Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989, December 26, 1945, Image 1

Historic Oregon Newspapers

Medford mail tribune., December 26, 1945, Page 1, Image 1

Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR

About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 26, 1945)

Page of 10 Next Prev Issue Next Text PDF JP2 (2.7 MB) Clip/Print Image

Return to Top

Page of 10 Next Prev Issue Next

Newspaper Page TextBIG 3 WIND DP ATOMIC TALKS; 1NITIALJREATY Byrnes and Bevln Expected To Leave Moscow Thurs day Meet Here Next Moscow, Dec. 28 U.R The Big Three foreign ministers held their last formal meeting of the 11-day atomic bomb and peace treaty conference today to ratify the draft of a final communique covering all the Issues on which they have reached agreement. The three principals and their f" delegations went into confer ence at 2:30 p. m. to wind up their business and initial the communique on which a draft ing committee had worked all day yesterday and again this morning. Leave Thursday Weather permitting. U. S. Secretary of State James F. Byrnes and British Foreign Sec retary Ernest Bevin were ex pected to leave Moscow by plane tomorrow. Contrary to earlier reports, Byrnes was scheduled , to fly directly to the United States without stopping off in Paris to discuss France's role in the eastern European peace treaty negotiations. Byrnes tried unsuccessfully to reach French Foreign Min ister Georges Bidault by tele phone Monday, t Diplomatic sources in Moscow aopeared confident that France would adhere to the peace treaty proposals outlined by the Big Three. Meet At Palace Byrnes, Bevin and Soviet For- elen Commissar Vyacheslav M Molotov held a 6-hour meet ing in the Spiridonovka palace last night, their longest session of the conference. (Meanwhile, it was disclosed In Washington that Byrnes had invited the British and Russian foreign ministers to hold their next three-way meeting in the United States capital, around March 15). COAL PIT DEPTHS Pineville, Ky., Dec. 26 !U.R) An undetermined number of miners possibly between 30 and 50 were trapped in a deep drift mine of the Kentucky Straight Creek Coal Co. today when an explosion rocked the operation shortly after the men went to work in the Icy dawn. W. E. Lewis, company opera tor, shouted over a humming rural telephone wire that the explosion blasted through the mine, two miles from the mouth, about 8:30 a. m. "About 50 of our men were in there when it happened," he said. "I don't know yet what caused It probably gas or dust."" V He said it would be "two or three more hours" before any accurate estimate of the situa tion could be obtained. He ord ered five rescue crews into the shafts to try to reach the trapped men who might still be alive despite fumes. The isolated little community perched in the southern Ken tucky mountains just north of the Tennessee state line was shaken by the disaster that came as the men went back to work after the most cheering Christ mas holiday in years. FINALlllNTS IN TATSUO TRIAL Yokohama. Dec. 28 (U.R) Final arguments were made to- day in the trial of Tatsuo (Little Glass Eye) Tsuchiya. the former Japanese prison camp guard accused of killing an American prisoner of war and committing atrocities against other allied nationals. Chief Prosecution Counsel Major Louis Often. Atlanta, Ga., closed his argument by demand ing the death penalty for Tsuchi ya who he said "enjoyed seeing American prisoners suffer in agony and torture." The eight-man military com mission which heard the seven day trial first war crimes trial to be held in Japan proper was expected to give its ver dict tomorrow (Thursday) possibly at 10 a. m. when court reconven ;s. London. Dec. 26 'U.R) Prime Minister Willem Schermerhorn of The Netherlands arrived by plane at Croydon airfield today for discussions with British of ficials of the Indonesian situation. 470 VIOLENT MEDF0RD'J. United Press Fortieth Year Heidelberg i-. i-v Mrf.?rL -J warn T'W..'. -T. ".