THE WEATHER HERE
MOSTLY CLOUDY with show
ers tonight and Sunday Little
change in temperature. Low to
night, 38; high Sunday 53.
Maximum yesterday, SSt minimum today,
41. Total 2-hour precipitation: .14; (or
month: S.1S; normal, .17. Scaion precipi
tation, 3S.09; normal, 29.62. River height,
12.4 leet. (Report 07 U.S. Weather Bu-reao.)
Capital.
HOME
EDITION
11 11 11 Uh-IL 11
V ..rt " - - .
62nd Year, No. 66
Cntered tvi second cIkm
mitli; kt SftlMB. Ore on
Salem, Oregon, Saturday, Mc.cn 18, 1950
Price 5c
Civil Defense
Belgium's
Government
Collapses
Crew of Tender
Against Atoms
Elder Rescued
field Needless
4 J
Yvelle Madsen
Draws 15-Year
Prison Term
22-Year Old Mother
Found Guilty -of
Killing Husband
Frankfurt, Germany, March
18 (pi Mrs. Yvette Madsen of
Brooklyn was convicted today of
mt rdering her air force husband
and was sentenced to 15 years
imprisonment.
The beautiful, 22-year-old
mother of two stood pale but
erect as a three-judge Ameri
N can occupation court handed
jiown its verdict, finding her
guilty of the deliberate "treach
erous" murder of Lt. Andrew .
Madsen of Oakland, Calif., after
a gay party last Oct. 20.
Insanity Flea Rejected
The court rejected a defense
plea that Mrs. Madsen was tem
porarily insane at the time.
The prosecution contended
that her husband was slain as
the climax of an argument with
another officer at the party on
the relative merits of the south
ern drawl vs Mrs. Madsen's
Brooklyn accent.
The court reached its decis
ion after 24 hours of delibera
tion. The trial lasted seven days
and was marked by several emo
tional outbursts on the part of
Mrs. Madsen, during one of
which she screamed:
"Hang me if you want. Hang
me. I don't care. But make him
stop."
She was referring to the tes
timony of a defense witness, Dr,
Karl Kleist, a German psychia
trist, who testified she had a
psychopathic personality and
was under a delusion of per
secution the night she shot her
husband.
Defendant Pale
Mrs. Madsen stood pale but
erect to hear the verdict, then
slumped slowly into her seat
with her dark eyes closed but
stilt conscious,
She took the verdict with
much more calm than she had
shown throughout her trial.
Mrs. Madsen was tried under
German law, which in West
Germany has abolished the
death penalty.
Mrs. Madsen's father, Alfred
Noack, a Brooklyn carpenter,
had told the court she was an
incorrigible juvenile delinquent.
A German psychiatrist said in
her defense that she is emotion
ally unstable. The young ma
tron's trial was interrupted re
peatedly by her violent protests
against this testimony in her de-
fense. Her defense attorney, El
mo Gower of Cumberland, Md.,
declared that her plea of insan
ity was entered over her pro
test.
Loses Purse at
Rummage Sale
Was it a purloined purse or
rummage riches?
That was the question which
bothered Salem police Saturday
as they thumbed through a re
port from Flonnie Hendricks,
702 Nort Church street, who re
ported that her purse had been
stolen.
Her account said that she had
visited a rummage sale, momen
tarily laid down her purse, and
then found it missing.
It could have been stolen, but
anything can happen at a rum
mage sale. The purse contained
$18 in currency in addition to
small change.
Fire in Home Near
Mill City Controlled
Mill City A fire in the John
D. Myer residence, three miles
west of Mill City Friday fore
noon was brought under control
by the Mill City fire department
after 45 minutes of effort. The
fire is believed to have started
from defective wirign.
Mr. and Mrs. Myer and their
three children were absent from
the house at the time. Myer is
a logger employed by Elmer
Klutke.
John L. McNab Dies
San Francisco, March 18 (U.R)
John L. McNab. who nominated
Herbert Hoover for president in
1928, died in a hospital here last
night. He was 77. McNab a law
yer, farmer, and civic leader,
died at 10:20 p.m. of a cardial
f vascular disease. He had entered
the hospital last week.
Solon Asserts
Program Now
Confusing to Public
Washington, March 18 (P)
Senator Edwin C. Johnson (D.
Colo.) said today a vast civil de
fense organization against atomic
attack is not only unnecessary
at this time but might even
prove harmful.
The Colorado senator, a mem
ber of the senate-house atomic
energy committee, spoke out
against "needless alarm and
waste" at a time when there is
no immediate threat of war.
