Capital Adjournal
An Independent Newspaper Established 1888
' GEORGE PUTNAM, Editor and Publisher '
ROBERT LETTS JONES, Assistant Publisher
Published every afternoon except Sunday at 444 Che
mekefa 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
entitled to the use for publication of all news dispatches
credited to it or otherwise credited in this paper and also
news published therein.
SUBS IRIPTION RATES:
By Carrier: Weekly, 25c; Monthly, $1.00; One Tear, $12.00. By
Mall in Oregon: Monthly, 75c; 6 Mos., $4.00; One Year, $8.00.
V. S. Outside Oregon: Monthly, $1.00; 6 Mos.. $6.00; Year. $12.
4 Salem, Oregon, Wednesday, February 15, 1950
Wildcat Federal Loans
One of the many reasons why the federal government is
financing in the red are the operations of the Reconstruc
tion Finance corporation in loaning millions of dollars to
promoters of industrial and housing corporations, without
security, loans that could not be obtained either from banks
or insurance companies. Finis was written today to a loan
of $37,500,000 to the Lustron corporation of Columbus, O.,
and foreclosure follows. It follows similar proceedings for
a $7 million loan to the Walthan Watch company taken
last week.
The RFC was organized under the Hoover administra
tion at the start of the depression when bank loans, be
cause of financial stringency could not be obtained to sal
vage or refinance responsible industries and prevent their
bankruptcy. It was a constructive effort, conservatively
managed, and attained its objective. There were few
losses, the loans were eventually repaid, bince the war,
however, it has been a different story.
Lustron was organized by Carl G. Standburg, whose
original investment, it has been charged in congress, was
only $1000 of his own money. Its object was the mass
production of prefabricated homes for the postwar mar
ket, but the $10,000 tab was too high for most would-be
purchasers.
The company got its first assistance from RFC in 1947
under the veterans emergency housing act, since expired,
which encouraged government assistance to the home
building industry. The loan was scheduled for full repay
ment in 10 years.
Lustron never paid any interest or principal, and as late
as last month was asking for additional government help.
RFC has finally called a complete halt, ordering its legal
counsel "to take whatever steps are necessary" to recover
as much of the loan as possible.
The Waltham Watch loan was to refinance an old estab
lished concern with a large payroll, and intended to be
utilized to install modern machinery for production to meet
competition. This money seems to have been spent largely
to pay up previous indebtedness to banks.
An investigation of these "wild government ventures"
looms in congress and may lead to the RFC's winding up
its affairs in an age when money is plentiful and there is
little difficulty of financing sound enterprises.
.Time to Compare Notes
The coming of warmer weather brings out the requests
for funds as well as buds on the trees. ,
Salem is gradually learning the proposed cost of city
improvements as suggested for 1950.
The school board has a program for bonds that will
amount to $3,755,000 figured over a period of two or three
years. The city itself has in mind an improvement pro
gram that will amount to some $4,000,000 in the form of
sewage disposal, drainage and airport improvement with
a 10-year-range in mind. And then there is the program
to take definite steps to figure a way to build an auditorium
for the city.
Individually, the ideas behind the proposals are com
mendable. But how much can the taxpayers afford to pay 1
When lumped together, these proposals will add up to a
tax figure that could well scare the average taxpayer. As
a result, the logical procedure for these groups interested
in another few mills of the tax dollar would be to consider
their total demands in light of the voter's hesitancy to go
for anything but a minimum tax increase.
This would mean joint consideration by the school board,
the city, and the auditorium association of the total de
mands. After all, that's the way the taxpayer will consider
the bond issues at the polls in May. The voter will take a
careful look over the ballot. Unless paring to the bone
has been done by the groups pushing the measures, all
bond proposals could suffer. Paring to the bone will not be
sufficient, however. A pay-as-you-go approach to any
bond proposal will be essential to win acceptance.
The public still doesn't know how much these proposals
might cost. The sponsoring groups haven't presented the
suggested bill yet. So there is time for sponsoring parties
to compare notes so as not to make the bill so large all con
structive proposals will suffer.