--.v v..,.vv:.l-V' ,r,!iF.JIj rssviii Y.1 . (A 'me Iclt'fihoio) Half-track bearing flag-draped coffin of Gen. George S. Pattc.i, Jr., rumbles through streets of Heidelberg, Germany, on way to railroad station after funeral services there. Train later carried him to Luxembourg for ervlces and burial beside one of the privates of his beloved Third Anny who helped him forge a brilliant vic tory at Ardennes bulge. Photo by Reg Kenny, Acme photographer, radioed from Paris to New York. Moral Collapse of German People More Discouraging Than Physical Destruction Says Captain Kelly . The psychological and moral collapse of the German people is even more discouraging to ob serve than is the physical de struction of their cities and in dustries according to Edward C. Kelly, Medford attorney who re turned home Monday after two years in England and Germany with the army military govern ment branch. The attorney, who held the rank of captain, was released from service at Ft. Lewis Sunday. Kelly reports that the Ger- DEATH BY HANGING FOR JAP OFFICERS Kwsjaleln, Marshall Islands. Dec. 26 (U.R) Two high-ranking Japanese naval officers and nine co-defendants were sen tenced to death by hanging by a U. S. naval court today for executing 96 American civilians on Wake Island in 1943. Five other Japanese were sen tenced to prison terms of five years to life. Rear Admiral Shlgematsu Sakaibara. former Japanese commander on Wake, and his executive officer, Lt. Commndr. Soichi Tachibana, stood at at tention as interpreters read the sentences. Before the verdict was an nounced. Sakaibara defiantly demanded that Americans who conceived and carried out the atom bomb attack on Japan be tried. The 16 Japanese were con victed of machine-gunning the Americans on a lonely beach of Wake Island on the night of Oct. 7. 1943. The victims, em ployes of Pan American Air ways, had been forced to work for the Japanese for 22 months after invasion of the island. Chiang's Son Goes To Russian Capital Chungking. Dec. 26 'U.P Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek's Russian-speaking son. Chiang Chung-Kuo. has departed for Moscow for new negotiations concerning the occupation of Manchuria, it was learned reli ably today. Chiang's trip also was believ ed to be connected with the Moscow conference of Big Three foreign ministers. i Meantime Central News agen- cy said Gen. Tu Li Ming's na-' tionalist forces have recovered Tahushan dnd IIei?han. 70 miles; west of Mukden, in tl.e continu-j ing penetration of Manchuria. TRAINS COLLIDE ! Bemidji. Minn., Dec. 26 U.R'. At least 12 persons were injured! today whe:i two Great Northern! passenger trains collided. At tendants at the Bemidji Luther-1 an hospital said Rudolph Ander- son. Trail. Minn., and Joseph j Swainc. Grand Forks, N. D., a: baggageman, were seriously I hurt. ' Full Leased Wire Pays Tribute to General Patton mans "feel terribly sorry for themselves" and instead of en deavoring to better their condi tions, spend their time bemoan ing their conditions and grumb ling at the fact that the occupa tion armies are better fed and better housed. He agreed with previous statements to the ef fect that the Germans feel no regret at having started the war but only regret at having lost it. The former captain believes that within a few months trans portation and public utilities will be operating fairly efficiently and that industries will build again but that it will be at least a generation before the hates and distrust resulting from the war are overcome, This will come only through education, he believes, and added that the oc cupation armies can do much to re-educate the German people along democratic lines. ' Kelly stated that he would spend a week or two merely resting and enjoying his return to his family and civilian life but that he hoped to reestablish his law practice in the near future. Mrs. Kelly and their three chil dren have been residing at 430 Haven street while the officer was in service the past two and one-half years. He returned home with the 36th division, serving as com manding officer of headquarters and headquarters company of the 142nd regiment during the past two and one-half months. In recent months Kelly had been stationed at Wiesbaden. S WIDOW LOSES APPEAL San Francisco, Dec. 26 lU.Ri The federal circuit court of ap peals today reversed a previous decision and denied a new hear ing to Edna Ballard, widow of the leader of the "I Am" cult, and their son, Donald, convicted in Los Angeii..! in 1942 on charges of using the mails lo de fraud. The Ballards were accused of selling books by mail, which de scribed their relationship with "the ascended masters" and re ceiving "love gifts" from their 300,000 followers. In view of today's decision. Mrs. Ballard must pay an S8.0U0 fine and her son. $4,000. Mrs. I Ballard also has been given a ' one-year suspended sentence. ; Frank Perl Santa At Kiwanis Meet Frank Perl acted as Santa Clatis at a Christmas gift ex-: change at the noon meeting of the Kiwanis club held at Hol land hotel today. Dr. O. J. Halboth and Eugene Orr, former members of the club, were welcomed back into' th ; organization. i Each Kiwanian received a memorandum pad as a gift from the crippled children's class of the Medford school ijilem. ' I DEATH S MEDFOKD, OREGON,. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 1 -as A M'ARTHUR 'PLOT QUEER TWIST JAP PHILOSOPHY Tokyo, Dec. 26 U.R) The "plot" to assassinate Gen. Mac Arthur turned out today to be a strange twist of Japanese philo sophy. The soeallcd plot originated In the office of MacArthur's military aide Col. Herbert B. Wheeler last Saturday when Toichlro Arakl presented a pe tition with 86.000 signatories asking the Americans to spare the life of Gen. Yamashita, sen tenced to death for responsibil ity for Philippines atrocities, or give him a chance to commit hari kiri. - Too Good To Die In the course of hrs speech presenting the petition, Araki said some of his signatories had said that Yamashita was too good a man to be killed and that, therefore, if he Is killed MacArthur should be killed, also. Counter-intelligence Corps Chief Brig. Gen. Elliott Thorpe. Westerly, R. I., told the United Press: "That Is the way some of these Japanese think, but as far as we are concerned the so called threats do not mean a thing. "That 'plot' was originat ed by a newspaperman who just happened to be in Wheeler's of fice when the petition was pre sented. I was there, too. I cculd just see the gleam In this man's eyes when he heard 'killing' and 'MacArthur' in the same sentence." Quiet Christmas Things were quiet as Christ mas around MacArthur's head quarters today. There was no noticeable In crease In military police guards there Is one M P. at each of the building's four entrances and the usual crowd gathered In front of the building to watch MacArthur walk to his automobile enroute to lunch. The two M P.'s who stand guard outside MacArthur's pri vate office said they had not yet been given any new special orders as a result of the so called "plot", but that they have always scrutinized closely any one approaching the Inner sanc tum. Ceilings Fixed On Retail Lumber Washington. Dec. 28 'UP) The Office of Price administra tion authorized its regional of fices today to establish dollar and cent eeilinr? prices for oft wood lumber, shingles and hard wood flooring sold by retail dealer. Such prices. OPA said, will permit home owners, repairmen, and building contractors to know more readily what the ceiling prices for these items are. Pre viously prices were set up by a formula that was difficult for consumers to understand. The principal source of In come in Wyoming is agriculture. COUNTED OVER TALK TO NATION EARLY JNJANUARY Denies Address Will Be Anti Labor Ret liming to Washington Friday Kansas City, Mo Dec. 26 flJ.Rl President Truman said to day that his major pronounce ment of the new year would be a "state of the nation" radio address early in January on his over-all legislative program. Mr. Truman made the state ment to correspondents who met him in his federal building of fices after he had made his second Christmas visit in 18 hours at the home of his 93-year-old mother, Mrs. Martha Truman. Not Anti-Labor A correspondent remarked that he understood the address would be "anti-labor" and asked the president whether such an understanding was correct. The president replied it would not be that, at all. dismissing anv such possibility with that brief remark. The president said he would return to Washington in accord ance with his original schedule, which calls for him to leave here at 8:30 a. m. (CST) Friday. rie was returning, he said with a grin, not because there were any particularly pressing matters awaiting him but simply because he knew his desk would be piled high with work he wanted to get out of the way. Mother Visited Mr. Truman reached the fed eral building at 12:10 n. m. (CST) following the drive - In Grandview, where he had a turkey sandwich and a piece of cake while he visited with his mother and his sister. He'd found them just fine, he added. He explained he'd made the morning trip to take along some presents which hadn't ar rived at his Independence home in time for delivery on the first trip last night. As he entered the federal building, the chief executive gave 12-year-old Henry C. Jef ries, Jr., his biggest thrill. He posed with the boy, who had waited two hours for him to