He told a reporter the govern
ment should work out detailed
civil defense plans and a pro
gram should be ready for oper
ation "whenever there is real
danger."
Program Confusing
But he insisted such a program
at this time would only confuse
the public and give cities a false
sense of security.
Senator Knowland (R., Calif.)
said, however, that the atomic
energy commission must find
way to take state and municipal
officials into their confidence by
giving them information for ef
fective defense organizations.
This could be done without
disclosing vital security infor
mation, Knowland argued, and
at the same time give cities
a chance to prepare themselves
against attack.
(Concluded on Page 5, Column S)
Wintry Blasts
Over Large Area
(By the Associated Press)
Wintry weather dispelled all
thoughts of an early spring ar
rival over wide areas of the mid
west and east today.
Brisk March winds whipped
freshly fallen snow in sections
from Wyoming to the New Eng
land states from the north cen
tral region to the north Atlantic
seaboard. The chilly air touch
ed into Kansas, Missouri and
Kentucky.
In Washington, the U.S. wea
ther bureau said the outlook for
the next 30 days indicates below
normal temperatures over the
eastern two-thirds of the nation.
The other two-thirds of the coun
try will have "not far from nor
mal" temperatures, the bureau
said in its latest experimental
"monthly outlook."
Snow fell today over the lower
Great Lakes region, the northern
Apalachians and most of the
New England states. There also
was snow over most of Montana,
Wyoming and the western Da
kota: and falls were in prospect
for many north central states.
The mercury dropped to six
below zero at Pembina, N.D.,
one of the country's coldest spots.
Sub-freezing marks were report
ed over most of the midwest and
New England. '
; , . l)i miA
Painful Moment Expressions on the faces of these Salem
high rooters tell the story of the hard fought semi-final
game between the Vikings and Corvallis. At the moment this
shot was made, Corvallis stepped in front, but the final score,
Salem 33, Corvallis 26, brought relief for the fans and the
team as well.
Vikings Vie for Seventh
State Basketball Crown
Eugene, March 18 (Special) The Salem Vikings, shooting for
their seventh Class A basketball championship, meet the Grants
Pass Cavemen at 8:45 for the title.
The Vikings reached the 1950 finals by downing Scappoose,
Jefferson of Portland, and Corvallis. Although the Salem crew
was crippled in the first contest
by the virtual absence of Jim
Census Answers
Confidential
Key West, Fla., March 18 P)
President Truman assured all
Americans today they need have
no fear" of disclosure of con
fidential information as he set
machinery going for taking the
1950 census.
Taking cognizance of some
criticism of questions dealing
with incomes of individuals, the
president declared that heavy
penalties are provided against
census bureau employes who
disclose answers to confidential
questions.
In a proclamation calling for
the start of census taking April
1. Mr. Truman asserted:
"No person can be harmed in
any way by furnishing the in
formation required.
"Individual information col
lected under . . . the census
will not be used for purposes
of taxation, investigation or reg
ulation, or in connection with
military or jury service. The
compulsion of school attendance,
the regulation of immigration, or
with the enforcement of any na
tional, state, or local law, or
ordinance."
Crommelin to Broadcast
Captain John G. Crommeline
will be on the air in a broadcast
over the Mutual Broadcasting
System from 4:30 to 4:45 Satur
day afternoon. It will be heard
over Station KSLM.
Rock, potent Vik forward, it
managed to squeeze past the
opener.
The semi-final Friday saw
the Corvallis Spartans toss a
control ball game at the Vikings
along with a stiff zone defense.
Although the Spart tactics held
down scoring, the Viks showed
they were equally efficient in
slow motion as Well as their
customary fast break style
In the payoff game Saturday
night, the Viks will be meeting
a fact-moving team, but the Sa
lems will have a height advan
tage as well as their own speed
to utilize.
Coach Harold Hauk is expect
ed to start his regular quintet:
Captain Daryl Girod and Larry
Chamberlain at guard, Jim Rock
and Doug Rogers at forward and
Layton Gilson at center.
The Grants Pass Cavemen.
coached by Hank Anderson of
University of Oregon fame, are
a mixture of juniors and sen
iors. Nine of the 14 players who
went through the regular sea
son with a record of 20 wins
in 21 starts against high school
competition, are six footers or
better.