Russian-Red China Pact
The long negotiations between the Kremlin and the Chi
nese Reds are reported concluded, and the inevitable sur
mise is that Russia got whatever she wanted in the line of
military and naval bases in Red China and commercial con
cessions in return for promised military aid and equipment.
The Chinese Reds, reports assert, are to assume the lead
ership in southeast Asia. At any rate, Red China seems
to have come formally into the open as an ally of Soviet
Russia in war and peace and probably be absorbed, bit
by bit, into the Russian empire.
The Nationalists are waiting to see whether the Reds get
active Soviet aid in the Chinese civil war in other words,
help for the invasion of Formosa and Hainan island. They
won't have long to wait.
Tao Hsi-Shtn, one of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek's
closest advisors, predicts Chinese Red Leader Pao Tze
Tung's return to Peiping will be followed by a big purge
of all elements, communist and otherwise, not considered
100 percent pro-Russian.
Wang Shih-Tseng, minister without portfolio at Taipai,
said the pact was only a "smoke screen for an all embrac
ing secret agreement. The whole thing is aimed primarily
at the United States."
Japan is rported to be the real target of the pact and a
communist peace offensive looms. Offensives are already
under way in Indochina and adjacent countries and the out
look is as dark to the Allies as it is bright to the Reds.
Barrels Join Flying Saucers
Halifax, N. S., Feb. U.R) Now It's Hying barrels.
Capt. William Crowell of Dartmouth, N. S., reported today
he had seen an object late at night rushing through the air
with a trail of fire.
"The barrel-shaped object exploded in a brilliant burst of
blue and orange flame," he said.
Crowell's report was supported by Doreen MacDonald of
Enfield, N. S.
"I saw a flaming object roar through the night, and then
burst into pieces and disappear," she said.
Dominion publio weather offloe experts thought tha object
waa a meteorite.
BY BECK
Life's Little Lessons
, ' I tT ASK'NS YOU TO PIX A 5.S
- 5 L I V. B6NT NAIL IN MY SLEDt pf 'Z-i
WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND
Absolutely No Way to Figure
Final Cost of Frightful H-Bomb
By DREW PEARSON
Washington Atom scientists have secretly informed the con
gressional committee on atomic energy that there is absolutely no
way to determine the cost of the frightful H-bomb until it is
built.
However, they have further testified that the new bomb would
cost a lot less ,
BY CARL ANDERSON
Henry
Drew Peartoa
Remaking John L. Lewis
Washington's rough-and-tumble
news photographers, who
have seen about everything, are
flabbergasted at "the new John
L. Lewis."
In the old days when Lewis
was asked to pose for a picture,
the answer was a snarl or a
view of his back.
But today, when the boys
clamor "just one more," Lewis
is as sweet as a fairy godmoth
er. He will even make gestures.
Credit goes to his new public
KRISS-KROSS
After It Was All Over, They
Agree 'No Place Like Home'
ByCHRISKOWITZ.Jr.
A couple of Salem boys did a luxurious job of running away
from home recently. Not content to just pack up a loaf of
bread and a jar of peanut butter and hop aboard a freight train,
these enterprising youths set up living quarters in a heated
room.
For four days,-
1 E
camped in a'
small horse:
barn at the state
fair grounds.
They equipped!"
their "cabin '
with cots, sleep
ing bags, alarml
clock, shelves,
mirrors, etc.
They placed a
grille over a
five-gallon can for a cook stove,
LAIL I
The boys had decided home
was a pretty nice place.
than original es
timates, which
ran into billions
of dollars
This is be
cause a great
deal of equip
ment now used
for making
atom bombs can
be r e u s e d or
easily converted
to t h e produc
tion of H-bombs.
Officials of the atomic energy
commission also have informed
the committee behind closed relations expert, Justin McCar-
doors that the hydrogen bomb thy, wh has convinced Lewis
can be made for considerably that the way to make friends
less than the estimated $2,000,- and influence people is to be
000,000 cost of the original atom nice to the photographers,
bomb. The Other Lewis .
