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About Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1919-1980 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 25, 1954)
Pisre THE CAPITAL JOURNAL, Saiem, Orecon Thursday, February 25, 1954 Capital AJournal , An Independent Newspoper Established 1 888 '' BERNARD MAINWARING, Editor and Publisher : , r GEORGE PUTNAM, Editor Emeritus Published every afternoon except Sunday at 280 North Church St. Phone 2-2406. Fvtl LM Wirt Rirfln at tht Aiwrlilri trtit an TKt Ualtrt prt. Tbt AmmUIc4 Preui it eieluilvtly entitle to the um for publication i ftl) Btvt diipatchu credited u It or otha'fU eredtltd 1b thla papr ant UM un yubllshed thartln. McCarthy wins army bout Secretory of the Army Robert T. Stevens has agreed to Senator Joe McCarthy s demands lor information after being told that his orders to the contrary put him into the untenable position of defying dramatic climax of a television showdown between the two on the dispute over the promotion and honorable discharge ot Major Irving Peress alter pleading constitutional im munity in response to questions as to his political beliefs The army has corrected conditions which sanctioned Peress' attitude. All facts in the case will be turned up and made public by Army investigators. Stevens has withdrawn his orders forbidding officers to oiscus the case before the McCarthy wants to again question Brig. can do so. It was McCarthy's insulting attitude ,in his questioning of wicker that gave the publicity which McCarthy is seek, ing to the incident. His questioning left some facts un disclosed, though it is evident not tell. He was evidently a previous case. The White House says neither the president nor vice president had a hand in arranging the McCarthy-Stevens meeting. Hut after the Army secretary came out of it, as he told newsmen he does not "consider that I am a person who capitulates or retreats. The "memorai'dum of understanding" that resulted from the meeting, besides the specific agreements on fur ther information for Mcuirthy s subcommittee, contained a statement that the Army subcommittee on the importance of rooting out comma nists from the armed services vestigation of the rcress matter would continue. The transcript of the Zwicker quiz shows that McCar thy, among other things, told fit" to wear his uniform and "help impugning" either the general's "honesty or . . . intelligence" as a result of some of Zwicker's answers. G. P. THE MYSTIFYING SACK MURDER - The chap who said "truth is stranger than fiction" could if he were still around cite the Goldie Goodrich Sack mur der case in Portland in support of a contention that has been proved many times before. Few detective stories contain more elements of mys tery than the Portland case, now a week old, winch has finally resulted in the indictment of the woman's husband; George F. Sack. The experts, who have been giving the cause of death their closest attention ever since the body was found, now say asphyxiation was the cause of death but they still do not know how it happened. Rightly or wrongly, officials and public have been con vinced that they knew how the former Yamhill county woman met her death from the beginning. Two of Sack's previous wives died by violence in the middle west many years ago. He was accused And the license plates on the woman s body wa,s dumped behind a clump of bushes east of Portland were identified as Sack's.- ., First the suspicion was poison, but an examination of the contents of the dead woman's stomach failed to sub stantiate this theory. Nor were the marks on her body such as to cause death. For several days the investigators were stymied. Now they seem convinced that they know the cause of death. Still to be convinced will be the jury, and maybe after them the supreme court. For here is a different type of murder mystery, one which the public assumes is actually no mystery at all, but extremely difficult to prove. A further complication sure to arise is how the defen dant can get a "fair and impartial trial' anywhere in Ore gon, so thoroughly have the Portland papers plastered the state with the lurid details of his past, which probably should not reach the jurors at all,. but which already have. COMMITTEE VOTE ON WARREN "The mountain Ws labored and brought forth a mouse." This comment Reems appropriate to the tardy action of the Senate's Judiciary committee which has just reported out the nomination of Earl Warren to be chief justice,' by a vote of 12-3 after listening to the testimony of one Rod crick J. Wilson, a California enemy of Warren who was at the time of testifying a fugitive from justice. The testimony was