Medford mail tribune., June 12, 1938, Page 1, Image 1

The Weather
Forccut
Partly cloudy today, probtbly
with showers; cooler; tomor
row fair.
Temperature
Highest eterdayw.UWM..?3
Lowest yesterday... ...81
The Message
The message you arc hoping
for may be round on the
Classified page thU morntng.
Spend a few mlnutea checking
up. It may pay you well.
Better hurry If the "message"
there.
Medford
Tribune
Full Associated Press
Full ad Press
Tbirty-Third Year
MEDFORD, OREGON, SUNDAY, JUNE 12, 1938
No. 70.
MWHMMMHiiillMNI . MiiHMMMiilliiiiiHHHMMMaMiiMMMMMMHHMMiiiiiiiiiMIM
The
Capital
Parade
By Joseph Alsop
and
Robert Kintner
Copyright 1937, by The
North American News
paper Alliance, Inc.
RAILROADS SUFFER IN
F. R.-WHEELER FRICTION
AID FOUNDERS OS
MUTUAL DISTRUST ' l
NEITHER WILLING TO
MAKE FIRST MOVE
PROBLEM WILL BE ALLOWED
TO GO BY DEFAULT
WASHINGTON, June 12. A day or
so ago. Chairman Jesse H. Jones of
the RFC blandly announced on the
White House steps, after conferring
with the president, that there would
be no major railroad legislation at
this session. He might Just as well
have said:
"We doctors disagree, so we've de
cided to let the patient die."
' The death of a major industry Is
not an exaggerated description of
what is In prospect for the railroads.
As has already been pointed out here.
Informed experts predict that 94 per
cent of the nation's railroad mileage
wilt fall to meet ita 1938 fixed
charges. Yet the problem, according
to Chairman Jones, Is to be allowed
to go by default. It Is an unpalat
able fact that the problem will go by
default because of a petty conflict
of Interests and, still worse, of per
sonalities. A fair Illustration of the way the
railroad problem has been handled la
the story of the final Jones effort to
do something for the roads.
Already, when the effort was begun
a couple of weeks ago. It was clear
to informed men like Chairman Jones
that nothing really remedial could be
accomplished. Fundamental railroad
consolidation was out of the ques
tion. A senate conflict between rail
road management and railroad labor
had tied up even a stop-gap measure,
allowing the RFC to tide the . roads
over the bad times.
When this state of affairs was
reached, Jones foregathered with As
sistant Secretary of State Adolph
Augustus Berle, Jr., who Is not above
doing a little brain-trusting nn the
side. They concluded that, since It
was Impossible to consolidate or ball
out the roads, the best course would
be to make the business of going
through bankruptcy as painless as
possible.
At present, 30 per cent of the class
1 roads are In receivership. Under
section 77 of the bankruptcy law,
roads In receivership go to the ICC,
offer their reorganization plans for
certification, and then obtain the
final approval of the courts. In the
last five years, not one single major
road has even reached the ICC certi
fication stage of the receivership pro
cess. Berle and Jones prepared a bill
speeding up the process, and took it
to the president.
After glancing over the Berle-Jones
bill, the resident's first question was,
"How about Wheeler?" As Senator
Burton K. Wheeler of Montana Is
chairman of the senate interstate
commerce committee, the president's
question was reasonable. Accordingly,
Berle and Jones hurried off to the
senator.
In his turn. Wheeler promptly
asked Berle and Jones, "How about
the president?" Being an advocate of
"putting the roads through the
wringer", he had no great enthusiasm
for the Berle-Jones bill. He was, as
ever, suspicious of tho president. He
refused to go along unless the prestr
dent would specifically, publicly, in
dorse the proposed measure.
Berle and Jones heaved sighs of
relief. They thought they had worked
the old trick of getting two men to
work together on the basts, 'if he
will, then I will." They went back
to the president, and asked for his
O.K. But the president's suspicion
of Wheoler was quite as lively as
Wheeler's suspicion of the president.
He flatly refused to give more than
his tacit consent. And so the Berle
Jones bill died s-bornlng.
It is a thoroughly unpleasant fact
that the enmity between the presi
dent and Senator Wheeler has done
as much as anything else to prevent
sensible congressional action on the
railroads.