The atom chiefs revealed', in Sitting in session with the
fact, that all they would need coal operators, however, Lewis
to get started on production of 's another man as witness the
the H-bomb is $80,000,000, "yu -are -a-liar-by-the-clock"
chiefly for special facilities and charge hurled at George Love,
new laboratory equipment. president of the Pittsburgh Con-
This $80,000,000 is already solidatioI Coal company,
well on the way to congression- What inspired this piece of
al approval, being included in verbal gunplay was Love's testi
the $450,000,000 deficiency ap- mony at the fact-finding inquiry
propriation bill that passed the that Lewis had declared during
house last week though only a negotiations with the operators
few house members knew they that he had 400,000 coal miners
- n
jp II eMJy I
DOCTOR
WALK
DOCTOR.
CRAVW.
Chris Kowlts, Jr.
Chatting with numerous old
friends around downtown Salem
yesterday was Spec Keene, ex
Willamette U. athletic coach,
now athletic director at OSC.
. . . New fad among several
prominent local businessmen:
wearing of big, plastic, false
noses. Some look quite authen
tic .. . While Willamette uni
versity was celebrating its 107th
and somehow got hold of some anniversary last Thursday, stu-
smudge pots to use for heating dent body prexy Russ Tripp was
the premises. celebrating his 23rd . . . Floyd
Their "hideout" was complete Hastay, superintendent of ditto
. . . they even attempted to machine section for state offices,
throw cops off the trail. Evi- is rated a top-flight baker of
dently sensing that police would angel foor cakes. Rating is of
search the fairgrounds for them, good authority, for it comes from
the runaway boys wrote a note those who have eaten Hasty's
saying "Billy we have left the prize oven product,
fairgrounds for good," and sign-
ed their names. The note was Four Salem women visit Port
placed on another building at the land, plan to catch 4:30 bus back
fairgrounds. to Salem. Get to bus depot at
Police, finding the note, were 4 o'clock, stand in lobby and
only assured more than ever start typical female conversation,
that the boys were somewhere Dispatcher calls out four times
on the grounds. A few minutes over public address system that
later, the well-stocked "hide- Salem bus is loading. Women
out" was discovered. keep on talking and miss bus.
OPEN FORUM
Governor's Stand on 'Mansion'
To the Editor: For Governor McKay to find time and show
the consideration to answer in person the many requests he re
ceives to participate in the events staged by the people of his
state, is a trait of democracy to be looked upon with favor rather
than disfavor. So it seems to me bricks are being tossed at him
when bouquets are due. '
The gentleman in our state- occasions rather than building
luiuseii a mansion wnn uie iuji-
were voting for H-bomb funds
Taft Applauds Harry
When President Truman ad
dressed congress recently, Sen
ate Majority Leader Scott Lucas,
sitting beside Senators Ken
Wherry of Nebraska and Bob
Taft of Ohio, had to do the ap
plauding for the republicans,
"in the palm of his hand" and
urged the operators to bid for
their labor. Love was referring
to a closed-door meeting at
which Lewis charged that the
operators were controlled by
"bankers" who wanted to make
"slaves" of the miners.
When Love insisted that Lewis
offer some specific proposals
Finally he whispered to Wherry: !F a iT"! 1 ?.act' the
"After all, this is the president "
of the United States. You ought "This is our bargaining tech-
to applaud whether you mean nique. it is a poor, poor ining.
it or not.
Wherry moved his hands po
litely, but Taft kept his folded.
Finally Lucas nudged Wherry
again and asked him to suggest
that Taft applaud, too. Taft ig
nored this, until Truman came
to his appeal for a national sci
ence foundation, which Taft has
but it is the best we have. Our
labor is what we have to offer.
You cannot work the mines
without men."
Then Lewis extended a cupp
ed hand and added:
"I have 400,000 miners. What
am I bid?"
However, last week when
POOR MAN'S PHILOSOPHER
Traveling Salesman Glad Rainy
Days Not in His Line of Goods
By HAL BOYLE
Baltimore (U.R) The traveling salesman stood at his hotel win
dow and looked out at Baltimore in the rain.
"Why is it all cities look alike in the rain?" he thought. "Look
out at any city when it rains, and where are you Baltimore?
St. Louis? Milwaukee? Boston? Portland? Denver? Munich or
London? Thcyppaw
this trip because it was too im
portant, you agreed right away
to go. You always do. ..."