(Concluded on Pare 5. Column 6)
7 Little Indians
Headed Home
Truman Refuses
Call to Stalin
Key West, Fla., March 18 UP)
President Truman didn't accept
a long distance telephone call
today the New York Duncan-
Paris American Legion post
tried to arrange to get him in
contact with Premier Stalin,
Presidential Secretary Charles
G. Ross said.
Ross disclosed yesterday that
the president would ignore the
proposed telephone peace talk
after 'American Legion head
quarters denounced the Duncan
Paris post as "discredited "
Later Ross told reporters a
member of the Duncan-Paris
post made an effort to put
through a call from New York
at 1:30 p.m. (EST).
The caller, Ross said was in
formed no one cared to take
the .call and to please discon
tinue efforts to put it through.
Letters of Revolutionary
War Period Missing
Boston, March 18 W) Invaluable letters and documents re
counting the Revolutionary War period are missing from the
archives in the Massachusetts State House.
Among the papers missing are letters signed by George Wash
ington, John Adams, Paul Revere, Benjamin Franklin, Benedict
Arnold and Peter Stuyvesant
Theft of the letters and doc
uments over a period of years
was disclosed last night by the
Massachusetts attorney general's
office.
A list of 43 of "the more im
portant and valuable documents"
was released, but a spokesman
said the actual number missing
is not known.
Among them are 17 letters by
George Washington, while he
served as commander-in-chief of
American forces in the Revolu
tionary war.
One, dated February 26, 1776,
outlined his plans to the Massa
chusetts council for fortifying
Dorchester Heights overlooking
Boston harbor.
His emplacement of artillery
at that site resulted in the Brit
ish evacuation of Boston 174
years ago yesterday.
In other letters, he requested
from Gov. Hancock of Massa
chusetts troops, clothing and
rum.
Attorney General Francis E
Kelly informed rate book deal
ers in a letter dated February
27 that "some or all" of the
documents "may have been
taken from the archieves by a
former employe."
Kelly added in the letter that
investigation disclosed "that this
former employe either sold or
offered some or all of the docu
ments for sale to dealers in
rare books and documents."
How much would the docu
ments earn for a thief?
Probably very little, accord
ing to leading librarians.
Professor Keyes Metcalf, di
rector of Harvard University li
brary, said the stolen papers
would bring a thief "only about
10 per cent" of the price a re
putable dealer would charge.
Metcalf said Washington's let
ters might be "quite valuable,"
but he hesitated to place a value
without seeing them.
Stanley Pargellis, director of
Chicago's famed Newberry li
brary, said an "ordinary" Wash
ington letter is worth $800
Some letters with special his
torical interest, he added, would
be valued at more than $1,000
Dealers in historical docu-
Seven little Indians, involved
in a car theft and police chase
in Salem, were headed back to
their reservation at Toppenish,
Wash., Saturday in custody of an
agent from the department of the
interior.
Juvenile court released the
four boys and three girls to the
federal agent for return to Wash
ington. The group, which had come to
Salem to visit friends at t h e
Chemawa school was riding in
a stolen car which was spotted
by state police. They were with
two Chemawa students at that
time.
Although eight of the group
fled despite shots from the state
police officer, the ninth, found
in the car, provided information
which led to rounding up the
group.
H. J. Cox to Head
Morse Committee
Protection of
Fish Runs Urged
Dr. David B. Charlton, slate
division president of the Izaak
Walton League of America, em
phasized the importance of the
protection of migratory fish
runs, during the quarterly meet
ing of the executive committee
of the league held in Salem Sat
urday. "While we are not antagonis
tic to dams designed to permit
free passage of migratory fish,
we are unalterably opposed to
high dams, such as the one pro
posed for the Rogue river " said
Dr. Charlton.
The Izaak Waltons favor the
construction of upper Columbia
dams that will not materially re
duce the salmon and steelhead
runs but are opposed to obstruc
tions in the lower Snake. Dr.
Charlton said there was a need
for further study of the situa
tion on the lower Snake
Nation Split Apart
Over Return of
King Leopold III
Brussels, March 18 VP) Bel
gium's coalition government col
lapsed today in a dramatic dem
onstration of how badly this
nation is split over whether ex
iled King Leopold III should be
returned to his throne.
Premier Gaston Eyskens' cab
inet made up of eight liberals
and nine members of his own So
cial Christian (Catholic) party-
quit after the liberal- members
refused to support a move to re
call the monarch from Switzer
land and resigned.
A spokesman for Eyskens. who
has been premier since last Au
gust, immediately announced
that, because of this, the govern
ment s resignation would be pre
sented to Prince Charles, the
ruling regent.
Charles is a brother of Leo
pold and the next step in the
crisis is up to him. He will have
to try to find a new premier to
form a cabinet for the purpose
of handling the question of Leo
pold's future, which can only be
settled by parliament. Parlia
ment can be summoned into ses
sion only by a responsible cab
inet.
