Southern Oregon News Review, Thursday, May 15. 1947
Your Home: Planning,
Financing, Building
Cooperative Action Nets Homes
Some ('¡ties ‘Talk* Housing:
Memphis Actually Builds
Hydro-Electric on
Farms Fills Needs
By B A U K H A G E
\ews .4«a/»Jf
Commentator.
W M Servir«’. 1616 Eye Street. N. W.
Washington, D. C.
(This is I'Ae lourlh of a <eriej
describing bow American in-
frm ily is helping Io sohe one
of America's biggeil problems—
the G.l. bousing sbortage.i
WASHINGTON - T hirty-five hun
dred new homes started in one year
is a pretty good record for any fa ir­
sized com m unity—especially when
the year is 1946. and the city,
Memphis, Tenn., had never started
more than 2,400 units a year before.
Some two thousand of last year's
"starts'* were completed in 1946.
Now in the spring of 1947 while
some communities s till talk about
and wish for housing. Memphis is
going right ahead finishing up the
rest of the 1946 starts and under­
taking more.
The answer to this old southern
city's success in housing lies partly
in the coopera­
tive attitude of
city officials who
are
very
con­
scious of the vet-
e r a n s housing
p r o b l e m , and
partly to ind ivid ­
ual builders who
have been w ill­
ing to m a k e
price
sacrifices,
work long hours
and do whatever
was necessary to
overcome short­
ages of mate­
Baukhage
rials.
Take Wallace E. Johnson for ex­
ample—a builder who started in
December, 1939, to construct one
house and who now has to his credit
several thousand.
He is devoting all his energy and
ingenuity to housing veterans these
days. It takes energy and ingenuity
too, but this man w’ho, during the
war. was completing a house for a
war worker every two and a half
hours has what it takes.
For example, last September
when lum ber couldn't be "bought for
love or money, Johnson bought land
with standing merchantable tim ber
and a sawm ill camp near Potts
Camp, Miss., close to Memphis.
This purchase made possible a
trip le play which has paid off in
savings of tim e and money. Johnson
cuts his own tim ber, hauls it to his
own sawm ill for sawing, drying and
cutting, then hauls it direct to his
own building sites in size and
amount wanted. So much waste is
elim inated that the leftover lumber
from a whole house can be hauled
away in one wheelbarrow
M'hen brick couldn't be had in the
Memphis area, Johnson still man­
aged He got brick on a swap basis
—obtaining c ritic a l m aterials and
labor for a brick-m aking concern
which used the items thus supplied
to make brick for Johnson projects
If he couldn't find the mate­
rials he needed around Mem ­
phis. he went where he could
buy them. He has sent em­
ployees by a ir all the way to the
west coast to pick up windows
and doors, even paying retail
prices for them when he had to.
But Johnson couldn’t do as well
as he does nor keep his costs to vet­
erans so low without cooperation of
the community. In Memphis the
city repays builders of approved
subdivisions for th eir expense, in in ­
stalling utilities. The Memphis light,
gas and water division, which is
publicly owned, has gone so fa r as
to perm it u tility connections even
when no meters were available.
Thus, quite a number of houses
were finished and fam ilies were
housed, without having to w ait for
the hard-to-get meters.
As a result of this cooperation
Johnson last fa ll had completed 55
two-bedroom houses which went to
Memphis vets for $5,250. Other
prices are comparably low. $6.000
to $7,000. and even in the lowest
brackets Johnson tries fo r good de­
sign. He switches roof lines or the
set of a house on a lot, and utilizes
other means to avoid the sameness
generally characteristic of rows of
houses in developments. Inciden­
ta lly he recently was awarded a
prize by National Home Builders
association for "M eritorious House
Design in 1947.”
The tenants appreciate this. Not
long ago one couple, the first ten­
ants in a new subdivision, gave a
Sunday night supper for all of John­
son's workers—the shipping clerks,
timekeepers, the general manager,
the truck drivers and all the people
who helped build the house.
Serves as Substitute
Central Power Service
T H E Y SOLVE HOUSING P R O B LE M . . . Confronted with a housing
problem. Dec Ainsworth and Mrs. Marion MaH'onnell of Los Angeles
purchased a w artim e LCVP (landing craft, personnel) for $706 and con­
verted it into this trim boat with living accommodations. They will
sail to Central America porta aboard their Moating home.