The salesman puffed his cigar
. . . and read on:
"It's no excuse for you to say
you have to earn all the money
you can now, so you can quit
work early and we can enjoy
life. I want to live my life now,
not when I am an old woman.
Just remember that. . . ."
are all the
same."
He glanced
down at the wet
street, where
the water had
collected in
pools, making a
sodden rosary.
"And the
people," he
thought, "they
all look the
same. Rain does it to them, too,
lJLJ
Hal Borl
endorsed. At this mention, Taft Love said that Lewis had 400,-
clapped wildly. 000 miners in the palm of his
Then he turned to Lucas and hand. the mine boss said it was
remarked dryly: "I want you to an "infam"sT lie" and added or
,, . , , ,. , ... emphasis, "Mr. Love, you are a
know that I have complied with jjar jjy the clock."
your request." (copyruht isso)
British Labor Party Shies Away
From Credit to Marshall Plan
(Editor's Note: Here is another dispatch by the Washing
ton manager of the United Press, who is in Britain to cover
the general election.)
He put away the letter and
picked up the phone. Better
The salesman went back and send along some flowers, he
scribbled a note to his boss.
"Old Cradge is still with us,
Bob," he wrote. ."He gave me
thought.
"Yes, a dozen the long-stemmed
ones," he said. "And a
lot of trouble, but he finally card Wine .T
at home. See you in three days."
He hung up the phone and
thought, "maybe that'll sound
ended up by giving us his usual
order so well, I think I'll make
the other two stops you mention
ed before I pull back in."
mu.t. u i ui. t.. too mushy to her. You never can
... i, , t.,,1 , 1 tell what they'll think. But if
office happy, he knew. But about T, . . . . - . ,, ,.,
that nthr thin rtr,o iotw 1 d Just naPPy anniversary,
househouse has, for years, con-
payers' money, is that to be
ducted his own private business frowned upon? I don't think so.
very successfully. Upon taking Fact is, we like the idea of
over the reins of the state of our state affairs being piloted
Oregon, he has guided us with by a man who is such a true
equal intelligence and sound adherent of democracy,
judgment. More power to you, Governor!
If he sees fit to keep in per- Stay the way you are)
sonal touch with we, the peo- MRS. NAN LOU THOMPSON
pie, by joining us upon our gala Rt. No. 3, Riverdale Pk., Salem
MacKENZIE'S COLUMN
Landed Aristocracy in England
Has Been Fast Disappearing .
By DeWITT MacKENZIE
((A1) Porelzn Affair Analyst)
Britain's experiment in socialist government represents not
only an economic leveling off process but it involves a social re
adjustment aiming at the ultimate elimination of class distinctions.
Socialist Prime Minster Attlee made a brief and tempered ref
erence to "class society" yesterday in a speech preparing for the
coming general
By LYLE C. WILSON
London, Feb. 15 (U.R) The American dollar has become a
red hot issue in the British election.
Winston Churchill's conservatives are trying to make the la
bor party admit publicly that it would have been in trouble
except for Marshall Plan aid. The liberal party hammers away
the same.
that other thing the letter from
his wife. The salesman moodily
pulled it from his pocket and
read it again:
"John, I can't take much more
of this your going away all the
time. It was hard enough to
stand while the children were
young. But since they are going,
I just get so lonely I can't go on
this way. ..."
love' well, she might ,
The salesman left the thought
unfinished. He looked out the
window again.
"Rainy days, rainy days," ha
mused. "Thank God, I don't
have to try to sell rainy day to
people."
Across the way, in tha cornica
of a weathered building, ha saw
two pigeons hudled, feather to
at
theme.
But the labor
party hasn't
much to say
about that issue.
Its platform
does not men
tion American
aid at all. Its
campaign ora
tors don't talk
about it much,
either.
Lyle C. Wilson
more old, and not from this
campaign.
Under hammering from the
opposition, Prime Minister
Clement Atlee a few days ago
expressed pride in the Marshall
Plan and gratitude for it.
