I
THE WEATHER HERE
CLOUDY WITH occasional
showers tonight, becoming:
partly cloudy with scattered
showers, Sunday. Warmer tem
peratures. Low tonight, 32 de
grees; high Sunday, 40.
Ms im urn yeiterdar, 23: minimum to
day, SI. Total 34-hour precipitation: S7;
for month A7. Season precipitation, Ul.'Jfl J
normal, 23.40. River height, 3 feet. (Report
by U.S. Weather Bureau.)
aiDital.
HOME
EDITION
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62nd Year, No. 30 JTbSSSS
Salem, Oregon, Saturday, February 4, 1950
Price 5c
Lewis Rejects
Truman's Offer
Of Strike Truce
Coal Miners Don't
Want 3 Strangers
To Fix Wages
Washington, Feb. 4 0P) John
Russians Drop
Truck Traffic
Jam in Berlin
Soviet Guards Begin
Moving Stacked up
Vehicles Rapidly
Berlin, Feb. 4 (IP) The Rus
sians abruptly dropped all in
spection of Berlin-bound truck
traffic shortly before noon today.
Atomic Group
To Quiz Hoover
ft
It
On British Spy
Ice-Glaze Ends
Record Spell
Of Frigid Cold
Freezing Rain to Be
Followed by Rain and
Warmer Temperature
- By MARIAN LOWRY FISCHER
Worst ice-glaze in the storm
to date "glassed"- over Salem
streets and roads Saturday
morning following more than
half an inch of freezing rain
that fell during the night.
$ But Salem folk were taking
it in stride the weather was
w moderating with outlook for
" warmer temperatures later in
the day, and all that made peo
ple feel more cheerful following
three mornings of below zero
temperatures this past week.
Cloudiness and Rain
The Saturday morning mini
mum dropped only to 21 degrees,
compared to the four below zero
Friday morning. By 10:30 a.m.
Saturday, the mercury had
climbed to freezing point, 32 de
grees, and was due to go higher
during the mid-day with a low
of 32 forecast for tonight.
Cloudiness with occasional
showers tonight and scattered
showers Sunday is the week-end
weather outlook here, with a
possible 40 degrees for Sunday's
maximum.
Whether riding in car or
walking, travel was a risky and
precarious business Saturday
. morning, automobile traffic go
ing at a snail's pace and foot
travel resulting in many tum
bles. Clanking of Shovels
The clank and scraping of
shovels made a regular sym
phony in downtown Salem Sat
urday morning as the "shovel
brigade" went to work cleaning
off the ice and frozen snow on
sidewalks in front of business
houses and offices. During the
early hours getting across the
streets was a real workout.
A total of .57 of an inch of
precipitation was recorded for
y the 24-hour period ending at
10:30 a.m. Saturday and most of
that was freezing rain. Preced
' ing the start of the freezing rain
and sleet, a heavy snow shower
came at mid-afternoon Friday,
unusually large flakes floating
, down to add their bit to the snow
already on the ground.
Blizzard on Columbia
The Salem area missed out on
the blizzard conditions striking
farther north, especially in the
Columbia gorge sections, 60
mile wind gusts accompanying
the frozen rain that descended
through the area.
.(Concluded on Page 5, Column 8)
SEC Approves
PP&LCSale
New York, Feb. 4 0J.PJ Paul
B. McKee, president of Pacific
Power and Light Co., today is
sued the following statement af
ter the Security and Exchange
commission approved the sale of
common stock to a group of in
vestment bankers headed by
Bear, Stearns & Co., and the A.
C. Allyn Co.
y "We have every reason to be
lieve that the clean purchase of
the Pacific Power company's
stock (by these firms) pending
its release to the investment pub
'4 lie, will prove advantageous to
' them and to the people of the
territory we serve.
"We understand that the Pa
cific Company's common stock
will, in due course, be offered
for sale . . . and this will pro
vide an opportunity for western
investors to become owners of
the stock.
Blonde's Hair Clipped
By Jack-the-Snipper
Chicago, Feb. i (IP) Mrs.
