Medf
Mail Tribune
The Weather
Predii'tlou: Snow tonight; fair
Tuesday. Continued colli.
Maximum yesterday 4t
Minimum today 2fl
Weather Year Ago
Mil x'milflnf ... f. 44
.Minimum .....!hjtn.......X1
Dally Eighteenth Tear.
MEDFORD, OREGON, MONDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1923
NO. 210
weekly Firty-Tblrd
Tew.
ORB
A.R.WILLITS
KILLED IN
E
Medford Business Man Is In
stantly Killed When Wall
Falls in Page Theatre Fire
Fire Chief Injured Play
house Is Completely De-
v stroyed By Blaze.
- Afl a result of a ' spectacular lire.
Y which originated from -an unknown
cause and which 'was practically in
full blast when first discovered, the
Pane theater was completely gutted
Sunday, nnd Amos R. Willlts, volun
teer fireman and popular young busi
ness man and partner In the Prcst-o-i.lte
Battery Service and Electricnl
Supplies Station, was instantly killed
and Fire Chief Roy Elliott was badly
injured, when the stage fire wall col
lapsed and fell on them.
Amos Willlts was 89 years old and
leaves a wife nnd son, Billy, about
one year and a half old. He was of
exceptionally ploaslng character and
disposition, nnd his tragic end is
mourned by a wido number of friends,
while the sympathy of the entire com
ruunity goes out to the widow.
The funeral services will bo held
Thursday at 2 n. in., at the Perl Pu-
nerai Home, Mrs. Willlts' brother
being en route here from North Da
kota, to attend the funeral.
" Estimate. Ioss $100,000
The loss on the building nnd its
enuinment la about $100,000, In the
neighborhood of $50,000 each on tho
building and Us contents. It Is under-
stood that tho building, which is . h, ,em,,erature down to 22.
qwhed by the Dr. Frederick Page cor-.brought the temperature down
norB.tion.lB fully insured, but that tho Four inches of snow fell at North
George A. Hunt Theater company, I Head, Wash. Snow is deep in the
Which held the lense on tho Pagv Is coast range In this vicinity.
hot anywhere near fully insured. The!
Hunt company owned the sentH, seen- SALEM, Ore., Dec. 31. A blanket
..ery,1 pipe orgnn,. H"n macnino ana
other equipment. -. -. -. - !
manager uemg. nu -
all of fee records having been de-,
1 .... i .1 i,o
of It. 8- Antle of tho company In Pasa
dena, Calif., where ho recently went
to spend the winter,- has as yet been
unable to get an exact line on tne
loss suffered by tho company, or to
ascertain the exact amount of insur
ance carried.
. He estimates the loss at about $40,
000, and only partially covered by in
surance. The film of Potash and Pcrlniuttnr, :
valued at $3500 wus taken to the ex
press office after tho performance
Saturday night, and as the film "SI"
Days" did not arrive . until aft-r tho
fire, there was no loss as far as films
are concerned.
When tho attaches loft the building
at the close of the hist picture show
about midnight Snturday night there
was "no sign of firo. About 6 o'clock
Sunday morning John B. Palmer nnd
George Corum, who wore en route for
a duck hunt, when driving pust the
building snw smoke and flames pour-I
Ing from the. cast end of the front of I
the structure. They drove at once to
the city hall and gave tho alarm.
About the same time tho father of
Frank Gordes. the restaurant man,
discovered the fire, and gave the
alnrm.
The fire department, which hurried
lo tho scene, after blowing a general
fire alarm, however faced a hopeless
task in trying to qtioll the flames,
but nevertheless poured streams of
water from hose lines, through the
doors and windows of the big struc
ture until after several hours the in
terior had burned itself out.
There was little danger to other
buildings as there was no breeze and
a heavy fog was on, and because tho
burning building stood Isolated on tho
west bank of Bear Creek at the edge
of the business section.
Fall of Wall L'liMpertral.
For the purpose of making surf
that the firo was all' out and that
there was no further fire danger from
the smoldering ruins on the inside.