Every solution to the railroad prob
lem has some political defects. The
problem Is so bad that it cannot be
solved without offending someone.
Therefore, the president chose to
discard responsibility for the problem.
He asked a committee to study It and
report. The committee produced a
selection of plans. And the president,
fearful that. If he recommended any
one plan. Senator Wheeler would use
it against him, simply sent the selec
tion on to congress without comment.
(Continued on Page Six
I
Hmalt.v To Mt
PARIS. June IK (API The ov
ernmfnt announced today that Brit
ain's foreign secretary. Viscount Hal
ifax, would accompany King George
and Queen Elizabeth on their state
visit to France June 28. lending
weight to reports that France and
Britain would take steps at tat
time to strengthen their military
alliance.
SOUTHERNERS WIN Fishermen Drag For Drowning Victim
WAGE HOUR FIGHT;
VOTE THIS WEEK
Compromise Reached And
Passage Predicted
Labor May ObjectFili
buster Fades. '
WASHINGTON. June 11. (AP) A
thoroughly v compromised wage-hour
bill, including a provision for pay
differentials within a given industry,
received unanimous approval of a
joint congressional committee today.
Chairman Thomas (D., Utah) an
nounced the conferees would draft
& formal report on the bill at a
meeting tomorrow, so that it could
be taken up In the house Monday.
Advocates of the measure .predicted
it would be approved there quickly
and sent to the senate for final
passage early In the week.
The threat of a filibuster against
the measure by southern senators,
who havo boen fighting for a geo
graphical wage differential, appeared
eliminated by the compromise draft.
There were hints that the Amer
ican Federation of Labor might not
be agreeable to the wage section and
might provoke a fight on it later.
Committee Chairman Thomas (D.,
Utah) predicted, however, quick ac
ceptance of the bill by both houses.
The wage controversy in the com
mittee was settled by an agreement
on the following formula:
"A bedrock" wage of 25 cents an
hour In all Interstate commerce,
effective the first year and advanc
ing to 30 cents the second year. ,
Thereafter an Independent admin
istrator In the labor department
would appoint boards for each inter
state Industry. These boards would
be charged with increasing the mini
mum wage to 40 cents an hour as
rapidly as possible.
The boards would classify each
Industry and fix minima for each
classification. Once their orders were
approved by the administrator they
would stand until he reconvened the
board to reinvestigate conditions in
the industry.
At the end of seven years opera
tion of the law, all existing wage
orders would be wiped-put Automati
cally and a minimum scale of 40
cents an hour would go Into effect.
This would shift the "burden of
proof on the Industries. To obtain
exemptions they would have to show
that they could not pay their em
ployes 40 cents an hour without
curtailing seriously the opportunities
for employment.
FORTIFIED WINE
RAPPED BY HEAD
STATE HOSPITAL
SALEM, June 11. lP) An alarm
ing increase In the number of new
admissions to the state hospital for
treatment of chronic alcoholism
makes Dr. J. C. Evans, hospital su
perintendent, think that repeal isn't
the solution of liquor addiction.
More than 20 per cent of the men
admitted to the hospital are alcohol
ic cases. Last year there were 612 men
admitted, and of these 102 were to
"take the cure."
In 1933, last year of prohibition In
Oregon, only five per cent of the
new admissions were alcoholics, but
last . year the number had risen to
19.9 per cent.
"I cen't see that we're any better
off under repeal than under prohi
bition, espetally If more people are
becoming habitually Intoxicated." Dr.
Evans said.
"The open sale of fortified wines,
which is responsible for many of our
patients coming here to be cuied,
should be stopped. This wine makes
It possible for a man to become In
toxicated at a small cost."
BULLETIN
SACRAMENTO, June 11. (AP)
Sacramento defeated Hollywood 6
to 5 here tonight to clinch the cur
rent series. The Stars threatened
Dick Newsome all night and finally
drove him out in the ninth but his
relief. Plppen. ended the rally and
the game with a tying run on third
and a winner on first.
Stu Bolen lost the game in the first
inning. Cullop driving home two
runs with a single. Bolen was re
lieved by Miller who In turn went
out for Crandall In the fifth.