Maxine Parsons, 22, a former
model, lost part of her almost
waist-long blonde tresses to a
"Jack-the-snipper" as she sat in
a movie theater yesterday.
Mrs. Parsons told police she
had felt someone brush against
her hair several times and then
heard a "snip." Then a man
seated in back of her and her
husband, Eugene, 24, fled from
the theater.
Parsons told police he chased
the man and caught him outside
the theater. They fought, Par
sons said, but bystanders sepa
rated them and the man escap
ed. Parsons said he noticed a
scissors and some blonde hair in
the man's pocket.
The "snipper" trimmed a piece
of Mrs. Parsons' hair measuring
about eight inches long and two
inches wide.
L. Lewis today in effect reject
ed President Truman's proposal
for a fact-finding board to in
vestigate the coal strike. He de
clared the miners "do not wish
three strangers" to fix their
wages and working conditions.
Without directly saying so,
the miners' chief thus refused
to accept the president's sugges
tion that normal production be
resumed while a three-man
presidential fact-finding group
made recommendations for set
tlement of the dispute.
Mr. Truman had given him
until 5 p.m. (EST) today to re
ply to his proposal.
However, Lewis left the way
open for at least a partial con
tinuation of coal mining if Mr.
Truman could arrange resump
tion of direct negotiations be
tween the United Mine Workers
and the operators.
Letter to White House
By "three strangers" Lewis
meant the president's proposed
fact-finding board.
A 500-word letter from the
United Mine Workers leader
was delivered to the White
House at 9:58 a.m.
(Continued on Page 5, Column 4)
Socialists Quit
French Cabinet
Paris, Feb. 4 (IP) French Pre
mier George Bidault tried today
to patch up his shaky coalition
cabinet from which the five so
cialist ministers have resigned.
Interior Minister Jules Moch,
who also is vice premier, hand
ed the premier a letter, this
morning confirming the with
drawals of himself and four col
leagues after a dispute over
proposed wage bonuses for wor
kers.
Though it appeared impossi
ble to govern the country with
out socialist participation, Bi
dault apparently was going to
try it. He said he would not re
sign before Tuesday, when he
plans to go before the national
assembly for a general policy de
bate. Presumably he will ask for a
vote of confidence then.
Elder Statesman Leon Blum,
grand old man of the French
socialist party, assured Bidault
that the resignation of the min
isters did not mean the social
ists would not support him in
parliament.
The ministers who stepped
down were Moch, Christian Pi
neu, public works; Robert La-
coste, industry and commerce
Eugene Thomas, communica
tions, and Pierre Segelle, labor.
Four other officials also re
signed. They were Secretaries of
State Jean Biondi, civil service
Jean Meunier, interior; Max
Lejeune, war ministry, and
Georges Gorse, undersecretary
of state for colonial affairs.
Liquor Sales Short
But Profit Reported
By JAMES D. OLSON
Liquor sales in Oregon dropped almost $2 million during the
last three months of 1949, despite holiday demands which gen
erally boost liquor sales in all parts of the state
The quarterly report of the Oregon state Mquor control com
mission for the three months ending December 31, 1949, shows
that total sales in state liquors-
stores, agencies and the com
mission warehouse totaled $20,
438,817.95 as compared with
$22,373,300.72 in the final three
months of 1948.
Through a reduction in oper
ating expenses the commission
showed a higher net margin,
even though the sales were less,
than was shown for the last
quarter of the previous year. In
the three months ending De
cember 31, 1949, the net profit
on sales totaled $4,808,500.82 as
compared with $4,260,482.32 in
the last three months of 1948.
The number of liquor permits
issued also declined by more
than 10,000, the total issued dur
ing the quarter being 69,691
against 79,926 in the final three
months of the previous year.
Receipts in the license divi
sion totaled $34,501.50 or $48,
740 less than the receipts during
the same period in 1948, but all
of the money derived in this di
vision during the last three
months of 1949 went down as
prof i tas there were no expen-
Collins Feted
On Retirement
Harry V. Collins has a new
set of golf clubs and a life mem
bership certificate in the Tele
phone Pioneers.