Fire Chief Roy Elliott and his close
friend, Amos WillitB. fc-ho had re
sponded with the other members of
the volunteer fire department, when
the general alarm had been sounded,
began a tour of Inspection about 10
A. M. of the ruins in the interior.
(Continued on Page Eight)
LEAP YEAR A
SPOKANE, Wash., . Dec. 31.
Woman's right to propose marriage,
theoretically hers during 1924, should
be accorded her In fact, not only dur
ing leap year but at all tlmeB, Mrs.
W. E. Barnhart, president of the
Spokane Women's club, declares In a
newspaper Interview today.
"The reason many girls who would
build up wonderful homes go through
'SPOKANE CLUB WOMAN WOULD MAKE
2 Oregon Bank Yeggs
Plead Guilty, Get
20 Years in Pen
EUGENE, Ore., Dec. 31. Tom
Murray and Eddie Walker, ar-
rested recently at Portland plead-
ed guilty today to holding up the
Ijine County State and Savings
bank at Florence, Ore., and were
sentenced to twenty years In
prison by Circuit Judge Skill-
worth. They were taken at once
to the penitentiary at Salem. An
attempt to escape the jail by cut-
ting the bars of their cell," discov-
ered yesterday, accelerated this
action.
PORTLAND, Orrf., Dec. 31 Light
snowfall last night with whistling
wind gave Portland a blizzard but the
snow ceased before enough had accu
mulated on the ground to produce
drifts.- Sub-zero temperatures pre
vailed throughout the state with tem
peratures ranging from eight above at
Tinker to 32 above at Roseburg. Port
land's minimum was 19, Umatilla's
11, Eugene and Albany both reported
21 and Salem 20. The forecast was lor
occasional snow tonight, with fair and
continued cold tomorrow. The sun was
shining here this morning.
ASTORIA, Ore., Dec. 31. Two
incileB 0j 8n0v fell here Sunday. The
. I.rort iast nlcht. an east wind
of Bnow fivG inChos thick, the nrst
8now of t)e wintor, lay over the WI1
, morning,
' w,0
temperature stood at 18 above,
Tho
the.
coldest of the season.
PENDLETON, Ore., Dec. 31. Th9
official weather report shows a seven
Inch snowfall at Pendleton with a
. . . k
minimum temperature of nine above
zero. Unofficial reports from the hills
to the north of the city show thermoin-
eter readings below zero. I
SAN FRANCISCO. Dec' 31. Rain
i v. i - i- v,o -,r1v mnrninc
which began In the early morning
hours, continued through the fore-
noon and promised to give this city
a wot New Year's eve, bringing to a
clo'so the dryest December the state
has experienced since 1017.
NEARLY ESCAPE
JAIL IN El
EUGENE. Ore., Dec. 31. Efforts
to discover how a hack saw reached
tho cells occupied by Tom Murrny.
Eddie Walker and Jimmy Wells, pris
oners held In the county Jail here in
.,r.iw.Hrin with the robbery of the
I,nne county Slate and Savings bunk
nt Florence, was being made today by
Sheriff Fred G. Stickles,, following
tho discovery yesterday afternoon that
the prisoners had sawed off ono of
tho bars In their cell and had sawed
.n ihronirh two moro bars. Ac-
cordlng to Jail officials, the only way
the prisoners could have obtained the
, ,.. thrnuch trusties or a woman
saw was through trusties or a woman
who visited them last week.
Dirt l L'l 1 1 1 ' I ! 'P
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 29. Koyna
Belasco, eleven year old daughter ol
Walter Belasco of this city and niece
of David Belasco, theatrical producer,
was fatally Injured tonight by an au
tomobile driven by James H. Mason,
a bond broker. Mason was arrested
on a charge of manslaughter.
PE1AINT AFFAIR
life without marrying Ib that they are
not able to make their love known to
the right man." Mrs. Barnhart saia.
"In many cases, through lack of fi
nances or because of bashfulness, the
Tight" man haa held back, when if
the way were made clear to him he
would Joyfully welcome matrimony.
"Give the woman the right to pro
pose marriage to the man she believes
can make her happiest."