SACRAMENTO. Oallf., June 11.
(AP) Night game.
Score: R. H. E.
Hollywood 6 10 1
Sacramento 6 8 0
Bolen, Miller. Crandall and Bren
; Neweome and Orube.
Mill Workers Meet
VANCOUVER. Wo.. June 1- APl
Three hundred delegates opened a
special two-day conference of the
Oregon -Washington Council of Lum
ber and Sawmill Workers here today
with nn a:ti:n detgrea to pave the
way to clo-?r relaUoas between em
Dioje ud ejnplojeis.
ft v v v N a
iSkmimmmMmitmmmimmrmmSSl vummmmmm -rawest - a. inasiiiiaiiii n.n
Fishermen In Winchester bay aided coast guardsmen Thursday (n dragging for the body of Mrs. Edna
Huntsman, 27, Burntwoods, Ore., after a boating accident costing the lives of five persons of two families,
'Vacationing together at the coast. ,
PLANESTO JAPAN
Public Opinion Urged As
, Means To HaltvBombing
Of Chinese Civilians. -
WASHINGTON, June 11. (AP)
Secretary of State Hull undertook
today to halt the sale of American
made bombing planes to Japan.
He chose public opinion as the
means of accomplishing this objec
tive, s
In tare fully -worded phrases. Hull
told reporters this government's re
peated condemnation of the bomb
ing of civilian populations waa di
rected especially at the 'manufac
turers of military planes, and the
general American publls as well as
foreign powers. .
The repeated damning of ruthless
warfare would discourage sales to
regions where planes were gelngused
to bomb civilians, he predicted.
Other such condemnations would be
voiced in the future, he said.
Through Mx. Hull named no na
tion specifically, it was obvious that
Japan would be chiefly affected If
his policy were successful. Shipments
of war material to both sides in
Spain have been banned already by
Invocation of the neutrality act.
The neutrality law has not been
invoked against sales of planes or
bombs to Japan or China, however.
It was reported reliably that some
manufacturers already have shown a
willingness to reject contracts for
the shipment of bombing planes to
regions the secretary has In mind.
ASSAILS CJ.0. AS
WASHINGTON, June 11. (UP)
Rep. Clare E. Hoffman. (R Mich.),
tonight attacked the Committee for
Industrial Organisation as a "law
less" group and said the rival Amer
ican Federation of Labor had estab
lished Itself as the "sane, reason
able representative of organized ta
bor." 'Hoffman said the CIO. leader
ship was "never elected by the rank
and file of the C J.O. membership."
He spoke over a nationwide radio
hookup.
He predicted that the C.I.O. would
not survive unless It "abandons Its
policy of coercion, Intimidation and
violence.
"Unfortunately," he said, "many
of the leaders of the organisation,
those most active In Its affairs, use
the methods - and preach the doc
trine of Russian communism.
"During the four-year period of
1928, 1929, 1930 and 1931. before
the coming of the C.I.O., workers
lost, because of strikes, 28,193.465
days.
"On the last day of December,
1936, C.I.O. brought the titdown
strike to Michigan, and during the
year 1937. 1.850,350 workers lost 38,
230.130 days.
"CJ.O. In one year forced the men
of thla country who wanted to work
to lose more days because of strikes
than were lost In a four-year pre
ceding period."
4 .
Cupid at Reno
RENO, Nev., June U. (;pr Mar
riage licenses issued here today In
cluded : William J. Bamngton, 48,
Klamath Fails. Ore., and Hazsel Bus
try, 44. New Pine Crek. Ore.
Baker Judge Better.
BAKER, June 11. m Circuit
Judge C. H. McCoIloch, who waa op
erated on Thursday night for the
removal of a ruptured tippendlx, wa.
reported today to be slightly im
proved.
YOUTHFUL COUPLE
Life Insured, , Dies On Out
ing. In Wild Texas Region
Accident Theory Is
Scouted-
ALPINE. Texas. June 11. (AP)
-youthful Mr. and Mrs. Francis Black,
San Antonio couple who two months
ago took tousled , 13-year-old Marvin
Dale Nobbltt from his widowed
mother to "give him a good home,"
today were accused .of tumbling him
off a 400-foot mountain precipice In
ghastly insurance death plot. "
Murder charges were filed against
the couple by District Attorney Alan
Praser after an all-night sifting of
circumstances surrounding the tragic
drop of the lad Into a rock-filled
canyon Thursday. Fmser said "the
boy's death was not accidental."