Collins, retiring district man
ager for Pacific Telephone &
Telegraph company, was hon
ored at a banquet at the Marion
hotel Friday night, attended by
about 125 telephone people of
Salem, the Willamette valley
and Portland.
The dinner, honoring Collins
after .40 years of service, was
sponsored by Oregon chapter No.
31, Telephone Pioneers of Ame
rica. The golf clubs were pre
sented by employes and the life
certificate by Ferriss W. Abbott,
president of Oregon chapter.
Guest speakers were Charles
A. Sprague, Justice George
Rossman, William Blackley of
Dallas and Ralph Kletzing of
Independence. Among other
speakers were Fred Scholl, gen
eral commercial manager of the
Pacific Telephone & Telegraph
company, and F. A. Dresslar,
vice president and general
manager for the Oregon area.
Victor H. Collins was general
program chairman.
Navy Forces to
Be Increased
Camden, N. J., Feb. 4 (IP)
John F. Floberg, assistant sec
retary of the navy for air, said
today that the navy plans to in
crease the organized reserve
strength of the navy and mar
ine corps by about 25,000 to a
total of 256,000 in the fiscal
year ending June 30, 1951.
He said the importance which
the navy attaches to its reserve
program is underscored by the
fact that it plans such an in
crease in a year of general na
vy retrenchment.
Floberg mentioned the plan
ned increase in reserve strength
in an address prepared for de
livery at the U. S. Naval Reserve
training center.
The occasion was the presen
tation of the James Forrestal
Trophy to surface division 4-5
selected as the best surface
training unit in the reserve last
year.
ditures charged to the division
while during the last quarter of
1949, the expenditures aggre
gated $74,520.33.
A profit of $605,110.65 was
shown in the three months op
eration of the privilege tax di
vision with receipts totaling
$630,044.50.
The report shows a profit for
all divisions of the commission
for the fiscal year of 1949-50 of
$5,547,404.83, the bulk of which
will go into the general fund
of the state after a distribution
to cities has been made.
A reduction on the number
of employes has contributed to
the fact that the commission has
shown a profit in face of reduc
ed sales. The report shows that
in December, 1949, a total of
395 permanent and 59 tempor
ary employes were on the pay
roll in all departments as com
pared with 414 permanent and
97 temporary employes carried
on the payrolls in December,
1948.
Honored Upon Retirement
manager of Pacific Telephone & Telegraph company, at Salem,
who retires after 40 years of service, receives a life certificate
in Oregon chapter 31 of Telephone Pioneers of America and
golf clubs presented by company employes. From left: Mary
B. Sutherland, secretary of Oregon Telephone pioneers; Fred
Scholl, general commercial manager for Oregon, Harry V. Col
lins and Frank A. Dresslar, company vice president and
general manager for Oregon.
ky Streets Cause Many
Accidents, Some Hurt
By STEPHEN A. STONE
Salem danced today to the music of shovels on cement.
C-l-a-ank, c-l-a-ank went the shovels. People afcot danced
jig steps and two steps and half
flings. Everybody was doing it.
People danced who didn't know
Order Search for
Sub in Pacific
San Francisco, Feb. 4 (IP)
Navy planes were ordered to
search the waters off northern
California today for a foreign
submarine. .
. The twelfth naval district ,an-
nounced-the flights'as it receiv
ed, with ; some skepticism,
fourth report that a U-boat had
been seen off Eureka, Calif.
The navy did not question
the previous reports two by
fishing boat captains and a third
by a private airplane pilot. From
these descriptions navy spokes
men said the mysterious sub
mersible appeared to be a Ger
man craft, many of which are
now in possession of the Rus
sians. Ray Mason of Eureka said he
saw a sub surface yesterday
about 600 yards from the Hum
boldt bay lifeboat station. A na-
vy spokesman said the navy was
inclined to question the accu
racy of the report because Ma
son was SYt miles from where
he said the submarine emerged.
Navy investigators talked to
personnel of fishing boats in the
immediate area and to person
nel at the lifeboat station. None
had seen the sub, the navy
spokesman added.