arrive, while the cameras click ed. "Gee," the son of a navy vet eran breathed, "wait till I tell the kids at school!" Friends Gresttd The president shook hands around with a group of old friends and then went to lunch with Tom Evans, Kansas City drug chain operator and life long friend. This afternoon he said he was going back to the ice-festooned "Little White House" to unwrap some more presents and then he just wanted to sit with his family and enjoy himself. There were no definite plans for tonight. He said he probably would have some Christmas visits with friends and there was the possibility of a third trip to Grandview. He said he'd return to Kansas City tomorrow morn ing and will have an "off the record" luncheon as guests of correspondents covering h i s Christmas visit. 235,000 GIS OUT IN SINGLE WEEK Washington, Dec. 26 (U.R) A total of 235,000 army person nel were released during the week ended Dec. 21. This brought the total of releases since V-E day May 12 to 4,466. 000 the War department said to day. The total released during De cember through the 21st was 832,000 and the total from V-J day, Sept. 2 through Dec. 21, 3,874.000. Since V-E day 18 493 doctors, 4.375 dentists and 27.S28 nurses have been returned to civilian life from the army. CVA HEARINGS SOON Washington, Dec. 26 (U.R) Sen. Hugh B. Mitchell, D., Wash., said today he expects hearings to begin early in February on his bill to create a Columbia valley authority. Hear ings in the senate will l.e held by the commerce committee. j RIBUNE United Pratt Full Winter Relaxes Grip On Midwest, Northeast Areas By United Preii Heavy snbws and icing con ditions which prevailed through out much of the midwest and northeast over the Christmas holiday abated today, with tem peratures expected to be normal in most parts of the nation. The U. S. weather bureau In Chicago reported that while snow was forecast for some areas of the midwest, a north west wind of 20 to 30 miles an hour which piled up towering drifts had diminished. Slightly colder weather was predicted for Wisconsin, Michi gan, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, bjt temperatures were slated to remain well above zero. Minne sota will have a minimum of 5 to 10 above. TO HOMES AFTER SMALLPOX SCARE Portland, Ore., Dec. 28 flJ.R) All but one of 1,773 soldiers from the troop transport Grundy were headed homeward today after being quarantined aboard ship In port here because of a contagious disease. The only one not homeward bound was T5 Francis R. Price. 30, Wheeling, W. Va., who died of smallpox and whose Illness made It necessary to quarantine the ship. The quarantine was lifted Christmas day and the troops were transported to the Van couver barracks staging area where several trains took them to separation centers. Chrlstmiis dinner was served aboard the ship Monday and gifts were given to all. The smallpox victim was taken ashore when the vessel arrived here Friday. He died Monday. Ho is survived by his widow, Nellie, of Wheeling. The Grundy Is scheduled to return to the Orient for more troops after she undergoes re pairs here. COASfGUAl TO FORMER STATUS Washington, Dec. 26 (U.R) The coast guard, which played an Important war role as part of the navy, will be returned next month to Its peacetime posi tion as a branch of the treasury department, It was learned to day. Preliminary details of the transfer already have been work ed out by the treasury and navy departments. The shift will be announced formally by Presi dent Truman. The coast guard was transfer red from the treasury to the nnvy by an executive order of President Roosevelt on Nov. 1, 1941. Since that time, the coast guard participated in every ma jor amphibious operation, sup plied invasion troops, directed air-sea rescue operations, guard ed ports and supervised loading of munitions. The coast guard's peak war time strength was 172,000 per sonnel, including Spars the women's auxiliary organization. By Dec. 18, however, coast guard personnel totaled little more than 100,000. English Professor Spends Christmas In Boxcar With Two Horses and Cat Greeley, Colo., Dec. 28 (U.R) George C. Gates, professor of English, arrived cold but happy today, after spending Christmas in a boxcar with two horses and a cat. Gates, the horses and the cat made the boxcar trip from Cedar Falls, la , so that Gates could join the faculty at Colorado State College of Education. Their private car, part of a string of regular freight cars