Two days ago the Blacks, who
brought the frail lad here ostensibly
on a vacation, took him to the wltd
Big Bend country for on outing.
From atop a high cliff he toppled to
death and his companions told au
thorities ho slipped and fell while
tossing stones down the hillside.
Bherlff Elmer Taylor "and deputies
went to the Isolated spot and re
turned several hours later to arrest
the couple a. few minutes after they
had sat, sobbing, at funeral services
for the boy they claimed they had
legally adopted. Fraser said no adop
tion papers had been found.
Fraser sold the Insurance angle had
been - Investigated and from a San
Antonio Insurance firm It was learned
the boy's lite had been Insured for
tS.000 on May S7 and that Mr. and
Mrs. Black had been named bene
ficiaries. ,
At Harllngen, Texas, Mrs. Bobble
p. Smith, 41, widowed mother of the
dead boy, collapsed with grief when
informed of her son's death. '
EDITOR HELD ON
E
BEND, Ore., June 11. (UP) Syd
D. Pierce, editor of the Bend Free
Press, weekly newspaper, was arretted
here tonight on a charge of sending
obscene matter through the malls In
which he allegedly attacked the pri
vate life of Robert W. Sawyer, pub
lisher of the daily Bend Bulletin.
The complaint was signed by Unit
ed States Attorney Carl O. Donaugh
on motion of Sawyer and Postal
Inspector R. C. Heldon.
The complaint was based on state
ment carried in the Free Press
May 30 attacking Sawyer, a leader In
local and state activities. The publi
cation, according to the complaint.
"contained matter of an obscene,
lewd, lascivious. Indecent and filthy
character, the contents of which are
too obscene to set forth
The articles have been carried as
a "continued next week" series sine
Msy 30. Pierce first attacked Sawyer
In April when he criticized expense
accounts Sawyer filed with the sute
as a member of the Oregon capital
reconstruction commission.
State G.O.P. Chief
Ready To Do Share
CHILOQUIN. June 11. (API Re
plying to a query whether he would
seek third U-rm state chairman
Arthur W. Prlaulx. Chlloquln. replied
that "Oregon Republicans have a big
Job this year and 1 will not shirk
any responsibility but stand ready
to do my share as I have done the
past four years." H added the state
central committee would be called
I Inta scwlon In Portland after the
Jul? 4 holiday.
AND FRANCE HIT
BY SHARPJUAKE
Damage Minor But Exten
siveFive Nations Jolted
Lasted Ten Minutes,
Many Hurt. ,
LONDON, Juno 11. (ff) An earth
quake born In the North sea Jolted
five nations today, rumbling over a
400-mile front from England to the
Rhlneland.
There was scattered damage, sur
prise, alarm and even- panic among
the countryfolk-. In . Belgium ' and
northern France, who dropped to
their knees in prayer as chimneys
toppled, walls cracked, windows broke
and furniture Jumped.
Three capitals London, Paris and
Brussels felt the shocks, which some
seismographs recorded as having a
duration of 10 minutes. London felt
the first shock at 11:69 'a. m. (5:59
a. m, EST), Brussels a severe tremor
at 11:57.
Three persons were killed and about
20 Injured in Belgium. In Brussels
a frightened man leaped to his death
from a balcony; in Ghent an out-
of -control streetcar killed a pedes
trian; a crumbling wall killed a
bricklayer at Cruyshautem. .
Two children were Injured serious
ly at Hazebrouck, northern France,
and In several continental towns
there were injuries from falling
bricks ,
. Damage was minor but extensive,
apparently most serious in Belgium.
It was estimated the-damage there
might reach a million dollars. The
frontal wall of the palace of Justice
at Ghent split and a wall of the
Liege Citadel barracks shifted four
feet. Heavy factory motors were mov
ed In aome places.
Germany and the Netherlands felt
the shocks along with England,
France and Belgium.
