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About Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1919-1980 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 1952)
Capital A Journal j;1 THE WEATHER PARTLY CLOUDY tonight and Friday, little change in temper ature. Low tonight It high Friday, 13. . Salem, Oregon, Thursday, February 21, 1952 w8-Mn. price 5c 64th Year, No. 45 Entered u if cond diu matter t Sftlem. Oitcon HST Defends Aides in Talk Before Masons In Off-rhe-Cuff Talk . Cites Abuses Hurled At Other Presidents Washington (U.F9 President Truman told a Masonic gather ins; Thursday that he works all day and nearly all night as Pres ident, "but Just between you and me and the gatepost, I like it." The President confided this attitude in an off-the-cuff talk to Grand Masters of Masons at' tending a nation-wide confer-Vence. P Cabinet members and White House staff representatives also attended the hotel breakfast at which Truman defended his aides against the description of "Missouri Gang," which he said has been given them by his op ponents. Cites Other Presidents He noted that Lincoln, Jef lerson, Cleveland and other pres idents underwent a lot of criti cism and that it was some years after Cleveland left office that it was said of him "they loved him for the enemies he made." "I hope you love me for that same reason," the President said. Truman did not' identify the "they" in the remark about Cleveland. He went on to say that if he mums uca jijgiib .ill wuafc lie does, "I don t care if anyone likes It or not." Turning to the criticism of past presidents, Truman said: 1. It has taken 150 years to determine the greatness of Washington. 2. Thomas Jefferson was once described as a "Jacobin" which Truman said, is about the same as being called a communist today. 3. Two papers the New York Tribune and Chicago Tribune In rdflronrp in T.lnmln'a RdHrt. Cburg address said "the president also spoke and made the usual ass of himself. ' .:- This, of course, was not true, Truman said. . $3 Million in Wages Paid. No Work Done Laborers in Secret North Pole Airbase Got $13,000 a year Washington W) A Senate in vestigation heard Thursday that workers on a super-secret air base construction program near the North Pole collected more than three million dollars In wages before even reaching the Job. Lt. .Gen. Lewis A. Pick, chief of Army Engineers, defended these payments as well as sal aries at a rate of $13,000 a year for laborers and $17,000 a year for mechanics on the project, Drew Salary Enroute Questions by Downey Rice, counsel for the committee which was set up as a watchdog group on military spending brought out the salary figures, Rice did not indicate how many workers shared the three million dollars, but said they drew the pay while en route to the Job by ship and airplane. He said some of them left Norfolk, Va.f-by ship, expecting to be at the job in IS days but actually were 42 days on the way. Blue Jay Project The project was known by the code name of "Blue Jay" pre viously publicized as being in Greenland. Rice said this project and an other air base construction job in North Africa, known 'by the code name of "Atlas", already involved expenditures of about 100 million dollars. New Snow Hits Eastern States IB Unttad Preu) . New snow hit the Midwest and New England today before residents had time to dig out of paralyzing snow dumped by storms earlier this week. Sixty deaths were attributed to the storms which began Monday. Snow plow teams worked around the clock to rescue per sons marooned by drifts deeper than four feet in some areas as the new storms bore down, Fresh snow whipped by 30 mile - an - hour winds reached southern New England early to day and began to spread north east toward where 13 seamen stubbornly stayed aboard the stern of their torn tanker, the Fort Mercer, off Massachusetts shores. The Fort Mercer and another tanker, the Pendleton, were split in two by mountainous waves churned by Monday's nor'easter. Fourteen seamen were lost in the double disaster. .- New light snows added an other two inches to 29 - inch r depths left by the blizzard that swept across the Dakotas Chains Needed In Mountains Chains are needed in all mountain areas of Oregon and many other roads are icy, the State Highway Commission said Thursday. The road report said chains are needed because of packed snow at these points: Government Camp, Timber- line, Warm Springs Junction, Ochoco, Santiam Pass, Lapine, Willamette Pass, Meacham, John Day and Seneca. Icy spots were reported at Portland, Troutdale, Wilson Rl ver Summit, Astoria, Newport, Salmon River Summit, Eugene, Cave Junction, Union Creek, Sisklyous, Coquille, The Dalles, Bend, Detroit, Chemult, Lake view and Pendleton. All other points reported the pavement either bare or sanded Paratroopers Mass Hong Kong VP) The Hong Kong newspaper Wah Klu Yat Po