behind closed doors butsenators who commented afterward said it didn't amount to any thing, a fact which will surprise no one, for everything about Warren has been known for years. Senator Wclker of Idaho caled it "a mass of hearsay and conclusions that would not under any circumstances be regarded as legal and competent evidence." The three Democrats who voted against Warren said they were not influenced by the testimony. One was pro testing because the committee's request for an F.B.I, in vestigation of Warren hadn't been complied with. An other said Warren did not have judicial experience to qual ify for such an office. The third said his vote was a "pro test against procedures" in the committee and that he will vole for Warren when the matter reaches the Senate floor. Seldom has the Senate looked more foolish than in the way it has handled the Warren matter, principally because of Senator Lnnger's use of the nomination for purposes of badgering the administration on patronage questions. THAT BREADLINE IN PORTLAND Senator Morse certainly rang the publicity bell when lie declaimed that conditions arc so bad in Oregon a bread line is operating in Portland, which subsequent investiga tion proved was true. Still further checking reveals that it is operated by the Wnfichrt Men's Club, a Catholic organization presumably named for the famous pioneer Oregon priest, and that it was organized February 11, 1!52. This, some will re call, was not during the Eisenhower recession but during the Truman boom. Further, it develops that the organiza tion was' serving 600 to 700 meals daily by April, 19.")'.', some nine months before Eisenhower took office. Today, aided (?) by the publicity engendered by Morse, business has Increased to about 1000 meals a day. It is good that although such was not his intent. Morse has caused attention to be focused on one of the most worthwhile Christian enterprises that has come to public notice for some time, though this may cause demands for the free food to increase to a point where this organiza tion cannot meet them. Its resources are obviously limits. If the fact that this breadline came into being during Iho Truman administration causes any embarrassment it needn't. Human need has a way of developing under all administrations. It is unfortitRte that it is ever exploited for political gain by anyone, Republican, Democrat or independent. congress. This cancelled committee. And if McCarthy Gen Ralph W. Zwicker, he that he did know but could governed by precedent set by was in agreement with the and that the Army's own in Zwicker that he was "not said the senator could not of murder but not. convicted automobile from which the ! Zygote vr TMC III J fc V J, , I POOR MAN'S PHILOSOPHER Selling Your House, Buying New One Presents Problems By SAUL PETT For HAL BOYLE NEW YORK UV-I have a prob- like one I can afford. Then I'll em which is as perplexing and 1 much mora annoying lhan the question of which came first, the chicken or the egg. This problem, of course, Is one many people have had to deal with and, I suppose many survived it. Hut I'll bet all ot them were just as uneasy as I am since it defies logic, challenges faith and would split the orthicon tubes of the latest 1RM clectornic calcula tor. It's simply this. I want to sell it" house. I want to buy another I.. ...je. Which do I do first? ' I want to sell my house for as much as the traffic will bear a healthy, normal American trait and at (he same time buy a good, solid, charming, comfortable house for as little as I can get away with another healthy, normal American trait, and in the whole transaction, I want to sell and buy without having to add any cash, or let's say, not much cash still another H.N.A.T. There's nothing wrong with our house. It's relatively new. well built and attractive. But we need more space and my wife thinks she would prefer another town she has in mind. We're w illing to take an older house for more spate but not for more cash, or let's say, not much more cash, you un derstand, please do, it's impor tant. Rut how do I know how much we can afford on the next house until we know how much we're going to get for our house? This, of course, has always been a per plexing problem. It's c-pmlly thorny now when the real estate market is a little wuiibly. It's not just the money The question of timing is tanta'izing. How can I tell the owner of the house I might buy, whoever or wherever he is. can take over my house? Do 1 tell the first fellow, look, I don't know exactly when I can move in but if you'll just hold your breath, I'll race right back, put my house on the market and after a few weeks or months I'll be