The quake was described as the
most severe In Belgium's history.
AT FLOOD STAGE
EMPORIA. Kann, June II. (UP)
Cloudbursts and general rains, ac
companled by tornadoes in several
instances, swelled a hatf dozen Kan
sas streams to the overflow point
and tonight flood threatened a doz
en communities. j
Four towns along the headwaters
of the Neosho river were flooded. The
treacherous Marls Dea Cygnet river
rose over 'Its narrow valley and ap
proached flood stage at the rate of
a one foot an hour rise.
A five inch cloudburst, again In
undated sections of Saltna where a
week ago the Smoky Hill river bat
tered down dikes and swept Into the
city.
Countless tributaries' of these ewol
len streams were awaah. '
PEAR PROSPECTS
ON COAST HIGHER
WASHINGTON. June II. (API
Pear prospects In Oregon, California
and Washington were well above last
year, the United States department
of agriculture eald today. The de
partment as !d the condition of or
chards on June 1 Indicated a new
Harvest record for the second suc
cessive year. The nation's crop was
estimated at 39 878,000 bushels, one
per rent ahove last year and 33 pr
cent btgher than the 927-38 aterage.
FINISH mt IN
ITUf ML
STRIKE If ENDS
Unions May Broaden Boy
cottPublic Aids Oper
ators, In Walkout Nor
mal Service Claim.
PORTLAND, June 11. m A "tin-
lsh fight" was promised today by
union leaders in a strike against 11
Portland hotels while operators as
sured the traveling public they were
running "normally" and accused the
unions of confuslngthe issue.
At a mass meeting, several- hun
dred unionists applauded their lend
ers' declaration that they were in the
strike to the end.
Although the Joint board of five
restaurant and hotel unions Involved
said no other hotels had been added
t the picketed list, It reiterated its
Intention of broadening the boycott
through cooperation of other unions
Laundry drivers, teamsters, oarpen-
ters, painters and other union work
ers have been instructed not to cross
picket lines. The union board wild
it was considering calling upon ware
housemen to stop the movement of
supplies if that were deemed neces
sary. The union heads said they were
getting 100 percent cooperation.
Meantime, the operators In a state
ment, attacked the effectiveness of
the strike, which began Wednesday
In a dispute over the right of the
various unions to represent hotel em
ployes. The statement asserted that the
management of tho Multnomah serv
ed, without confusion, 5,300 people at
three meals Friday, using "new crews"
of non-union sentiment. The oper
ators said that in spite of the at
tempted boycott through other un
Ions, "deliveries of all supplies am
being made and workers are going
through picket lines."
The operators said they regarded
It as Important that the traveling
public realize that the hotels could
continue to give them "normal ser
vice."
The statement' also charged that
the unions were 'confusing the issue"
by making It appear that the dis
pute concerned wages, nouns and a
closed shop.
Although the unions have made
no public statement that the hot Is
sought "wage reductions," as the op
erators claimed, they have asserted
their right to represent employes.
Operators contended the unions had
not oalled an election among em
ployes for determination of bargain
ing agents and said thla was the
sole Issue.
The statement said the hotels had
not sought wage reductions but were
ready to continue present wages and
talk about hours and a closed shop.
The union board, replying to tho
operators' statement, asserted that
"one or two" operators desired to
"break the unions' and claimed tho
matter of an election among em
ployes was only a "ruse."
FIRST PICTURES
T
IN ACTION TAKEN
SAN FRANCISCO, June 11. fl)
American specialists learned today
for the first time how to photograph
the living human heart In all Its
major details, so that hereafter they
may see exactly what Is wrong nd
what should be treated In cardiac
eases.
The process consist of Injecting In
the veins a substance which cauaes
the blood stream to become visible
In x-4-fl pictures. Each section of
the heart and the veins' and arteries
about it stand out noticeably In the
photographs.
It was announced before the Amer
ican Heart association, by Its orig
inators. Dr. George 1?. Robb and Dr.
Israel Steinberg of Bellevue hospital
and New York university, New York
City. , -
Heretofore the heart has appeared
as a sort of white blotch, with little
or no detail. In x-ray films. Under
the new process its size, shape, posl
tlon, Its four compartments. Hi
valves and even the thickness of its
walls are revealed.