said Thursday 4,000 newly trained paratroopers h a v joined 290,000 other Red Chi nese troops massed near the Indo-China and Burma. borders Truman Made No Secret Pact Washington (U.I!) House re publicans said today they are satisfied with President Tru man's assurance that he has made no secret agreements with Britain to send additional Amer ican troops anywhere in the world. But administration officials and democratic leaders said it was too bad the president was compelled by circumstances to reveal a fact which may be of great interest to Russia. Mr. Truman made the no-com mitments statement late yester day, shortly after the house passed a GOP resolution de manding a full report on any se cret deals made at his meetings with Prime Minister Winston Churchill last month. Officials said he spoke out even though the resolution was not binding on him because he feared continued silence might deepen the suspicion that he had something to hide. That suspicion has been har bored by some congressional re publicans ever since the Churchill visit. Mystery Explosion Mystifies Portland Portland VP) A thundering noise alarmed . southwest Port land and outlying suburbs Wed nesday night. The cause still had not been determined Thursday, Some residents at first be lleved a jet plane had crashed, but this proved false. Some thought a meteor had passed over, but no reports of one came from other areas. A weather observer said it may simply have been a freak crash of thunder. Hail, which usually accompanies thunder, was reported in a few sections. M ! I r LUSCIOUS LIZ London (IP) Movie Stars Eli zabeth Taylor and Michael Wil ding were- married shortly be fore noon Thursday in the midst of a lively mob scene. The 19-year-old bride and her 39-year-old groom, arriving sep arately, slipped almost unnotic ed into the Caxton registry hall through a side door but a crowd of hundreds descended upon them as they emerged after the 10-minute civil ceremony. Elizabeth radiated happiness as she was jostled by hundreds of persons in the corridors of the hall and in Caxton street outside. Seemingly the cooler of the two, she recognized friends in the milling crowd and shout ed greetings to them. Only about a dozen persons saw the ceremony, which was the second marriage for both Liz and Wilding. Coy Resigns as FCC Chairman Washington (IP) Wayne Coy resigned Thursday as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Coy told reporters he was quitting because he could not afford the personal sacrifice of continuing in the $15,000 a year job. Coy added that he had asked President Truman to relieve him of his post so that "I can ne gotiate for a job in private industry." The FCC supervises opera tions of the radio and television industry among other duties, Coy, 48, was named chairman of the commission in December, 1947. He left a job as assistant publisher of the Washington Post and as manager of radio station WINX, to become a mem ber of the FCC. Petitions bearing names of 1,068 registered republican vot ers to place the name of Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower on the primary ballot as a candidate for president were filed Thurs day with Dave O'Hara, in charge of the state election bu reau. Sales Tax Bill Filed For Old Age Pensions A preliminary initiative peti tion for a 2 per cent sales tax to be used for old age pensions was filed with the Oregon State De partment Thursday. The measure would provide for minimum monthly pensions of $75. It was filed by Elmer E. Row- ton, Otis, and Verna L, Schorn Toledo. If the sponsors get 26,2K sig natures, the measure would be on the November election ballot. Blame for Tax Scandals Plated Upon Politicians San Francisco VP) The King congressional s u b c o mmittee ended its San Francisco hear ings with a blast at politically appointed internal revenue officials. It said rank and file employes "have done a good, honest job." A statement by Chairman King (D., Calif.) blamed the local internal revenue scandal on "incompetent" political appoint ees of King's own party "pro tected by ... on inept top ad ministration in Washington." It urged an end to political lppontments in the revenue ervlte. Two republican committee members who stayed for Wed nesday's windup of the 16-day hearings, Reps. Robert W. Kean (N.J.) . and John' W, Byrnes (Wis.), concurred in King' strongly-worded statement. The statement sa'd the San Francisco internal revenue of fice was "badly administered" prior to September 27, 1951 That day, Collector James G Symth and five top assistants, all democrats, were suspended on orders from Washington They later were fired. "Control . . . had fallen into the hands of a top. echelon of political appointees whose chief falling was their gross incom petence, ' the statement said. Eisenhower Becomes Oregon Candidate General Dwighi D. Eisenhower became a candidate in the