VA'US REVIEW
Tornadoes W reak Havoc;
Blast Kills Eight Miners
TORNADOES:
Path of Destruction
MINES:
Another Tragedy
Community cooperation aids home builders of Memphis, Tenn., in
completing badly needed housing projects. These homes are typ i­
cal of the low-cost projects completed by Wallace E. Johnson.
U nderpass D oom s Old T rees
With some friends I sat looking
through a window on Lafayette
Square just as the leaves reached
the point where they screened An­
drew Jackson, sitting on a horse
which somebody described as hav­
ing two feet firm ly planted (like a
radical) in the air. Soon the foliage
w ill come down like a hood, cover­
ing the skeleton branches which
now are still showing through the
green.
Trees were on our minds for we
had just walked down Connecticut
avenue, which for several blocks is
being deforested so that a tunnel
can be d rille d underneath Dupont
Circle. Washington is famous for its
trees but of late years the automo­
bile ha: caused the destruction of
many of the finest. Widening of
streets sometimes necessitates re­
m oval of trees. Frequently ancient
oaks, elms or ginkgos are cut down
and replaced w ith saplings
Underpasses to take care of the
traffic have burrowed under two of
oui circles already and now “ m y”
circle Dupont (I live only three
blocks from it), is to experience a
sim ila r operation. It w ill never be
the same. Of course, Dupont Circle
is not quite the same as it was when
I first saw it three decades ago
when it was the center of the social
and diplom atic section.
I was bemoaning this “ official
vandalism ” which robs these spots
of th eir charm, as we looked out
over the five varieties of elms in
the park before us. One of our
group, a naturalist, identified the
elms as Am erican, English, Scotch,
Dutch and Smoothleaf, not to men­
tion the horsechestnuts, maples,
beech, dogwood, a beautiful deodar,
an ash, which he reminded us was
the m ystic tree of Yggdrasil, Its
crown in the heavens and its roots
in the nether world.
How much better would we
be, I insisted, w ith our surreys
w ith the fringe on top instead
of our automobiles and onr
trees instead of parking space?
A survey made by the highway
director of the D is tric t of Colum-
bia, H. C. Whitehurst, shows that
52,000 vehicles s k irt the circle
every day, not counting buses and
trolley cars. It is estimated that in
less than 10 years 68,000 cars a day
w ill be nosing by. That is the reason
fo r the underpass.
The two circles already operated
upon were Thomas Circle, an eight-
point intersection, and Scot Circle,
six-points. Since then the accident
rate has dropped 75 per cent, the
commission reports.
I t is going to cost $3,800,000 to
operate on Dupont C ircle—and the
trees.
Just hike the Movies
Devastating tornadoes cut a wide
swath through midwestern and east­
ern states, leaving a wide path of
destruction in th eir wake.
S triking in a th ickly populated
ru ra l area south of Fairm ont, N. C.,
a high-riding tw ister killed at least
one person, left an estimated 300
homeless and caused severe dam ­
age to tobacco crops.
The death toll from a tornado
which leveled the comm unities of
B right Water and Garfield in north­
west Arkansas was placed at nine.
The business section of B rig h t Wa­
ter, population 100. was v irtu a lly
destroyed.
Most destructive of the twisters
was one which tore through sm all
towns in Missouri and Iowa, causing
13 casualties in the sm all town of
Worth, Mo. More than 50 others
were injured and property damage
was estimated in the thousands of
dollars. The same tornado lashed on
across into Iowa, strikin g at Clio,
where extensive property damage
resulted but no loss of life was re­
ported.
N arrow ly averting the heavily
populated city of Dallas, Tex., a
tornado smashed briefly to earth on
the city's eastern outskirts, then
bounced skyward and disappeared.
In its wake, two persons were dead
and four were injured. Two other
Texas twisters caused less damage
Disaster struck again in the ever-
dangerous coal mines, an under­
ground explosion in the Small
Spring H ill mine near Terre Haute,
Ind., snuffing out the lives of eight
miners. Three others survived the
blast.