King Has No Comment
Parliament's legal responsibil
ity arises out of a law of July,
1945, which says the king can
be returned only by a majority
vote of that body. The king
himself won 57.68 percent of the
vote in an advisory referendum
last Sunday and Thursday he
said he thought it was up to par
liament to act without further
delay. He said he would abdi
cate if parliament refused, in
vote, to recall him. That would
make his son, Baudoin, 19, king.
In Switzerland today there was
no immediate comment from
(he king concerning the cabinet's
fall.
(Concluded on Paye 5. Column 6)
. .v. Ik "S. 1
Runaway Peter Able, 10,
is able to smile about a bath
after his first outing in nearly
three years A rheumatic fe
ver victim, Peter has been con
fined to his San Francisco
home with three sisters, his
mother, a woman boarder and
woman housekeeper. Tired of
all the" femininity, he set out
on his own in search of "some
fellows to play with." He was
returned by police. (Acme
Telephoto)
River to Crest
At Mark of 17
Eugene, March 18 (P) H. J.
Herb" Cox, widely known in
the Oregon lumber industry, res
ident of Eugene, will be the
chairman of the statewide cam
paign for the re-election of
Wayne L. Morse to the United
States senate.
"Cox is a close personal friend
of mine and for many years has
been very active in the republi
can party in Oregon," Morsel Dr. Erb Dies
Youth Who Robbed
Own Father in Jail
Cleveland, O., March 18 U.R1
Arthur Dunlap, Jr., 19, who rob
bed his own father at gunpoint
Wednesday night, sat in a jail
cell today and snapped, "I'm
no sorry I robbed him. I never
liked him."
The husky youth surrendered
late yesterday after spending the
$55 he stole by pointing a gun
in his father's face.
"My father begrudged me ev
ery cent he ever gave me," the
youth said. "I don't mind beat
ing him out of the money, but
maybe the way I did it was
wrong."
Dan Cooper, 7, Hurt
When Struck by Car
Dan Cooper, 7, of 407 North
22nd street, was bruised in an
accident when he was struck by
a car in the street near his home
while riding a bicycle Friday.
The driver of the car was
Ruben Clarence Paschkc of Rt
8. A witness told investigating
officers that the youngster had
ridden his bicycle in front of
the car.
The muddy Willamette, roiled
by rains of the week, was up to
12.4 feet at the Salem station,
Saturday morning, with indica
tions the crest of the newest
high water wave through the
valley would bring the river to
17 feel here by late Sunday.
Flood stage at Salem is 20 feet.
At Jefferson, the Santiam
zoomed up to 15.7 feet early
Saturday morning, but drop
to 14.5 feet by 7 a. m. How
the Portland weather bureau
predicting the continued l.
would bring up the Santiam
there again Sunday to 15.7 feet
or slightly higher. Flood stage
there is 13 feet but little damage
is caused in that area by over
flow of two or three feet above
flood level.
On the upper Willamette the
weather bureau stated reports
from Eugene revealed the river
started falling there Saturday
morning after advancing several
feet. Some flooding is expected
at Harrisburg, however.
Continued cloudiness and
showers, and mild temperatures
are due for the weekend here.
Survivors Tell
About Suspense
Pearl Harbor, March 17 VP)
Exhausted survivors of the shat
tered navy tender USS Elder to
night described seven days of
anxious suspenseful waiting for
rescue adrift on a life boat in
the shark infested mid-Pacific.
In a radiophone interview with
Pearl Harbor from the rescue
ship Comstock, they told of the
heroism of 14 men who stayed
aboard the fiery tender.
The first thing the survivors
asked when they were picked
up was "fresh water plenty of
it."
Chief Boatswain's Mate Mor
gan A. Tidwell, 31, senior rank
ing survivor, said:
"We sighted two transport
planes yesterday and then about
noon today we saw these four
big patrol planes. We knew
then that at last a rescue party
was on the way."
Tidwell said "We had plenty
if water." But some .of it was
slightly salty because "some of
the beakers started to leak."
Asked if they saw sharks, he
replied, "We saw plenty of
sharks, but nothing special hap
pened." A difficult radio signal pre
vented getting clear why all 26
were aboard one raft when they
were picked up.
Asked why the 26 left the
Elder, Tidwell said "we were or
dered to."
The men who stayed aboard
e Elder were fighting the fire
id still jettisoning ammunition
.he last they saw of them.
"They couldn't go intolhe en
gine room. It was too hot
Tidwell said.