But labor campaigners do not
wish to impress upon voters at
election time the idea that any
thing other than the labor gov
ernment legislation made pos
lit a cigar and feather' out of the rain's reach
to the window 1,1 wonder," he thought, "if
election. He said
Britain's conser
vative party
still believes in:
government by
"a pri vilified!
class" but thatle
under his labor
(Socialist) gov
ernment "we:
are moving
awnv frnm trim
, . ,. DeWlll
U1U iuiii;i:Jiiuii
t A l
unavoidable imposition of heavy
income and death taxes, turned
many of the aristocracy into
wage earners.
The landed aristocracy, as
this column has pointed out be
fore, is rapidly disappearing, and
was disappearing before the So
cialists came to power almost
five years ago.
However, tha term "gentle
man" still has a very distinc-
of class society."
ence to, I take it, was the fact tive meanin8 to a large rcent'
that prior to the comparatively aKe of the aristocracy of Britain,
recent rise of "labor" to power A gentleman is born and not
in England, it was the function made- That is to say, he comes
of the aristocracy to govern. from the upper classes.
A tradesman's son, who may
This prerogative was based have acquired the same educa
partly on a subconscious theory tion as the aristocrat, is not and
of "divine right" but more prac- never can be a "gentleman",
tically on the circumstance that Obviously this is a matter of
the aristocracy was the only ed- terminology but it can be a very
ucated class. And by that same sticky one.
token of education the aristocra- To illustrate: When I was
cy was the only class which had living in England I knew an of
the franchise. It was tha widen- f ice in which two men had work
ing of the franchise, of course, ed in close contact with each
which was responsible for the other for thirty years, yet they
birth and growth of the labor, weren't on speaking terms,
or Socialist, party. Why? Well, because one was a
There has been a great change graduate of England's famous
In the social structure of Eng- and aristocratio public school of
land during the last generation. Eton while the other (and by
Curiously enough this change far the more brilliant) was edu-
has been due largely to the con- cated In an ordinary council
servative party which, by tha school.
Conservatives and liberals tell sible the social services, free
the voters the labor govern- benefits, comparatively 1 o w
ment's socialist program would Prices, food subsidies and full
have been swamped by unem- employment which generally are
ployment, sub-marginal diet and Popular with the British people,
economic stagnation but for aid Between them the conserva-
from overseas. 'lves and liberals are making
What they demand is that Sl,Ma?h11J ""U V"6
labor's leaders frankly acknow- . fod and employment
ledge the effect of American c """
aid and, more important, ex
plain how the will prevent
economic disaster when the
Marshall Plan ends in 1952 So
far labor hasn't answered that
British campaign platforms
are called manifestoes. The lib
eral party manifesto for the na
tional election on February 23
says:
'The generous help we have
received from our common
wealth partners and the United
States has helped us immeasur
ably, but it will not long con
tinue. "We are living beyond our
means. Unless we practice
thrift and get full production,
lower rations and mass unem
ployment are inescapable when
American aid ends.'1
Churchill is slugging harder
than that He told American
authorities during the war that
when peace came Great Britain
would be bankrupt. He holds
now that only American aid
prevented bankruptcy and en
abled labor to carry on its so
cialist program.
The conservative party cam
paign guide quotes half a dozen
big shot laborites on how the
Marshall Plan saved Great Brit
ain from disastrous unemploy
ment and Industrial decline. But
tha quotations all are a year or
The salesman
went restlesslv
and looked out at the rain for a homing pigeons still have to go
while. Then he came back and on delivering messages after
read some more from the letter: they've finished raising their
"You keep saying I'm your youn8-
whole life now, but I think your The salesman turned away,
job is your whole life, and al- "r11 he if they do, their wiveg
ways has been. You knew our don't understand why," ha said
anniversary was coming up, and ou' loud.
how I feel about anniversaries. And he began to pack his grip.
But when Bob said 'he didn't Pittsburgh tomorrow. Rain or
want to send a younger man on shine.
Life in Socialist Britain
London, Feb. 15 (if) Life among tha upper classes In so
cialist Britain:
"Wanted," said an advertisement in the personal column
of today's Times, "a West end (Mayfair) resident who will
house eminently presentable grass-widower in spacious luxury
for six months. No bother; social asset; very little cash.
Write Box A-1188."
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