The 11 m iners were repairing and
im proving the ventilating system of
the mine to prepare it for federal
inspection. Closed since the general
safety shutdown of A p ril 1, the mine
had failed to pass the first federal
inspection.
The disaster was the fourth seri
ous mine accident of the year. Ma-
jo r catastrophe was the Centralia,
111., explosion of March 25, which
took a to ll of 111 lives. Ten m iners
were killed A p ril 10 in a gas explo­
sion at Exeter, Pa., and 15 lost
th e ir lives January 15 at Plymouth,
Pa.
WRECKS:
Third for Pennsy
Just like io the modes, Him
Actor Errol Flynn wot the bero of
a real-life rescue of Tom D'Andrea,
anutber actor, ubo was ihrowo
from his bon«. Tbe actors were
galloping in the Battle of Gelt ft-
burg with the Union payroll whan
D'Andrea's bon« stumbled in a
gopher hole and threw him. Flynn
grabbed him from under the flying
boorei. To proiide a typical mode
ending, neither teas injured.
PALESTINE:
Explosive Issue
The explosive Palestine question
was marked by the usual wrangling
and confusion in action before the
steering committee of the United
Nations general assembly.
The 14-nation steering committee
rejected requests from the Arab
countries for the assembly to debate
at this session the question of can­
celing the B ritish mandate over
Palestine and freedom for the Holy
Land.
Dr. Oswaldo Aranha of Brazil,
assembly president, failed to effect
a compromise be­
fore the c r u c i a l
committee m e e t -
ing.
The Arabs denied
that their proposal
called for immedi-
a t e independence
I
for Palestine. They
i
insisted they mere­
i
ly wanted a fu ll
discussion of the
Or. Aranha
problem and recog­
nition by the assembly of the prin­
ciple of ultim ate independence.
1 K W. unit on a ranch In Montana.
The electrical capacity of units,
such as that illustrated, varies from
H to 10 kilowatts. For example:
A typical unit w ill generate one kilo ­
watt, w ith an eight-foot head of wa­
ter, having a flow of 190 cubic feet
of water per minute. As the head
of water increases, the volume re­
quired decreases for the operation
of a generator of given capacity.
Thus, with a head of 25 feet, a hydro­
electric unit w ill generate one kilo ­
watt with a volume flow of only 68
cubic feet of water per minute. An
eight-foot head is a ll that is needed
for those generating from one-half
to five kilowatts.
Fungicides Tested
By Vegetable Mice
Scales of Easter lily bulbs are
very subject tp attack by a fungus
causing scale rot, which accounts
fo r their adoption by Drs. W. D. M c­
Clellan and N. W. Stuart. U S D A ,
agricultural research division, in de­
term ining the effectiveness of v a ri­
ous fungicides at the Beltsville sta­
tion.
One fact that makes these "vege­
table m ice" p articula rly useful in
testing work is that all the scales
from one. bulb are genetically the
Farm Product Prices Decline
the bureau reported that “ prices of
nearly every group of products
bought averaged somewhat higher
than the final figures for March 15,
based on qua rte rly reports from
more than 16,000 merchants.”
Leading the general decline in
meat anim al prices, hog prices re­
ceived by farm ers fell $2.10 a hun­
dredweight in the month to an aver­
age of $24.30. B utterfat prices fell
5 cents to 69.5 cents a pound and
m ilk prices were lower because
of seasonal production increases.
Wheat prices averaged 4 cents
lower and rye was off 34 cents a
bushel.
Healthful Fresh Fruit Drink
Makes Purgatives Unnec­
essary for Most People
Here's a way to overcome constipa­
tion without harsh laxatives. Drink
luice o f I Sunkist I-emon in a glass
of water first thing on arising.
Most people find this all they need
-stimulates normal bowel action day
after day 1
Lemon and water is good lot you.
I-emons arc among the richest sources
of vitamin C, which combats fatigue,
helps resist colds and i ri feet ions. They
supply valuable amounts o f vitamins
Hi and P. They pep up appetite. They
alkaliniu, aid digestion. Lemon and
water lias a fresh tang too-clears the
mouth, wakes you up, starts you going.
Try tins grand wake-up drink 10
mornings. See if it doesn’t help you I
Use California Suokist Lemons.