Oregon republican primaries for the presidency of the United States when his petitions were filed Thursday at the State House. The peti tions bearing 1068 names, more than necessary, were filed by Mark Hatfield, left, secretary of the Oregon-for-Eisen-hower committee, who was accompanied by W. L. Phillips of Salem, state chairman of the committee, shown at right. In center at desk is David O'Hara, supervisor of the elec tions division of the state department. Petitions Filed Placing Ike on GOP Ballot By JAMES D. OLSON French of Texas To HeadWSC Spokane VP) Dr. C. Clement French, vice president of Texas A&M Thursday accepted the $18,000 a year job as president of Washington State College. French will succeed Dr. Wil son Compton who resigned last spring after disagreements with the Board of Regents. James McCluskey, chairman of the WSC Regents, announced French's acceptance and said he was selected from a list of more than 230 candidates. French, 50, holds a Master of Science and Doctor of Philoso phy degree from the University of Pennsylvania and was a che mistry professor there for eight years. He was a member of the fac ulty of Randolph-Macon Wom en's College in Virginia before becoming vice president of Vir ginia Polytechnic Institute in 1949. French resigned as vice presi dent of Texas A&M, a post he has held since 1950, to accept the WSC job after a meeting with McCluskey in Chicago last week. Churchill's Free Rides Upheld London Prime Minister Churchill stoutly denies he did wrong by accepting free rides on steamships and trains dur ing his January visit to the Unit ed States and Canada. He said Wednesday in the House of Commons, "the gifts and services of the Cunard Steamship company, as well as those of the United States and Canadian Railways, were not to ministers but to the British tax payers." 'Conservative support ers backed him up with loud cheers. He was hitting back at opposl tlon charges that he failed in his duty by "the acceptance of gifts from commercial under takings." Laborite Col. G. E. C. Wlgg had said that Churchill should have declined free trips. The value of the boat rides given Churchill and Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden was 1,752 pounds ($4,905). The train trips cost considerably less. Weather Details Matlnam Teatara'ar. 4ft: mlnlmam la. day, 19. Talal S4-hear pmlpllatlant J4M far manthi S.M; narmal, S.64. Staaen pra- elIUtln. S4.41I narmal, Sfl.SS. Rlrar haltht, S.6 faat. (Raport br U.S. Weathar BaraaH.) The petitions were presented to O'Hara by William L. Phil lips, chairman and Rep. Mark Hatfield, executive secretary of the Oregon for Eisenhower com mittee. Names on the petitions were gathered in 16 Oregon counties. The filing Thursday was made at the request of Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., Massachusettes re publican and manager of the Eis enhower for president campaign Hatfield said that only a min imum number of names requir ed were filed now and later sup plementarv petitions bearing names-irorh virtually every com munity in the state will be filed in behalf of the general. 'It seems probable that Gen eral Eisenhower will return to this country before the conven tion" the committee said in a statement issued at the time of the filing. 'The sincere and personal sup port Gen. Eisenhower has with the rank and file of Oregon vot ers does not depend, however, upon his return for a political campaign" the statement contin ued. "It rests upon the charac ter of inspired and magnetic leadership he has already dem onstrated in service to our country." (Concluded on Pare 5, Column 4) Green Lights lor New Buildings Washington VP) The Nation al Production Authority Thurs day approved a start on con struction on 645 churches, fire stations, orphanages and com munity buildings with materials to be made available in the ninth month following July 1. The go-ahead, lt was under stood, applies to virtually the en tire list of pending applications for public welfare and safety projects in all parts of the coun try. The total estimated cost is more than 200 million dollars. Details as to the specific pro ects approved and their location will not be announced until after all the building authorizations and the allotments have been issued. NATO Calls for 60 Divisions By Year's End 14 Foreign Ministers State Problem Forced By Russian Policies Lisbon, Portugal VP) The 14 Atlantic foreign ministers met behind closed doors Thursday for an up-to-the-moment study of the Russian problem. A spokesman said U.S. Secre tary of State Acheson and his colleagues heard . and thrashed over top-level reports on the Soviet Union and its latest poli cies toward the free world. French Foreign Minister Rob ert Schuman told the closed door session about the situation in Indo-China. Problems of the Middle East, including Egypt, were gone over. Call for Big Force