able to let you know when I'll want your house so that you can then know when you'll be able to occupy the house or apartment or jail you're planning your next move to, can I do that, huh? "Above all, don't put yourself In thep osition of where you have to sell," an experienced friend tells me. "You'll lake a licking." "Above all, don't put yourself In the position of where you have to buy, another experienced friend fells me. "You'll pay through the nose for the next one." The alternative to the first por tion having to sell is maintaining two houses at the same time and paying mortgages, taxes, insur ance, etc., on both. The alterna tive to the second position having to buy is putting your furniture in storage, living in a hotel long enough to find an apartment you can occupy temporarily while looking for the house you can afford, and meanwhile the bills are piling up. the kids are being scaricd lor life by all the disloca tion and pretty soon you can no longer alford the house you thought you could alford ill the first place, if you could have found it. So. what do I do? Do I set up a two-way radio station in my house and then go racing off with a walkie-talkie and the minute I see something good flash the word back to my wife who. in the mean time, has been coyly holding a prospect back home without tell ing him our prire? Or, ninvhe the best thing to do Ii thin I'll (ind a tibuit that looki THE REFORMER find a prospect who looks like he can afford my house, lhcn ill persuade him to buy the house I saw and we'll slay just where we are, and one more complaint out of you kids and I'll tell you about when I was a boy and we slept nine to a room, not counting the cats. Risky Thinking Bend Bulletin Joe Carson to', date the only, avowed candidate for the Demo cratic nomination for. governor, although others arc flirting with the idea made what wc think was a rather dangerous point at a parly meeting in Portland re cently. Carson said he believed foreign aid funds should he cut by the Federal government if it is oth erwise impossible to both finance Pacific Northwest power devel opment and balance the Federal budget. ' The Bulletin believes in the maximum development of this region's power resoilrres, al though wc may disagree with some as to the best method of so doing. This newspaper also believes the balancing of the national budget is necessary. Even Lord Keynes, the "economist in pow er" in this country for the past 20 years, has never advocated deficit financing during periods ot, prosperity such as. the U. S. h.is been enjoying. But we Won't feel such nation al defense and foreign policy tools as foreign aid should be made the subject of regional develop ment vctos, by this region or any other. We wonder if Mr. Carson would have felt curing the last war that the Northwest ship building program should have been cut out in order to finance construction of addition?! facil ities by the Tennessee Valley Au thority. We think not. An Old Song Bend Bulletin Six Communist party members convicted recently in Michigan on charge f conspiring to over throw the government of this country have chosen jail to de portation to Soviet Russia. With men who know Com munism best, It's jail, six to none. pi ni.ic be damned Albany lloimxr.il llrr.ild How would it he for a good news picture to get together the Cottage Grove youngster who "froze" the hall for s.-ven min utes and a half in a basketball "game" the other night and that television character who dragged out a kiss with a "bosonvy blonde'' for five minutes? They are about the latest exponents of the old "public be damned'' theory. THIS IS GONNA BK TOl'GH I'rndlrtnn Last Oregonian Oregon Republican will have to dig deep this year. Accord ing to an AP story, they have been asked to contribute S200. 900 to the national campaign fund of $3,800,000. If a little more GOP patronage isn't dished out in Oregon soon the fund rais ers may find their task unpleasant There's Got to Be Showdown on Joe Asorian-Budgct Wonder how an old irmy man like President) Eisenhower feels to have Sen. McCarthy abusing generals and calling the presi dent's own secretary of the army a "dupe"? The president must resent this sort of thing tremendously, and McCarthy's attack on the army must bring closer a showdown with the president which seems inevitable. Apparenlly McCarthy, in his attack on the army and certain army officers, is employing his standard method of making act cusations with insufficient evi dence or with no evidence at all, in hopes that some of his accusa tions will stick. ' Some day President Elsenhow er is going to face the duty of repudiating McCarthy and the McCarthy methods. The