BLIZZARD
AND
COLD SNAP HITS
NORTH OF STATE
NOW
n n 1 1 as ssi mm
. rJUSL I LliiililHjEiiK
. . . . .. . "
Above is shown the Pao Theatre, the best and most modem pluylinuso In Koutlmrn OreRon, wlricli
was completely guttol by flro early Sunday morning at a loss CMtlmalcd at $100,1100, imi-tJally nn-mil
by liiHtu-uiK-v. The origin of the flro Ik still u nijuuwy, but It uiuloubK'dly stnricil In uiu imrf-unst ctinn
of the bulldlnir, jmrtly shown at the clrcmo left of the plclure.
MANY INJURED IN
CALIFORNIA SCHOOL
INCENDIARY FIRES
.OAKLAND, Cal.. Dec. 31. A half
score firemen were injured, one per-
haps fnt,llly. tt fire of supposedly
.incendlarv orlBln wnich destroyed tho
Col0 Bramniar Hcno0 here today wlth
a loBS C!)tmatcd nt $100,000. It was
j tho second school firo of possible
criminal origin in Alameda county in
a week's time, the Lincoln school in
uii ,uuit uywn
few nights ago.
vvmiam Tnrusnor, truck lo. a was
tne most seriously injuren. ureman.
Ho and a number of his companions
I were caught bonoath
falling wall.
Two men were Injured.
A bunch of oll-BOakcd rags was
found in a room of the Garfield
ch' in East Oakland by an employe
today a few hours after tho Cole
Kramymar schoo, burned Police
suara8 have been Btationcd at all of
tne scnools in the city.
WOODLAND, Cal.. Dec. 31. A fire
supposedly Incendiary origin dc-
stroyed the Woodland high school to-
day with a loss estimated at $300,000.
Tho fh,o followod lno destruction scv-
era( eeijg aKO cf tne grammar school
at Esprto, 16 miles from here, by a
fire whiph also gave evidence of hav-
ins been criminally started.
Elmer Smith, who resides near tho
htKh school and turned In tho alarm,
said that ho saw a man rush from tho
second story of tho building and dis
appear. Later firemen said that
there was a strong odor of kerosene in
tho second Btory during tho early
stages of the fire.
SALEM
SALEM. Ore.. Dec. 31. Four nil!
(ton. flvo hundred thousand rasos of
fruit were packed by canneries In tho
northwest din-lug 1033, according to
figures compiled by local cannerymen
for tho Capital Journal today,
Figures for tho Salem district show
a decrcaso In tho pack of approxi-
mately 40,000 eases as compared to
the pack of last year. Smaller packs
of loganberries and pears, duo to tho
glutted condition of tho market for
these canned fruits enrly In tho your
account for tho greater part of tho
,sh"l;taB''-
The pack of strawberries, 117,939
cases for 1923, was nearly-double that
of last year. The royal anno cherry
and prune packs were also nearly
twice that of 1922.
Grade Kiam. Papers, Salem
SALEM. Ore., Dec. 31. County
school superintendents of the stato
met here today to grade papers sub
mitted by the teachers of thl atato
following the Btato teachers' examina
tions two weeks ago. Most of the
week will be required for the reading.
The superintendents will also hold
their annual convention whilo hero.
No Paper New Years.
Following the usual custom
there wHl be no Issue of the
Medford Mail-Tribune tomorrow,
New Year's Day. A full occount
of the sport events for that day
will bo printed In Wednesday's
paper.
A MASS OF RUINS
Postmaster's Health
Much Improved By
Raise in Salary
SAN FRANCISCO. Dec. 30.
Tho chief prescription today for
Postmaster James E. Power,
who is ill with influenza was
written on a postofflco book
keeping slip' and read that his
salary was to be raised from
$6000 to $8000 a year as a result
of tho San Francisco postoffico
passing tho $7,000,000 a year
of tho San Francisco postoffico
passing tho $7,000,000 a year
mark in receipts this year.
Tho figure placed the post 4"
4 office in tho same class , with 4
New York, Boston, Philadelphia 4
4 and other big euHturn cities.,-.
' Mr. Power's condlllon Is re- -4-
pot-tod much Improved.