Earlier, Allied defense minis ters in less than an hour ap proved a military committee re port calling for 50 to 60 divi sions to be in the field by the end of 1952. The report now goes to the council. There the full-dress as sembly of foreign, finance and defense ministers must settle a conflict between the allied chiefs of staff and W. Averell Harri- man's temporary council mittee. The committee says the 1954 target of 100 divisions on active duty or in immediate reserve must be scaled down 12 per cent because the European eco nomies cannot afford the full goal. Japanese Reds Riot Over U.S. Colonization Tokyo, Friday (IP) Thou sands of Japanese communists and sympathizers rioted in Tokyo Thursday in a demon stration against "colonization" of Japan by the United States. At least 14 Japanese police men were injured in stone throwing and tear gas melees before order was restored. An etsimated 11,300 police patrolled the city to prevent further trouble. Other demonstrations were reported in Yokohama, the big industrial city of Osaka, Nagoya and elsewhere. The Japanese communists, ir their most open postwar dem onstration of violence,, had set Thursday as "anti-colonization of-Japan day." Even before the demonstra tions subsided, the Peiping radio was reporting that Chi nese communist youth had sent 'messages of solidarity" to the "Japanese Youth Federation' for its "struggle against colonialism." 2676 Soldiers Land, Seattle Seattle VP) The Navy trans port Marine Adder arrived here Thursday from the Far East af ter being, slowed two days by rough weather in the North Pa cific. It brought 2,676 homeward-bound Army rotation troops. It raised to 86,472 the total of men' returned through the Se attle Port of Embarkation under the Army's rotation plan. Another ship, the Hugh J. Gaf- fey, is due Friday with 817 pas sengers. It is filling what is oft times labeled a "diaper ship" role, carrying 316 military de pendents. It also has 499 mem bers of the Armed Forces aboard. Nunan Resigns From Law Firm New York VP) Joseph D. Nu nan, Jr., former commissioner of Internal revenue, has resigned from his Washington, D, C, law firm because of the criticism di rected at him in tax case probes. Nunan's New York counsel, Richard J. Burke, announced the resignation Wednesday. The action was attributed to fear that Nunan's partners might "suffer unjustifiable harm temporarily through his continued association with them." Burke said Nunan "has been subjected to the most vicious character assassination and un founded villification, rumor and innuendo. . Lakeview Wants To Join Nevada Reno VP) Some Lakeview, Ore., residents want to secede from Oregon and put their town under Nevada jurisdiction, a Nevada assemblyman said here Wednesday. Don Crawford of Vya, an as semblyman who long has advo cated that Nevada take over the eastern slope of the Sierras in northeastern California, said five Lakeview residents wrote him that they wanted to join, too. They suggested that a 30-mile strip along the southern edge of Lake County should be includ ed in the border-shifting plan, he said. He said they added: That the Lake county seat, now at Lakeview, could be mov ed some 50 miles north to Pais ley, "which has always wanted it anyway." Fontana Sues For $118,000 Charles P. Fontana, who May 14, 1951, was discharged by the Oregon liquor control commis sion, Thursday morning filed suit against the commission in the circuit court of Marion county for damages in the sum of $118,080. Fontana, 41 years of age, al leges in his complaint that he was wrongfully discharged by the commission and that he was damaged by not being permit ted to continue his services to the commission though he had offered to continue and perform said agreement on his part. The complaint states that Fon tana had been employed by the commission April 1, 1944, to serve with the law enforcement division and that the defendant agreed to employ him until his retirement age of 65. Fontana further notes in his complaint that in 1947 he was elevated to the position of a lieu tenant In the liquor commis sion's law enforcement division and at the time of his discharge was receiving a salary of $410 per month. He states that he complied with all of the reason able rules and regulations of the defendant and was duly appoint ed and qualified to perform the services for which he was employed. Second Atomic Sub Ordered Washington VP) The Atomic Energy Commission Thursday ordered construction of a second atomic-powered submarine en gine. It said this one will be of a design which may be easier to build and operate than the one already under construction. An AEC announcement said the General Electric company has been authorized to start con struction at Its West Milton, N. Y laboratory of a test engine which "will be used for final de velopment work leading to con struction of an intermediate en ergy