ranked it as
the year's third largest storyi
The airlift cost 51 lives and
more than $250,000,000 but it
f did more than hand Russia its
most decisive diplomatic setback
in Europe since the end of the
Merger of West Salem is prob
ably the most outstanding devel
opment of the past twelve
months and marks a close of sug
gestions and action over a period
of many years, with the accom
panying expansion of utilities
and municipal government
Closely connected with the
merger and tying in with the
development of a greater Salem
is the Baldock plan which in
cludes the replacement of the
inadequate Marion-Polk county
bridge and the establishment of
a complete new traffic plan for
the community.
In connection with bridges, the
inter-county span at Indepen
dence is well under way and
will' give the Willamette river
its only span between Salem
and Albany.
Perhaps the most widely-discussed
topic for many days and
focusing attention upon condi
tions that are rapidly alarming
the entire nation was the so
called "taxicab scandal" which
involved 14 men and a minor
girl, with court action taken
against all but two who yet wait
trial. The incident resulted in
action by the city council in
tightening control over taxi cab
operations and operators in the
city.
State institutions featured the
news during the year with es
capes at both the penitentiary
and the state hospital (with two
of the latter and one of the
former still at large). Character
of the former inmates was such
as to give numerous residents of
the county a severe attack of the
jitters.
Fire at the Fairview home,
which destroyed the hospital,
was perhaps the worst single
disaster the community suf
fered, and it was only through
action upon the part of various
war. It gave 2,000,000 West Ber
liners food, fuel and raw mater
ials. To America it gave even
greater confidence in its might.
INTER-SERVICE FIGHT
Family quarrels always are
the most interesting and usually
the most harmless.
The armed services of the
United States had one in 1949
and it was such a donnybrook it
won fourth place in the annual
poll.
It started through charges by
top navy officers that the whole
concept of national defense
planning planning with Rus
sia in mind, of course was
keyed to the atomic-bomb car
rying B-36 and that it was trag
ically wrong. The increasingly
bitter battle, marked by a series
of investigations, resulted in the
removal of Louis Denfeld as
chief of naval operations.
REDS SENTENCED
The story picked fifth for
headline production was the
conviction and sentencing of the
nation's 11 top communist lead
ers, virtually the whole of the
party's high command, to prison
terms and fines after a 39-week
conspiracy trial in a New York
federal court.
And the nation's press made a
hero out of Federal Judge Har
old R. Medina who presided at
the hectic trial with patience
seldom seen in a courtroom,
NORONIC FIRE
The year was not without its
share of tragedies air crashes,
an outbreak of sex attacks
against small children and fires
The most fearsome was the
racing night-time fire that swept
flames and panic through the
Canadian pleasure cruiser Nor
onic early on the morning of
Sept. 17 at her Toronto, Canada
dock. More than 400 scrambled
or jumped to safety through
the flames but 118 men, women
and children died.
It was voted the sixth biggest
and most mass tragic story
of the year.
KATHY FISCUS
Seventh and most pathetic of
all was the story of a cute, three-i
year-old kid Kathy Fiscus,
who fell into and was wedged
into a 14-inch pipe and never
came out alive.
The fight to save her, the
prayers of the world that found
print and the final, futile rescue
held the nation's headlines for
52 hours.
Kathy, running at play, stum
bled into a weed-covered well
and the accounts of the fight to
save her touched the hearts of
millions everywhere. Many edi
tors thought the story was far
and away the biggest of the
year.
employees, and a few of the in
mates, that a tragedy was adverted.
General construction claimed
a great share of public interest
during the year with the court
house the center of controversy.
Dom in regard to the type of
the proposed reDlacement and
the desire to perpetuate distin
guished early type of architec
ture.
Practical completion of the
new state office building and
start on the state highway build
ing in the capitol group is also
noteworthy in the construction
line.
Also completed in general con
struction was the new treatment
hospital for the state, and the
prison cell annex, and two new
grade schools to take care of the
needs of the eastern and north
ern portions of the school dis
trict. Nearly completed is the
capital shopping center. A start
on the million dollar apartment
project at the corner of Union
and Winter streets, highlighted
this group of stories.
Preliminary work on the con
struction of the multi-million
dollar dam at Detroit and its
place in the ultimate Willamette
valley basin flood control pro
gram, with re-location of the
North S a n t i a m highway, can
well be considered in the col
lection of the ten outstanding
stories. Decision was also reach
cd to use existing railroad facil
ities for transportation of heavy
equipment and supplies instead
of highways.
The biennial legislature
also important to Salem as well
as to the state. This session re
moved obstacles in the way of
merging West Salem and Salem
It was highlighted by .the in
auguration of Governor Doug
las McKay, Salem businessman,
former mayor and ex-president
of the Chamber of Commerce,
Military facilities and the
selection of McNary airport for
naval reserve flight training was
the result of wide recognition
of the excellence of the Salem
air field. Radio aerial landing
guides are being installed and a
new administration bunding as
sured. Centered in Salem also
is the state bureau of aeronau
tics search and rescue program
with the Salem police pilots of
fering the use of their plane
' Campaign to increase the fac
ilities of both the Salem General
and the Salem Memorial hos
pital, adding greatly to the num
ber of available beds, got under
way with the first of funds
vailable used by the Salem Mem-I
orial for extensive improve
ments. When finally completed,
a little more than $3,000,000
will have been spent for the
hospitals.
The state is replacing the hos
pilal destroyed in the Fairview
home fire.
Re-organization of the police
department was completed with
Clyde Warren of Oregon City,
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CHURCH-RED DISPUTE
Some editors also voted a
higher position than eighth for
the story of Josef Cardinal
Mindszenty in communist-controlled
Hungary. His trial for
treason incited angry protests
from beyond the "Iron Curtain."
President Truman denounced
the cardinal's conviction as an
infamous verdict of a kangaroo
(mock trial) court.
COMMUNIST VICTORY
The red hordes all but pushed
their hated nationalist foes to
ward extinction in China and
the story was ninth, as reper
cussions grew louder in Wash
ington where some congressmen
blamed the loss to U. S. state de
partment blundernig.
WORKER PENSIONS
Labor, involved in the usual
assortment of strikes, made
some of its greatest gains by
winning company-paid pensions,
including federal social security,
which in most cases totaled $100
monthly. It was the 10th biggest
story, editors voted.
Other top stories included the
British pound devaluation, the
H 1 s s-Chambers trial, airline
crashes, the suicide of Defense
Secretary James Forrestal, the
terrible western winter, the Cin
derella story of the New York
Yankee baseball team, and the
Tito-Stalin split, which may
produce the biggest story of the
new mid-century year.
former state police officer, in
charge. Authority was given to
increase the force, salaries were
raised and a training program
inaugurated. Mobile and radio1
equipment has also been im
proved and expanded.
Not included in the most im
portant stories of the year, but
nevertheless having a decided
local interest, were the following:
Discussion over daylight sav
ing, establishment of a 4-H club
agent for Salem, rerouting of
the Salem - Silvcrlon highway,
and the American Legion state
convention with a blast against
Legion "brass hats" that echoed
around the nation. Then there
was the fall of U. S. Senator
Wayne Morse during the stale
fair horse show.
In the days of King Canute,
the British Isles were forest
country.
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