JhsL ßßAL QnvRAtm&nL
lA. §. StwuiqA. fio n d i
DELOUSE
C H IC K E N S
BLACK LEAF 4 0
— lap along r o o m and
»mear—body heat of fo w li
releatet nicotine fumes
which k ill chicken-lice and
feather • mites. Cap - Brush
Applicator saves nicotine.
Insist on original factory*
sealed packages to insure
full strength.
W au
ItH C C I I f r i m e r s t
CHEMICAL C IIM U T IIH
iNcosrosxrio
Cordial Welcome
COSTS UP, INCOME DOWN
WASHINGTON - Prices of farm has been under way fo r many
products declined about 1 per cent months.
during the month ended A p ril 15
The index for these prices in mid-
after reaching record levels in mid- A p ril was 230 per cent of the 1909-14
M arch, according to the monthly average compared w ith 227 in mid-
summ ary compiled by the bureau March and 128 for the 1935-39 aver­
of a gricultural economics.
age.
The Index of prices received by
This advance in the index for
farm ers in m id-A pril was 276 per prices paid pushed farm parity
cent of the 1909-14 average com­ prices slightly higher. P a rity prices
pared with a m id-March index of are theoretical standards used by
280 and with 107 for the 1935-39 the government in determ ining
average.
levels at which it w ill support prices
Prices paid by farm ers fo r pro­ of farm products.
duction m aterials and cost of liv in g
Increased prices paid by farm ers
items, including interest and taxes, occurred p rim a rily in feed, clothing
continued an upward trend which and building m aterials, although
WHY TAKE
HARSH LAXATIVES?
ALEMAN:
F irs t Mexican chief executive
In the eerie pre-dawn hours, the ever to make a state visit to Wash­
th ird wreck on the Pennsylvania ington, Pres. Miguel Aleman was
ra ilro a d ’s m iddle Pennsylvania d i­ given a cordial reception on his trip
vision in three months killed four to the nation's capital.
persons and injured 34. eight seri­
As the personal guest of President
ously.
Trum an, the visiting dignitary par­
The Am erican, New York to St. ticipated in a fu ll schedule of events
Louis flyer, jolted into rods of sheet arranged in his honor by the state,
steel protruding from the sides of w ar and navy departments and
two gondola cars of a moving Mexican embassy officials.
fre ig h t train, the Im pact 'rip p in g a
In speeches before the Pan-Amer­
tremendous hole in the side of the ican union and congress. President
fourth car of the Am erican and Aleman urged Western Hemisphere
damaging the engine, m ail car and republics to assure “ the independ­
another coach. No cars were de­ ence of each nation through the soli­
railed.
d a rity of a ll.”
A moment later another freight
The Mexican chief executive u ti­
tra in ripped into the sheet steel pro­ lized the v is it to begin prelim inary
truding from the other side of the discussions on an American loan.
Cood W iring a ' M ust"
I E Y O U 'V E e ver been annoyed
* by lig h ts d im m in g w hen the re-
Despite the progress made by tr ig e ru to r goes on, o r the rn d io
power suppliers in "e le c trify in g ru ­ going o ff when the iro n is sw itche d
ral Am erica,” the task is so vast on—y o u 'll vow y o u r new hom e be
that thousands of farm s w ill not be ade qu ately w ire d .
That inraita enough c irc u it, and outlet,
reached by electric lines for several
to take care uf Die electrical equipment
years. A number of these farm s
ou now have, plua what you hope to buy
are located fa r from existing or in the future.
e e e
contemplated distribution lines.
Our Header Service booklet No IS give»
Farm ers need not have to delay many other helpful facta about bulletins
or do without electricity and the con­ and remodeling homes Dosena of Hour
plana and photos I fiend IS cents (coin)
venience. tim e and labor-saving ap­ for "S m all lln n ir c I'lannlng. K ln a n iln i,
pliances and production equipment llu lld ln i" Io Weekly Newspaper Nervlre,
241 W e ll 17th St., New York I t . N. Y.
it operates—if they have available a l ’rtnt name, address, booklet title and
stream which w ill provide a heud of No. 13.