reactor for propulsion of a submarine." The Westinghouse Electric corporation already is working on a thermal reactor at Its test ing station in Idaho. Lydda Is Now Lod Lod, Israel (IP) This is the new name of the Israel town formerly called Lydda. Lod is the ancient Hebrew name for the place and Is so mentioned in the Bible. UN Tells Reds Russia Can't Act as Neutral Record of Past Participation in Korea Bars Soviet Union Munsan, Korea VP) The U. N. command told the communists Thursday Russia's "record of past participation in Korea" bars the Soviet Union as a neu tral fit to help police a Korean truce. Simultaneously general head quarters in Tokyo warned that every step forward in truce talks "will be followed by a step back ward until Moscow is convinced that the final decision for Korea must be made without further delay." An information bulletin com piled from "Voice of the U. N. Command Broadcasts" declared: "It seems to be their plan to raise two additional disputes to take the place of every one that has been settled. "Like the hydra-headed mon ster of mythology, there will be new entanglements following every settlement just as long as the Kremlin thinks there is still something to gain by prolonging the talks." At Panmunjom. an allied spokesman said U. N. reasons for rejecting Russia were "clear, cogent and irrefutable." He did not spell out the reasons. Held Not Satisfactory Col. Don Darrow said the U. N. command would reject the nomination of any nation "in close proximity to Korea" or any nation which had "a record of past participation in Korea." A Red staff officer said the U. N. reasons were not satisfac tory. Darrow refused to be drawn into an argument. He said: The United Nations does not propose to enter Into endless discussion on this topic and rec ommends that your side give our statement serious consideration." Langlie Blames Reds for 'Hunger Strike Invasion' Olympia VP) Gov. Langlie Thursday denounced William J, Pennock, president of the Wash ington Pension Union, and other leaders of "Hunger Strikers,' a group of persons who were ejected from the chief execu tive's office by state patrolmen Wednesday. Langlie said several persons had testified that Pennock was a Communist when they appear ed as witnesses before the state legislature's hearing on un-American activities in 1948. The chief executive used strong words against other lead ers when he talked to reporters Thursday morning. A group of approximately 50 of Pennock s followers spent Wednesday night in Secretary of State Earl Coe's office after they had been carried or escorted from Langlie's office by state pa trolmen. During the night they viewed a sound movie "Peace Will Win' which members of the group de scribed as a documentary film on the Communist peace conference in Warsaw In November of 1951. Langlie was in Portland at tending a meeting of the Colum bla Basin Inter-Agency Commit tee when approximately 10( men, women and children de scended on the Capitol to pro test cuts in welfare grants. Sabre Jets Down 2RedMig-15s Seoul, Korea VP) American Sabre jet pilots shot down two more Red jets Thursday bring ing their toll this week to ten. The two MIG-ISs eliminated were blown out of the air during 20-minute battle in cloudy North Korean skies between 27 American Sabre jets and 20 MIGs. The kills were credited to Lt Billey B. Dobbs of Fontana, Calif., and Capt. Brooks J. Liles of Elizabeth City, N. C. American losses, if any, were not announced. The Air Force discloses U. S. plane losses only once a week. On the ground a Red ambush pinned down an Allied patrol and its rescue force for more than an hour on the frozen East ern front. A second United Nations res cue group broke the trap and freed both Allied units in sharp fighting. The action occurred northwest of Kansong, on the east coast. Critics Grilled By Ridgway Tokyo VP) Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway said Thursday night it is deplorable that many Americans still ask "Why are we in Korea?" The supreme allied comman der declared the pattern of communist Intentions is "now spread across the world where even the blind can see." For his part, Ridgway said there can be no question of the "validity and purpose" of U.S. fighting in Korea "against that deliberately planned unprovok ed aggression." "To have done otherwise," he said, "would have been a re pudiation of every principle we had previously professed." Ridgway spoke at the annual convention of the Far East De partment of the Reserve Offi cers' association. He made no mention of the Korean armistice talks at Pan munjom. The address was devoted largely to remarks on military reserve officers and George Washington, who was born 220 years ago Friday. Blood Program Chairman Lebanon Don Baxter wai lamed chairman of the Leban on Red Cross blood program, re ilacing George Kingan, who re signed last week.