444. 4444444444
4.C
DARING ESCAPE
F
ATLANTA, On., Doc. 31. In tho
most sensational jail delivery In the
history of tho Atlanta federal prison,
four convicts, ono a partner of Oornltl
Chapman, million dollar mall bandit,
were at liberty today after having
wormed their way through a narrow
tunnel under tbo fifty foot concrete
wall encircling tho prison, late yes
terday. Of tho quartet tho most no
torious of the fugitives is Goorgo An
derson, who was serving a 25 year,
sentence for participation in tho $1.
000,000 New York mail delivery for
which Chapman was convicted.
Anderson was thought to have engi
neered tho escape.
Three of tho men were thought to
day to bo hiding near Macon, tin.
Prison officials believe Anderson
will attempt to mako his way cast.
With Anderson wore Hiram Lepper,
50 years of ago, sentenced In Halll
morc In 1015 for fifteen yenrs; Lud-
wltf Schmidt, a Oormnn sailor, sen
tenced in Rochester, Now York, fif
teen vcurs for mail robbery, and
Frank Hayncs. sentenced in Chatta
nooga, Tcnn., for eighteen months,
BUFFALO. N. Y., Dec. 31. Ludwlg
Schmidt, tho Gorman sailor, who
escaped from the Atlanta, On., prison
yestcrdoy with three others, was one
of three bandits who robbed a mall
truck of J300.000 in negotiable paper
at Niagara Falls, N. Y., on April 1
1921.
STATE POULTRY CROP
PORTLAND, Ore., Dec. 81. Tho
Pacific Co-operatlvo Poultry Pro
ducers announced today It has been
Hucf.-cssfui In its drive to recruit mem
bers representing nt least 250,000
hens Into the association. Manager
K. J. Dixon gave the following Btute
ment to the press:
"The poultrymen of Oregon and
southwest Washington have decided
to continue their marketing associa
tion. We received sufficient con
tracts In this morning's mall to bring
our total to 251,112 hens."
ROM
ATLANTA
SALEM IS FLOODED
WITH APPLICATIONS
FOR SOLDIER BONUS;
8ALF.M. Ore., Dec. 31. For tho
reason that today is the final day for
making Initial applications for tho ex
service men's cash bonus under tho
stato bonus and loan act, tho ex-or
vico men's stato aid commission has
an exceedingly heavy mull today.
Tho fact that today is the final day
for this class of benefits under tho act.
lor tho act,
,-vlce men
does not. bar tnose ex-service.
whoBo loiters iisKing'-'roi- nppllc
ment, though the actual application
IMILIIKM UIU Mil inn WILI1 l!!U UU Ptlll-
may not have been received. In such pai iniom. uruurs i.m.jw, "-". yeniber raided the town of i,iKwan-
rases tho bontiB may bo paid at any . commanding the Eighth nrmy corps KU nn1 killed or wounded approxl
time. inrea. to turn over the purchnsod , matelV two thousand persons, noma
It is explained that initial nppllra-
tlnns for lonns may be mado up to nnd
Including Juno 30. 1027, which nlsoi
Is tho Inst date for filing a final an-
I'm iinun iwr uiu limn. jsuiii iifjiv.
Hons for tho loan may bo filed at nny ii"'o"i'j - -. (rom Thnoyang, the station most re
time prior to that dato. In tho Initial ammunition and airplanes. In con- CPntiy vided, abandoned tholr cstab
applicatlon tho applicant designates lioctlon with an assertion by represen- nnlinicnt and sought Bafety In a larger
whether ho desires a loan on city or tntlves of the De Ln lluorta faction community.
farm property, but If ho desires to n Mexico that the Obregon govern-j Emboldened by success, LaO-Yang-chango
from one to tho other, a final mont also asked for some light cruls-; Hen somo weeks ago threatened death
application is necessary. attention was called today to the a most cruel form to all who re-
Rome ex-service men are refunding . ,, provision In tho Washington "'"'; a l"' """'"J,0"
ensn bonuses previously pnia ho inai
they may apply for loans. About 260in,,vr ,r ,y , ..
of these have been approved. '''a,:" OI u' ,u'"'ul,h i" "" Tsao Yang Is approximately bt miles
Total applications received up lo dortnkos not to dispatch by gift, snle;fl.()m ukwankis. Tsno Yang Is lo
and including December 29, woro 33,-lor other modo of tranHfor nny vossol tntcd In a rugged country oh tho upper
619. Of this number, 21.250 oro cash
bonuses that havo boon paid, amount -
ing to i.bui.:i . i.iz. i-,oans pniu toiai
4S27. amounting to $12,237,300.
tom.'ficlnrlos have paid back on In-1
terest .'1:11,234.71 nnd on principal
2S.!72.1 S.
or total repayments of
$000, 206.94.