U. S. senate also faces a. duty of correcting its rules to limit the power of such an j irresponsible member as McCar thy to libel and slander citizens. He is permitted to commit of fenses, under senatorial immu nity, which would bring any or dinary citizens into court to de fend damage suits. Salem 10 Years Ago By BEN MAXWELL February 25, 1941 Senator Charles L. .McNary, Oregon's representative in the United States senate, had died in Florida at the age of 6!). Marion county commissioners had inspoctcd the county's own ership of property, at thov old, historic Gilden ferry site on the Snntiam river between North Sqntlam and Marion. Here a ferry had operated 50 years ago to care for traffic going to Scio and other Linn county points. Miller's were featuring needs for a "National Sew and Save Week," a wartime measure. "Sew and he a soldier on the home front." Henry's Photo shop, 4l9 State street, had advertised "old mas ter 18118 copy" violin for $JO0. .Montgomery Ward were sell ing men's oil tanned work shoes for $3.79. W. E. Ranks, Southern Pacific freight agent had advertised: "Wanted, carpenter's helper: If you can handle a hammer and a saw and know a hit about car pentering' (you need not he skilled) Southern Pacific has a good job for you as a carpenter's helper. Germans had flooded large parts of Holland to impede the allied invasion. American diplomats, newspa permen, wounded soldiers and civilians were on neutral ground in Spain en route to Lisbon aft er internment for over a year on German soil. M I DI-D: NEW FRIENDS Pendleton last Or;oni;in "Friends are advising" Lew Wallace to run for the Demo cratic nomination for governor of Oregon, according to a letter he has sent to some Democrats. Lew had better get some new friends who will point out to him his past adventures in poli tics offer abundant testimony that he would be wasting time and money in a gubernatorial campaign. With about 6 per cent of the world's population, tht Vnited States has about three fourths of tht world ! automobiles. THE WORLD TODAY GOP Sure to Lose In McCarthy Clash By JAMES MARLOW WASHINGTON I - No matter who won the skirmish - between Sen. McCarthy (R-Wis) and the Eisenhower administration's secre tary of the Army, Robert T. Stev. ens, the Republicans as a party were bound to lose if the fighting became a public, televised clash. The Republicani had cam paigned in 1952 on a promise to get Communists out of the govern ment. And McCarthy was demand ing information on why it took the Army, under Stevens, more than a year to get rid of a major who had refused to answer ques tions about membership in sub versive organizations. A wide-open fight between Mc Carthy and Stevens on this point, In an election year, might have split the party into McCarthy Re publicans and Eisenhower Repub licans. The showdown was avoided. Stevens, .who had ordered his generals to stand bail: while he handled the senator personally in a public hearing scheduled for today, agreed to give McCarthy what he wanted after talking with the senator two hours yesterday behind closed doors in the Capitol. McCarthy then called off today's hearing. Afterwards, Stevens was repre sented as surprised that the out come was considered a defeat for him. But the general Impression was that he yielded and, in so do ing, created a bit ot a mystery. . Did he decide on his own to back down? He seemed determined up to a minute before he saw Mc Carthy yesterday, to go through with the showdown today, for when a reporter questioned him, he said: "I have no comment on anything. Tomorrow I'll have plen ty of comment." Or did President Eisenhower, who returned to Washington just shortly before the face-to-face Stevens-McCarthy meeting, tell his Army secretary not to force an open break with the senator? Or did Vice President Nixon arrange it? He was close by while Stevens talked with McCarthy. The White House said the Presi dent did not set up the meeting. Sen. Mundt (R-SD) said the idea for the session was his not Eisen hower's or Nixon's. Stevens said later he is not a man who surrenders. No matter what name is placed on his action, the fact, is he gave McCarthy just what McCarthy wanted: McCarthy wanted the names of the Army people who handled the case of Maj. Irving Peress, a New York dentist, who received an honorable discharge this month after refusing, 14 months before, to answer questions about mem bership in subversive organiza tions; v , ' 2. McCarthy wanted to question two generals who had had some part, even though remote, in hand ling Peress' case. Stevens had told the generals not to appear before McCarthy because, he said, the senator was "abusive." Stevens, after