In the past the Inside of the living
heart has been beyond the sight of
surgeons, Robb and Steinberg a'd
and medical knowteoge of Its work
ings came largely from dead tissue
organs extracted after death.
The Injected substance causes the
blood to become almost opaque to x
rays. Sponsors of the heart photo
graphing system said It passed quick'
ly from the life stream and left no
deleterious effects.
Bear Canyon Blast
Frees Snake Horde
Blasting for road construction In
the Bear canyon Just over the Slsk
you summit has turned many rattle
snakes loose In the area.
Campers and plcknlckers were warn
ed to be careful, the rattlers being
so numerous as to create a hazard.
Bumper Boys
CLARKSBURG, W. Va,, June 11.
(fl)Dr. William H. Allman de
scribed as "the largest twins I
ever heard of" the boys now three
days old born to Mrs. Domlnlck
Fanlre.
The twins combined weight was
16 pounds ounces. Dr. All man
said no unusual difficulty waa ex
perienced In the Caesarian births
and that the health of mother
and sons was excellent.
J
GENERAL "ATTACK
ON WS SEAT
Hankow Next Objective Of
Navy And Army In Cen
tral China Flood Looms
SHANOHAr, June 12. (Sunday) (A1)
Japan .launched today what she an
nounced was a "general attack" upon
Hankow, a provisional seat of Gen.
Chiang Kai-Shek's Chinese govern
ment, in the heart of China, 585 miles
up the Yangtze river.
The Japanese navy served notice
here of plans to use both warships
and land forces In a synchronised as
sault upon the capital, central China's
greatest commercial city, having a
normal population of more than
1,600.000.
About 40 Japanese gunboats and
transports were reported already to
be within 350 miles of Hankow, far
up the river and already In action.
The stream Is navlglble for ocean
going vessels even past Hankow.
Japanese columns In the overland
drive now are fighting westward
through Honan province, and another
oolumn la approaching Anklng, 313
miles downstream from Hankow.
A second main theater of war had
as ltd stage Chengchow. about 300
miles north of Hankow on the Pelp-lng-Hankow
railway, where stubborn
defenders still held on after a per
sistent weeks-long attack along the
Lunghal railway.
Tremendous quantities of water
were reported coursing through a
large break In the Yellow river dikes
northeast of Chengchow, threatening
to create a flood of devastating pro
portions.
4-
GRIM FIND NEATH
EAST SIDE PORCH
Significance of the discovery of a
number of human bonei was weigh
ed Saturday by local authorities fol
lowing discovery of portions of a
human skeleton under the rear
porch of a house which Is being
torn down at 38 Portland avenue,
The property where the gruesome
find was made, was taken over last
fall by the city, owing to delinquent
assessments and unpaid taxes. Con
tract for removing the house was
given to Lee Williams, who reported
the find.
The bones were discovered lmmed
lately beneath a trap door on the
back porch of the old residence,
Newspapers lying In close proximity
bore a less date but It is the belief
of those who Inspected the remains
that they had been hidden several
years prior to that time.
Search of records pertaining to
the property disclosed there has
been a number of owners within
recent years, and that the house had
bwn occupied by several renters.
The bacx porch was the first por
tion of the house in which thn
floor was removed and It is planned
to take up other sections of the
flooring at once, In an effort to
bring to light more of the remains.
If more bones are found, and If
foul play is indicated, it Is planned
to trace the records of the property
minutely In an effort to ascertain
If anyone was reported missing dur
ing tenancy of any of the occupants.
According to J. O. Orey, in charge
of disposal of city-owned property,
the bones Include portions of a pel
vis, upper leg bone, two arm bones
and other fragments of an adult
woman.
WEEK'S PROSPECT
Weather forecast for Sunday,
June 12:
Northern California Hair Sunday:
local thunderstorms oer high moun
tains: slightly warmer In Interior
Sunday: moderate northwest wind
off coast.
Orenon Partly cloudy Sunday:
local showers or thunderstorms over
mountains: slightly warmer In ex
treme east portion tonight; moderate
northwest wind off coast.