Weather permitting, the
search planes were ordered to
take off at dawn from Alameda
naval air station on San Fran
cisco bay. It's about a 250 mile
flight to the area where the un
dersea boat was reported.
The submarine was reported
seen last week-end in the vicin
ity of the landing aids experi
mental station at Eureka. The
station is developing methods of
helping planes land in fog.
Churchill Raps
Labor Regime
Leeds, Eng., Feb. 4 W) Win
ston Churchill accused the Lab
or government today of tearing
Britain apart with class warfare
at the most critical hour in its
peacetime history.
Churchill said the Laborites,
taking in a leaf from Soviet Rus
sia's book, have kept wartime
controls in order "to get every
one into their power, and make
them stand in queues for the
favors which an all-wise and all
powerful governing machine
chooses to bestow."
In a speech prepared for an
election campaign rally in the
town hall of this textile center
of half a million people, the 75
year-old Conservative party
leader declared:
"Even if all our strength were
united we should be confronted
with the hardest task and prob
lem we have ever faced in time
of peace.
"But we are a deeply divided
nation. Class warfare has rent
the unities and comradeship that
brought us through the war. Par
ty politics dominate the scene.
A great gulf of1 principle and
doctrine is open in bur midst."
Harry V. Collins District
steps, but mostly it was reels and
they could dance at all. And
the dancing was just about as
rhythmic as the shovels.
From an hour before dawn
through the day the ring and
scrape of shovels violated the
ears but made the feet glad
Accidents were many, several
hospitalized. Pedestrians fell
down like tenpins in a bowling
alley, but usually without
bruises or breaks.
Mrs. Alta Mead, 57, of Hub
bard suffered serious injuries
Saturday, and two other women
also were hurt, in an automobile
collision on Portland road half
a mile north of the underpass.
The others injured were a
Mrs. Moersch, who lives on East
Sherman road, and Miss Ruth
Betts of Lebanon.
Mrs. Reed got a fractured
knee, fractured arm and poss
ibly broken ribs. She was in
one car and the other women
were in another.
Mrs. Moersch got a severe
head cut and Miss Betts a bruise
on the head.
The collision was caused, po
lice said, by a slippery highway.
D. J. Needham, 37, of 1000
McGilchrist street, suffered a
broken hip when he fell off a
gate while working at his home.
Allan Walton, 39, of 2635
South Summer, fell off a ladder
while clearing the eaves troughs
at his home and got a possibly
broken arm.
All the accident victims were
hospitalized after first aid.
Concluded on Pare 5, Column 7)
Reds Capture
Fenghu Island
Taipei, Formosa, Feb. 4 VP)
China's nationalists said today
the communists have taken
Fenghu island near the main
land seaport of Swatow, a pos
sible base for an expected Red
invasion attempt against For
mosa.
The nationalist defense min
istry said a small communist
force from Swatow seized the
island. Fenghu is west of Na
rnoa, a larger island used by the
nationalists to hamper the Reds'
use of Swatow. Swatow
port on the Central China coast
opposite Formosa.
Continued nationalist ground
and air action was reported
against communist guerrillas on
Hainan island, which expects
a Red invasion attempt from the
south mainland coast.
The ministry said an attempt
by the Hainan guerrillas to break
cut of the northwestern moun
tains to the coast had been
thwarted. Total Guerrilla
strength in the area was put at
10,000. The ministry said they
have been operating on the island
for more than 20 years.
On the mainland, the ministry
said, the communists scored fur
ther advances in southern Yun
nan, border province fronting
Indochina and Burma. It said
nationalist forces had retreated
into the mountains to carry on
guerrilla warfare. This type of
operation is the only one left to
the nationalists on the mainland
Soviet frontier guards started
moving stacked - up vehicles
through the Helmstadt frontier
post at the rate of one every min
ute.
Earlier today the Soviet zone
economic commission had sent
word "normal" clearance of
truck traffic would start today.
West German border police
said the backlog of waiting
trucks that had reached a max
imum of 230 was rapidly disap
pearing.
Clear by Afternoon
The police said at the rate the
Russians were waving all traffic
through, the border would be
clear by mid-afternoon.