his session with McCarthy, not only agreed to give the names of all those connected with the Peress case but let Mc Carthy call them for questioning. And he said McCarthy could ,ucs tion the generals too. Stevens said he's "confident" now officers will not be "abused." Before it can be established whether this was a surrender or a truce, this question must be an swered: Will McCarthy pursue this investigation and call the witnesses or will he let the Army make its own investigation and, perhaps, I give the Dublic a report? It's possible the Eisenhower ad ministration, which has had scv- : era! bouts with McCarthy in the 1 past year, may have decided to have it out with him once for all in this case and then suddenly changed its mind for strategic rea sons. Several months ago, in discus sing foreign affairs. Secretary of State Dulles said that, if war came, t h e Eisenhower administration Aould choose its own battleground. In this dispute with McCarthy tne Army had no choice of battle ground. McCarthy chose it. These are the facts as given by the Pentagon itself: Peress was commissioned a captain in October ! 1.,2 and a few days later refused j to answer the questions on sub ' versivc organizations. Neverthc , less, two months later he was called to active duty. In October ! lfiss he was made a major. On Dec 30. 19X1. Stevens said, the Army decided to let him out bc I cause ol an investigation it had made of him. On Jan. in. 19.H. the Army told him he must leave by Arpii. On Jan. .10 McCarthy called him for questioning. The .dentist refused, citing the Fifth ! Amendment, to answer questions. 'Two days Inter he asked (or and got nn honorable discharge. ! McCarthy wanls to know. why il look the Army so long to make up fits mind about Peress. Stevens al ready has acknowledged there were soft spots in the Army's handling of a rase like thisj ! CHARITY IN ORDER HERE Albany Democrat Herald I Wc still think the armed i forces ought to go easy on the lads w ho break under torture ' and say what their inhuman cap 1 tors order them to say. Maybe the boys should have trial by I juries made up of men w ho had undergone similar treatment and had not cracked. IT ISN'T WORTH IT J. Edgar Hoover It can reasonably be estimated that .$20 billion annually is the cost of crime in this country. That represents a cost of $42! ,.. -.1.. rn r.m;t,. ,n kA nwiMKlllJ " ,11111 ,.,11111, II, ,11 lu. s. WASHINGTON MERRY Stevens Cleared with Ike Before Defying McCarthy By DREW WASHINGTON Sincere Sec retary of the ATmy Robert Stev ens got himself in the predica ment of being summoned before the TV cameras of Senator Mc Carthy's committee today (Thurs day) only after an amazing series of backstage events, including a telephone call to his chief,, the President, at. Palm Springs, Calif. The events illustrate what hap pens to an official, whether Democrat or Republican, if he cither appeases or stands up to McCarthy. Stevens' phone call to Eisen hower in California was for the purpose of asking Ike whether he should issue a statement throwing down the gauntlet to McCarthy and charging him with "unwarranted abuse of our loyal army officers." Ike gave the green light. As a result, Stev ens is now getting the full force of McCarthy's well-known pen chant lor revenge. But some months before, Eis enhower had issued a contrary order to Stevens and to other cabinet officers namely, to co operate with McCarthy and give him whatever he wanted. It was the President's position at that time that McCarthy was a problem for the Senate of the United States to deal with, not the executive branch of the gov ernment, and that he, Eisenhow er, would cooperate with Mc Carthy's probes. How Probe Started That was how McCarthy hap pened to get carbon copies of the Army's investigation of itself at Ft. Monmouth. The Army, leaning over backward to check Its own security, had started a probe of Ft. Monmouth and dutifully sent the McCarthy com mittee carbon copies of its pre liminary findings in obedience with Eisenhower's order. It was McCarthy's aides who spotted these carbons and noti fied their chief, then on his honeymoon, to come back to Washington. A big spy scandal was brewing, they figured, and the Senator could ride the head lines. So McCarthy flew back, and has been getting headlines on the Ft. Monmouth investigation almost ever since. Stevens Leaned Backward At first the Secretary of the Army did his best to cooperate. Stevens is a millionaire textile manufauturer with no great un derstanding of politics, but a sincere desire to serve his coun try. He inherited probably the biggest textile business in the world, was also a director of General Electric, General