FATTY ARBUCKLE IS
DIVORCED BY WIFE
PROVIDKNCK. R. T.. Dec. 31.
Mln tit K, Arbuckle, wifo of Hohcoo
(Fatty) C. Arhurklo, was Kra uteri a
divorce In tho superior court hero
today. The case was heard before
JuhUco Chester W. Harrows on depo
sitions and was Kranted on the ground
of neglect to provido and desertion.
Tho divorce will liccomo absolute six
months from today.
Death Toll of
the Automobile
SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Dec. 31.
Major fleorgo W. Fishback, former
ly in tho United States diplomatic ser
vice in South America, anil his wifo
were instantly killed near this city
today when their automobile was de
molished by a Southern Pacific train.
Tho couple were In a closed car and
were driving toward this city front
their suburban homo. Mrs. Fishback
was at tho wheel whilo tho major wad
on tho back seat. Th car ran onto
a crossing of tho main line of the
railroad Just as tho fast northbound
passenger train reached it. Tho couplo
came hero from San JoscCal.
Stores to Close
Dy agreement of the' Mor-
chants Association and the usual
custom, the Medford stores will
be closed all day tomorrow, New
Year's day.
Local Phone Rate
Increase Is Held
'. Up for Sixty Days
'
SALEM, Oro., Dec. 31. The
stato public service commission 4
this afternoon ordered suspend-
ed for sixty days the proposed In- 4.
crease In rates of the Home Tel-
ephone nnd Telegraph company
4 of Southern Oregon pending an 4
investigation and hoarlng. The
date of the hearing has not been
set.
The increased rntos would oth-
erwlso liave Bono into effoct to--1.
morrow
'
444-4-44-44'4-44.4444.4-4'
WASHINGTON, Dec. 31. Tho Do
La Huertn faction in Mexico today
filed' with the state Vuirtniont a
formnl protest against tho plan of the
United Stntos to sell war materials to
the Moxloo City government of Gen
eral Obregon.
Tho protest was signed by tho De
U. S. A. ACTION?
IS PROTfSTED
B! LA HUERTA
La Hunrta confidential agent at Ncw The three missionaries aro repre
V(1,, i scntatlvea of tho Church of tho Lutn-
Tho Obregon authorities nlono are
recognized by the United States In
this dealing with Mexico and there
was no Indication whnt consideration
tho communication would receive at
the stato department.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 State and
war department officials continued'
their consultations today over details
of the plan to soli a quantity of war
materials to tho Obregon government'
0f Moxico. I
Secretary Hughes dlscussod the sub-j
Secretary Hughes dlscussod the sub-;
j t wlth anerotttry WoPks who w
. . .,
011 to 1,0 "iuoa notorn mo war
property to Obregon ronresontutivos at
gan Antonio.
Tne exact mmntity of material to
,)() B0,d ,mf) n)t ,)00n rnV(,,Pd but It
of war In such manner that such vos-
! mil mnv become a vossol of wnr in tho
nftvy ot nnv foreign power.
'
WIFE PLEADS FOR
SACRAMENTO, Cel.. Dec. 31.
Mrs. Anno Kels of Lodl, whoso hus
bnnd. Alex A. Kels, Is under sontenco
of death at Folsom penitentiary, ap
peared beforo Governor Richardson
this morning and presented petitions
nsklng that ho husband's sentence
tie commuted to life Imprisonment.
Mrs. Kels Informed the governor of
her belief that her husband, who con
fessed the murder of an Itinerant
worker at Lodl, September last, was
Insane.