By Navymen
Transport Passed up
Vessel Despite
Frantic Signals
Pearl Harbor. March 18 W)
The entire ere w 40 men of
the net tender Elder were saved
yesterday in a double-feature
navy rescue near the United
States atomic testing area in
mid-Pacific.
Twenty-six of the little 163-
foot ship's crew were picked up
in the afternoon from a life
boat and two rafts lashed to
gether. They had been adrift in
shark-infested waters for a
week.
The other 14 crewmen were
reached last night, still manning
the fire-blackened, explosion
wracked Elder. They refused to
leave their helpless ship which
had five feet of water in her en
gine room.
Mystery Cleared
The twin rescue cleared up
the mystery of what happened
to the Elder since she last re
ported March 7 on a 2600-mile
voyage from Hawaii to Eniwe
tok, scene of forthcoming ato
mic experiments.
But still unanswered today
was how the military transport
Gen. A. W. Brewster passed up
the net tender after sighting her
Monday. The Elder's skipper
said his ship signalled the
Brewster "with everything we
had aboard except our three-
inch gun." They couldn't fire
that, he said, because all the
three-inch am munition was
thrown over board to keep the
fire from getting to it
The Brewster failed to spot.
also on Monday, the 26 Elder
crewmen who were ordered to
abandon ship March 10. the day
the fire broke out. They finally
were picked up by the dock
landing ship Comstock at 3:15
p.m. (8:15 p.m. EST) yesterday.
All climbed aboard unaided.
The Elder's skipper, Lt Wil
liam F. Adams of Wilmar Calif-
said he believed the fire was
started by a faulty diesel injec
tion system recently repaired at
Pearl Harbor.
Flames swept up from the en
gine room, he said, and the hat
ches and the stack caught afire.
The fire was controlled in three
hours but it was three days lat
er before the blaze finally burn
ed itself out.
(Concluded on Pace 5, Column 5)
Irrigation Pays Off
Portland, March 18 (P)
Bankers and farmers both bene
fit from loans for irrigation and
drainage work, speakers said
here yesterday at an agricultural
conference of the Oregon Bank
ers association. State Sen Tru
man Chase of Lane county as
serted he paid for an irrigation
system on his 40-acre farm in a
single year through increased
yield.
said "I feel that his acceptance
is a distinct personal compli
ment and will bring to my cam
paign statewide confidence in
the fight I am making in the
ments said any thief would have senate for a forward looking re
trouble disposing of such loot publican program."
Eugene, March 18 (Pi Dr
John Lawrence Erb, father of
the late Dr . Donald M. Erb,
former University of Oregon
president, died Friday at a local
hospital. He had been ill for
sometime.
One Killed in
Downtown Blast
Statesboro, Ga., March 18 (U.R)
An explosion and fire demol
ished or damage every building
in a 350-foot block of downtown
Statesboro today. One person
was filled and two were injured.
The blast, which resulted in
estimated damages of $250,000,
was caused when an unsuspect
ing store worker struck a match
that ignited fumes of escaping
gas in the building.
It happened at 7:25 a.m. EST.
The early hour was the only
thing that prevented a major dis
aster in this southeast Georgia
tobacco market center 50 miles
west-northwest of Savannah.
-Two hours later the business sec-
lion would have been crowded
with Saturday shoppers.
An unidentified Negro was
killed.
Roosevelt Papers Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt receives
from Wayne C. Grover, archivist of the United States, the
first box of papers of her late husband that were opened to
the public at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial Library in
Hyde Park, N. Y. The five million pages of papers cover all
of the late president's life from an announcement message
written by his father a few minutes after his birth to what
are believed to be the last words he wrote "Let us go for
ward with strong and active faith." (Acme Telephoto)
Three-Year-Old
Has Full Set of
False Clackers
Milwaukee, March 18 (U.R)
Three-year-old Ronald Adamiak
proudly sporting a full new
set of false teeth was the envy
of all his playmates today.
"That's one of our biggest
problems," said staff dentists at
Marquette university where Ron
ald with fitted with his new
upper and lower plates yester
day. "All the kids want to try
cm on."
Ronald had strict orders from
his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Sig
mund Adamiak, not to remove
the dentures under any conditions.
Drs. Carlin Hayes and John M.
Frankel, who made the plates,
said Ronald was the youngest
child ever to be fitted with a full
Ct.
His own baby teeth were de
cayed, they said, and had to be
removed.
The dentures will enable Ron
ald to eat, learn to speak cor
rectly and permit his second
teeth to grow in properly.