water In sufficient volume to operate
a hydro-electric unit. In most cases, E ilis o ii T o o k O u t First
a small dam is required and a pond,
Radio Patent in Amerit a
thus formed for power purposes,
also may be used for watering stock,
fire protection or recreation. Such
T hom as A lv a Edison took out the
units are capable of producing d i­ firs t A m e ric a n p a te n t on rn d io . He
rect or alternating electric current was g ra nte d a p a te n t on D ece m ­
at low cost and moke use of wa­ ber 29, 1871, on a ‘ 'm e an s fo r
ter which m ight otherwise be wast­ tra n s m ittin g sign als e le c tric a lly
between d is ta n t p oints by in d u c­
ed.
tio n w ith o u t the use o f w ire s ."
E dison also inve nted the carbon
m icro ph on e and the a e ria l. M o re ­
o ver, E dison disco vere d the ra d io
d ete cto r tu b e —though when he
found it, he d id n ’ t know w h a t to
do w ith it. F o r ye ars it w as ca lle d
the "E d is o n E ffe c t T u b e ” and was
e x h ib ite d ns a s o rt o f e le c tric a l
n o ve lty.
Screen husbands and wives must
sleep in twin beds one fool apart
in films shown for the British pub­
lic, British censors ruled. That, they
explain, "discourages cuddling." Be­
cause censors spotted a scene in
"hly Awful Wife" in which
Franchot Tone and Lucille Ball
snooze in twin beds pushed togeth­
er, the scene must be re-shot. Cost,
$10,000.
freight, derailing its engine and
tender.
The collision occurred at Boyer
Ridge, near Huntingdon, not far
from sites of the previous Red
Arrow and Sunshine Special train
wrecks, both of which also were in
the pre-dawn hours.
° UR HOMfc
F
lO U U V IU I J. KENTUCKY
GIRLS! WOMEN!
try this If you're
NERVOUS
The Easter lily w ith from 40 to 60
scales of almost chlna-llke smooth­
ness Is well adapted to Its “ mouse”
role In testing of fungicides.
same, and fo r that reason the vul­
n erab ility to attack of the rot Is uni­
form .
Some other advantages of this new
method are that the scales can be
used at any tim e of the year if prop­
e rly handled, the effect of the dis-
ease attack on the scales can be
read with ease because they are
smooth and almost white, the chem­
ical to be tested can be applied as
dust and in a suspension or solution,
the equipment is simple and takes
little space.
Chick Glands Bigger
When Fed Thiouracil
Studies at Purdue experiment sta­
tion have shown that a new drug,
thiouracil, when fed to chickens at
a level of 0.2 per cent, resulted In
m arked changes in the thyroid
gland and Increased the rate of fa t­
tening. When the drug was fed to
breeding hens, the thyroids of new-
ly-hatched chicks were greatly en­
larged. The hatchability of the eggs
showed no change and the chicks
appeared to be of norm al vigor.
0« 'CERTAIN DAYS* Of SlMtfc-
Do female functional monthly disturb­
ances make you feel nervous. Irritable,
so weak and tired out—at such times?
Then do try Lydia K. Plnkham's Vege­
table Compound to relieve such symp­
toms. It's famout for this) Taken regu­
larly — Plnkham's Compound helps
build up resistance against such dis­
tress. Also a great atomachlo tonic I
mui.mmuiirswsit
WNU—13
20—47
W hen Your
B ack H u rts -
A n d Y o u r S tre n g th a n d
E n e rg y la B elow P a r
It may be caused by disorder of kid-
nay function that permits poisonous
waits to accumulate. For truly many
people feel tired, weak and miaerabls
When the kidneys fail to remove excess
•elds and other waste matter iron the
Wood.
You may suffer nagging backache,
Rheumatic peins, headaches, dlazineas,
ttlng up nights, lag pains, swelling.
mstlmss frequent and scanty urine*
Won with smarting and burning Is an­
other sign that something Is wrong with
the kidneys or bladder.
Thera should ba no doubt that promot
treatment Is wiser than neglect. Uss
It la batter to roly ea •
medicine that has won countrywide ap­
proval than pa something lees favorably
known. Doan's hays been tried and taat-
•d many years. Are at all drug stores.
Oat Doan't today.
K
D oans P ills