No statement was forthcoming from
tho governor afler tho Intcrvlow, butrho University of Arizona's polo team
It was understood that no iniormeu is strongly lavorou iui mo
Mrs. Kels that any proof of hor claims orn intolcollogiate polo championship
of insanity i the part of hor hus- today as tho result of an easy 10 to 0
band should bo presented to Wurdon victory ovor the Colorado Agricul
J Smith of Folsom prison. tural collogo toamjrojfojurday. :
FRENCH DIVERS TO
FIND LOST AIRSHIP AT
PARIS, Doc. 31. (Ely tho Asso
ciated Urcss) As soon as tho galo off
the coast of Sicily abates, tho French
authorities will Institute-' diving opera
tions around tho spot whoro tho body
of Lieutenant Gronadan was found
last week, ln an effort to determine
hoyond a doubt whether tho airship
ho commanded tho lost dirigible Dlx
mudc, with her fifty officers and men,
wont down In that vicinity or If her
commander'! body alone foil from tho
airship thore.
PALERMO, Sicily, Dec. 31. The
body ot Lleutonant Qronndan, com-
AMERICANS
ARE TAKEN
BY BANOIIS
Mrs. Julia Kilen Is Captured
and Professor and Mrs- Hoff
Wounded in Raid By Chinese
Bandits On Siang Yangfu
Victims Are U. S. Mission
aries U. S. Consul Protests
PEKING, Dec. 31. Followers of
the notorious bandit leader, Lno Yoa
Jen enptured an American missionary,
Mrs. Julia Kilen and wounded Pro
fessor Hernhard Hoff and Mra. Hoff
In n raid upon the town of Isao Yung,
in northern Hupeh province near tho
bolder town of Slang Yangfu, accord
ing to advices received hero today.
The American legation has taken
actlvo stops to bring about tho cap
ture of tho brigands and tho libera
tion of Mrs. Kilen. Tho Chinese gov
ernment has offered a bounty for the
capture, dead or alive, of the bandit
loader.
ernn Brethren of tho United Suites
and were conducting a mission at Tsao
i Yang when tho town was raided.
Warned of activities of the bandit in
tho vicinity, they had vacated their
. station nnd embarked on river craft
for safety, before tho raid. Later.
I however, on receiving assurances
from tho tuchun that tho bandlta had
been suppressed they returned to tno
mission. . ;
Mra, Kllon is fifty years old and her
'home Is in Northfiold, Minn.
The enptor of Mrs. Kilen, known
both as Uio Yun-Jcn nnd Lao Yang-
Hon for weeks has been terrorizing
Hon for weeks nus neon lorronzing
tho -frontier country along the north-
,. It wnB hla ,,nnd whl(.h i,t No
or wnoni wero put 10 m'um w.iii ......
riblo tortures.
At that tlnio missionaries at Lao
Hokowa, a station about forty miles
from Llkwankla nnd a little further
i in ine uiiituik wi bviuoi r..j....
lence to Professor nnd Mrs. Hoff.
roaches of the Fuho river, a iriuuuiry
of tho llanglang,
BY CATTLE OUTLOOK
SAI.KM, Oro., Dec. 31. After a
trip to his Union county cattlo ranch
Governor pierce returned to hia of
fice, today, feeling encouraged ovor
tho Siiurkct outlook for boot cattle.
The governor said there is no doubt
that tho market is starting an up
ward trend and that tho boef cattle
producer will soon bo In a position to
mako some money. Tho governor said
ho found prosperity in eastern Ore
gon spotted, with tho towns flourish
ing and the farmers dlsheartoncd. . ,
Arlnna DcTents Colorado
SAN ANTONIO, Texas, Deo. 31.
SEE IF THEY
mnndor of tho lost airship Dlxmude,
was brought to' Palermo today ac
companied by a guard of honor. It
will bo sont to Franco tomorrow. Tla
coffin is covo'rod with a French flag
and will bo guurdod continuously by
dotachmonts of marlmss, regular
troops and mllltla. J-
TUNIS, Dec. 31. A squadron ot
small French war craft! which put
Into this port for shelter from the
storm In tho Mediterranean, left today
to renew the search along the coast ot
Sicily tor bodies of victims of the Dlx
mude disaster and for wreckage from
tho dirigible. i
; l. !. !-