C. A. Dix, U. S. transport of
ficer, said he had received the
earlier assurance of plans to per
mit normal traffic from East
German authorities but added
he would wait to see if it was
true. He added "normal" clear
ance nad been promised last
week and had been maintained
for only one day.
Normal clearance, he said,
would be ten trucks an hour
over the border.
The Russians last night halted
all truck traffic for nearly three
hours, explaining the highway to
Berlin was "dangerously icy."
Later they opened the road and
began clearing trucks at the rate
of five an hour.
Technicalities Settled
East German economic author
ities today notified the western
allies in Berlin that all argu
ments over shipping papers and
other technicalities had been
settled. ,
(Concluded on Page S, Column 7)
Mystery Veils
Missing C-54
Whitehorse, Y. T., Feb. 4 VP)
The dogged search for a fully-
loaded military transport that
vanished over the Yukon wastes
Jan. 26 went into its ninth day
today.
The few fragile leads to the
fate of the big plane and the 44
persons aboard have proved
groundless.
A rumor that the U. S. air
force C-54 had been located in
a narrow canyon between a cliff
and glacier was spiked by search
headquarters here last night.
"There is absolutely nothing
to the report," American and
Canadian air force officials said.
The rumor was heard as far
away as Anchorage, Alaska, and
denied there by authorities at
Elmendorf air force base.
An aura of authenticity had
been given the story by the fig
ures it contained. The grapevine
report said the transport had
been spotted 180 miles off course
and 200.8 miles from Snag, the
tiny weather station over which
the C-54 last reported 20 miles
inside the Yukon territory from
Alaska.
The source of the rumor was
not immediately determined.
Twenty-six planes took to the
air here yesterday in the joint
U.S.-Canada aerial hunt for the
transport, which disappeared on
a flight from Anchorage to
Great Falls, Mont.
Steel Bridge Bought
But No Place for It
Marion county has acquired a 78,260-pound steel bridge. And
thev have no nlace to put it. at least not for the present
The purchase was made as a
Friday between County Judge Grant Murphy and John W. cat
trail of the state highway department. Cattrall had sent out let
ters Thursday announcing thatv
the state would sell an 80-foot
steel spun to the first bidder.
Sale price was $3913, figured
at five cents a pound. The deal
is a cash and carry basis, which
means Marion county will have
to go get the bridge, which is
stored at Scott Creek, 15 miles
east of Waldport.
As soon as weather and road
conditions permit, a truck will
be dispatched to Scott Creek to
bring the bridge back to Mar
ion county.
When the span arrives here,
the next question is, "What shall
Iwe do with it?"
Giant Icicles at Mill City
These icicles grew on the resi
dence of the Virgil Cribbs fam
ily at Mill City. Mrs. Cribbs
is shown here trying to meas
ure them with a yardstick
The longest one is 6 feet and
2 inches. (Photo by Bob Ve
ness) Try Mediation
For Phone Strike
New York, Feb. 4 () The
federal government, worried ov-
the threatened telephone
strike set for next Wednesday,
called labor and management
negotiators together today for
their first joint, mediation talks.
The issues are mainly wages
and other employe benefits.
Today's talks were between
bargainers for the Western Elec
tric company and the UlU com
munications Workers of Ameri
ca. Western Electric is the in
stallation division of the Ame
rican Telephon and Telegraph
company the nation-wide "Bell
system."
Planned union strategy is to
pull out 100,000 workers from
Western Electric and five other
subsidiaries of the gigantic tele
phone concern. Then, union of
ficials said, it counts on the re
maining 200,000 union members
not to cross the picket lines.
This would come close to para
lyzing the nation's phone sys
tem, the union said.
However, company spokesmen
have said they would be able
to maintain most services.
William N. Margolis, assistant
director of the federal mediation
service, returned to New York
from Washington yesterday af
ter nearly a week of prelimina
ry study, and conferred with Jo
seph R. Bransford, vice presi
dent in charge of Western Elec
tric personnel.
Margolis had nothing to say
after a two-and-ond-half hour
talk, during which the compa
ny outlined its position.