Foods, New- York Telephone, Whitney Chain, Owens -Corning Fibre Glass and Mutual Life Insurance, but was willing to give all these up to serve as secretary of the army. At first, however, Stevens served McCarthy more than he served the Army with the re sult that some ot the highest members of the military estab lishment including the Army policy board, got pretty sore at him. ' Furthermore, some of the rep ulablo newspapers of the coun try, including Jhe New York Times and the Washington Post, luhlishcrl a scries of articles showing that there was no es pionage at Ft. Monmouth. McCarthy had made headlines when, nn emerging from closed door committee sessions, he an nounced that he was developing information leading to "extreme ly dangerous espionage." This, he said, "might envelope the whole Signal Corps." It might rival, he said, the Rosenberg case. Stevens meanwhile said noth ing. He failed to defend the Army. But when the staunch Republican New York Herald I'liiffiiiff It'ulv tunl Hvvli trith VALUABLES? . a Safe Uvposh ItoX now KlfP VAIUAIIIS JAM, MAOIIY AVAIIAILI Vor less than 2c a day, you can have the sure jtrolcilinn of a .safe deposit box in our vaults. Here your valuable papers and keep sakes arc safe from fire, theft and misplace ment and arc available to you alone when ever needed. Safe Deposit Boxes are available in sizes to meet your requirements at both of our banking offices. Hod Offlcai 1990 Fairgrounds load Unlvtrtlty Iranthl 1310 S'ou Str.l Ampf$ pcrkifg iocilitiu ot both bonking - GO - ROUND k PEARSON Tribune published a scathing scries of articles showing that there was no espionage danger at Ft. Monmouth, Republican Secretary Stevens was finally pushed into a press conference at which he admitted the truth of what the Herald Tribune, the. Washington Post and the New Vn.lr Tin... ...AHA s-l.rlnA Specifically, Stevens stated that no one at Ft. Monmouth had been charged with espion age. There may have been some charges 10 years ago, back In 1044 when Julius Rosenberg worked there, he said, but there was no evidence since that time. Dutiful Army Secretary This statement by the Secre tary of the Army caused the senator from Wisconsin to hit the ceiling. He promptly sum moned Stevens to New York, and Stevens dutifully went. And at a private luncheon also attended by Roy O. Cohn, McCarthy's counsel, the Secretary - of the Army was rebuked for making a statement which put McCarthy in a hole. , . Lamely, Stevens explained that he was pushed into holding a press conference, and there was nothing else for him to say but the truth. Finally McCarthy persuaded the Secretary of the Army to issue a clarifying statement, af ter he left the luncheon, to the effect that in making his earlier statement he, Stevens, was speaking for the Army and not for McCarthy, who had been holding executive sessions. The inference was that Stevens did not know what McCarthy had been developing in these execu tive sessions and that McCar thy might have run across es pionage unknown to the Army. McCarthy was satisfied but for only a short time. For, in Senate debate on Mc Carthy's appropriations. Senator Ellcndcr of Louisiana pulled from his pocket a letter from Secretary Stevens denying Mc Carthy's charges of Ft. Mon mouth espionage. "Insofar as the Army has thus far been able to determine," the Secretary of the Army wrote Ellender, "there is no current . espionage or other subversive activity at Ft. Monmouth." McCarthy has been boiling at Stevens ever since. Meanwhile Stevens has come to the belated conclusion that it doesn't pay to apcase the senator from Wiscon sin. The conclusion results from the following: 1, the growing Ire of Army officers who have been insulted by McCarthy; 2, the fact that highly important secret projects have been moved away from Ft. Monmouth because of its lowered morale; 3, the hassle with Mc Carthy over his former favorite boy investigator, Gerard David Schine, who has received fav ored Army treatment despite the protests of various high-ranking officers; 4, the attitude of pro-Eisenhower Republican news papers. On top of this, Stevens called Ihc President at Palm Springs over the weekend and got an OK in effect to disregard Ike's earlier directive to cooperate with the senator from Wiscon sin. It is with this background of jumping from frying pan into the fire and back again that the harassed and harried Secre tary of the Army now faces .Mc Carthy's vengeful cross-examination. OIR SIREST STRENGTH President Eisenhower Today, as then (in Lincoln's time), there is need for positive acts of renewed recognition that faith is our surest strength, our greatest resource. $10,000 brr.D.LC tWtt$.