Outlook far western states June 18-
18, Inclusive: Generally fair weather
with temperatures somewhat above
normal In interior.
L STATE.
IS TOLD
Minimum Pay Cut Confer
ence Given Gloomy Pic
ture By Growers, Shippers
Workers More Cheerful
A dismal future for the Rogue
River valley fruit Industry was
painted by orchardists at yesterday's
hearing on a plea for a reduction of
the minimum wage for women work
era In packing houses from 35, to
37 cents an hour.
Unless pear and apple production
can attain a basis of reasonable pro
fits In the near future, the indus
try Is doomed, orchardists, packers
an d th elr spoke smen asserted .
On the other hand, employes,
through their spokesman, Indicated
a more cheerful outlook. Prof. T.
0, Reimer, head of the southern
Oregon experiment station at Talent,
was quoted from a farm Journal as
saying prospeots for the 1938-39
season are "rosier" than they were
last year.
Commissioners Attend
The hearing was held In the Jack
son county circuit court before a
conference board appointed by 0.
H. Gram, state labor commissioner
and executive secretary of the state
welfare commission. The board com
prised three representatives each of
the public, the employes and the
employers. Present also were two of
the three members of the welfare
commission. Miss Gladys Everett and
Frank Vincent of Portland.
Porter J. Neff, Medford attorney
and one of the three conference
board members representing the
public; was chairman. At the con
clusion of the hearing. Mr. Neff
called an executive meeting of the
board for 7 :80 Wednesday night.
The board then will go orer tha
hearing transcript to compose Its
recommendation to the state welfare
board. Mr, Neff Indicated,
Request for the wage reduction
waa filed by the Fruit Growers
League, Inc. and the Rogue River
Valley Traffic association. P. Kramer
Deuel, attorney and association sec
retary, conducted the oral testimony
for the orchardists and filed r brief
with the conference board. ,
Regrets Cat Request '
Chester , Fitch, . president of th
Fruit Growers league, said In a pre
liminary statement that the Rogue
valley - fruit Industry had virtually
collapsed because of a disastrous
1937-38 season following a number
of years that were none too good.
He declared that It was with great
reluctance that a reduction in the
minimum wage waa asked. He said
that Medford district haa always
paid the highest wages In the north
west, that cordial relations have
always existed between management
and employes, that this friendly re
lationship was a valuable asset and
that continuance of mutual cordial
ity was desired.
Mr. Deuel presented figures show
ing that the weighted average' net
(Continued on past 8U.)
ARMY MAJOR HELD
AS WIFE KILLER
COLUMBUS, Oa.. June 11 ( API
The federal government Jailed Ma,
John R. Brooks Jr., former Oregon
State college man and Washington
state resident, today on a charge he
murdered his wife, but Its spokes
man steadfastly withheld details of
the case against the 900-pound army
officer.
P. S. Comm. !. A. Brown ordered
the 44-year old grandson of a ma
jor general held without bond after
the prisoner pleaded Innocent and
waived preliminary hearing. Brook
win be held In county Jail pending
action on his case by a federal
grand Jury expeoted to be summon
ed lata this month.
Mrs. Brooke, comely, 49-ysar eld
mother of three children, was found
fatally beaten In the Brooke home
at nearby Port Banning last Wed
nesday, Major Brooke, an Instructor m
the fort's vast Infantry school, was
afield on maneuvers whan two
daughters discovered their mother's
body.
MOTT HOLDS TARIFF
LUMBER MILLS NEED
WASHINGTON. June II. (AP)
Representative Jamea W, Mott of
Oregon declared today while beating
a house concurrent resolution to
maintain and make prosperoua tha
lumber industry that th reestab
llshment of an adequate lumber tar
iff was th solution to lumber's
troubles. He assarted "Amerlca'a
lumber Industry waa sold down th
river In the trade treaty with Brlt
lah Columbia and faces even won
treatment In the pending pact with
Great Britain."
TOKYO, June 11. (AP)Th Chi
nese embassy was formally closed
today, nearly a year after th start
of the Chinese-Japanese conflict, and
T. C. Yang, charge de'affalrea, and
hi staff of nine left for ObJna.
IN