In Was h i n g t o n , Margolis'
boss, Cyrus Ching, said he
should know by Monday wheth
er his mediation service is get
ting results.
Bids on Lookout Dam
Portland, Feb. 4 (IP) The ar
my engineers will invite bids
about Feb. 15 for laying eight
miles of track in the Lookout
Point dom area: a $500,000 job
The work is part of the reloca
tion of the Southern Pacific rail
road. result of a phone conversation
The county has no immediate
need for a new bridge. Murphy
just saw a bargain, so he grabb
ed it.
The judge explained that buy
ing the steel bridge, moving it
to Marion county dismantled
then set it up again when the
need for a new bridge arises,
would, in the long run, be
lot cheaper than Just building a
wooden bridge in the first
place.
The bridge, all 39 tons of lt,
will be stored some place in or
near Salem until the county
I finds a creek to put under it.
General Groves Says
Fuchs Had Access to
Most Vital Data
Washington, Feb. 4 (IP) The ;
congressional atomic committee
decided today to call FBI Di
rector J. Edgar Hoover for de
tailed testimony Monday about
the British scientist accused of
relaying top atomic secrets to
Russia.
Senator McMahon (D., Conn.),
the committee chairman, an
nounced this decision after Lt.
Gen. Leslie R. Groves, wartime
head of the atomic project, told
senators the scientist "had ac
cess to a wide area of the most
vital weapons information."
Members of a senate appro
priations subcommittee already
have quoted Hoover as telling
them the scientist, Dr. Klaus
Fuchs, had confessed passing
along to Moscow information
about the atomic bomb and the
projected new hydrogen super
bomb. (Concluded on Page 5, Column 5)
Pledge Sought
By Scientists
New York, Feb. 4 (U.R) A
group of top atomic scientists to
day urged that "the United
States, through its elected gov
ernment, make a solemn declar
ation that we shall never use"
the hydrogen bomb first.
"The only circumstance which
might force us to use it would
be if we or our allies were at
tacked by this bomb," they said
in a statement. "There can be
only one justification for our de
velopment of the hydrogen
bomb, and that Is to prevent Its
use." .
They deplored the revelation
that this country was making a
hydrogen bomb. This, they
termed "an indiscretion."
"We must remember that we
do not possess the bomb but are
only developing it, and Russia
has received through indiscre
tion the most valuable hint that
our experts believe a develop
ment possible.
Perhaps this development of
the hydrogen bomb has already
been under way in Russia for
some time, but if it were not, our
decision to develop it, must have
started the Russians on the same
program. If they had already a
going program, they will redou
ble their efforts."
The scientists included Dr.
Hans A. Bethe, professor of phy
sics at Cornell university, who
was the superior of Dr. Klaus
Fuchs, a British scientist arrest
ed for allegedly disclosing atom
bomb secrets to Russia, at the
Los Alamos project in New Mex
ico. No Excitement
On Spy's Seizure
London, Feb. 4 (IP) The ar
rest of Britain's top atomic sci
entist on charges of giving away
atom secrets caused much less
excitement here today than it
did in the United States.
In the London press the jail
ing of 38-year-old Dr. Klaus Emil
Julius Fuchs was given less space
than recent stories about the U.
S. hydrogen bomb project.
The scientist is head of the the
oretical physics division of Brit
ain's only working atom project
the Atomic Energy Research
entablishment at Harwell, 55
miles southwest of London.
Fuchs was in gloomy Brixton
prison awaiting trial next Fri
day. Government officials would
say nothing about the case, a
standard procedure here since
comment about cases still before
the judge might run afoul of
strict British rules on contempt
of court.
The arrest of Fuchs, disclosed
by his preliminary appearance
yesterday in Old Bow Street
court, prompted an emergency
meeting of the U. S. Atomic En
ergy committee and cabinet dis
cussion in Washington.
It provoked members of con
gress to demand that the U. S.
quit sharing any defense secrets
with Britain, as she had quit
sharing atomic secrets in a 1946
clampdown.
No special huddles of Brit
ain's cabinet were reported, however.