which left Cedar Falls on Dun day afternoon, pulled up to an unloading ramp in the Greeley railroad yards today and the be spectacled, 41-ycar-old professor, stepped out the door. Christmas, he said, was a pleasant day. He spent It quietly, smoking his pipe and reading yoelry. Even the twiics YULE HOLIDAY Leased Wire NO. 235. T E AT G1GARAGE Unofficial Holiday Labor Truce Ended By Force Case Strike Scheduled By United Press CIO United Auto Workers pickets barred a General Motors executive from a company gar age at Flint, Mich., today as nn unofficial holiday labor truce came to an end. Another executive managed to drive through the picket lines and into the garage on the third try. No one was injured in cith er incident. Some Cross Lines The company announced, meanwhile, that about 25,000 of its 50,000 non-striking office workers had crossed picket lines and reported for work. The UAW resumed negotia tions with the big auto manu facturers over demands for a 30 per cent wage increase. Heading the schedule was a meeting with officials of the strikebound General Motors Corp., which administration leaders hoped might affect a set tlement applicable to the indus try as a whole. Today's conference, dedicated to discussion of local plant griev ances, also was expected to con sider the question of higher wages, basic issue in disputes keeping 498,000 U. S. workers away from their Jobs. Friday Deadline President Truman's fact-finding committee last week gave the parties until Friday to settle thoir dispute without govern ment Intervention. Similar wage negotiations with the Ford Motor Co. were recessed until Jan. 8. In Washington, the administra tion reportedly had advanced plans for overhauling its em ployment, wage stabilization and labor conciliation services to fa cilitate handling of postwar work stoppages. For the most part, the labor scene was characterized by a post-holiday letdown. However, J. I. Case Co. employees In four cities were scheduled to go on strike today, culminating a long dispute. DAR PARLIAMENTARIAN SUCCUMBS AGED 69 St. Louis, Dec. 26 (U.R) Mrs. John Trigg Moss, 69, na tional parliamentarian of the Daughters of the American Revolution, died at her home here today. She had been ID from the effects of high blood pressure for the past several m.'inths. Mrs. Moss, past vice president general of the DAR, was also active in civic and educational organizations. TWO AT CAMP WHITE ADVANCE TO CAPTAIN Camp White, Dec. 26 Two first lieutenants stationed at Camp White have been promot ed to the rank of captain, the news being received the day be fore Christmas. Advanced in rank were Frank S. Prime, post exchange officer, and Foute Eagleton, post signal officer. Capt. Prime and Mrs. Prime, the former Jane Moffitt, reside at Holly Court. had a good time. "They seemed to enjoy the trip," Gates said. "After their initial surprise, they became ac customed to the ride, even brac ing themselves every time the engine signaled two whistles for the takeoff." Gates' wife arrived In Gree ley yesterday. She made the trip from Iowa in the more con ventional style of railroad pas senger service. The professor said he couldn't understand what "all the fuss was about." "I'll admit that my mode of transportation was a little unique, but I wouldn't have thought of coming west without my horses," he explained. "Be sides, the trip had economical advantages." TRAFFIC MISHAPS ACCOUNT FOR 248; CALIFORNIA, LEADS Cold Weather Causes Heavy Loss Shootings, Sui cides, Falls Account 222 Santa Barbara, Calif., Dec. 28 (U.R) Three persons were killed and fire seriously Injured today when an explo sion and fire, believed set off by butane gas In a truck, wrecked a bottling works and the 20 apartments on the second floor of the building. Windows three blocks from the blast at the Pepsi Cola Bottling Works were shatter ed and the force of the ex plosion was felt ten miles away. The three dead were Mr. and Mrs. John Johnson, and Caroline Sue Stovall, 10, daughter of Mrs. Josephine Stovall, who was Injured ser iously. By United Press The nation counted a total ol 470 dead today in the wake of the Christmas holiday. At least 248 persons were killed In traffic accidents over Ice-coated highways, and an additional 222 met violent deaths In shootings, suicides, falls and other mishaps. California led the rest of tha country with 47 traffic and 24 miscellaneous deaths for a total of 71 In the four-day holiday period. In the Los Angeles area alone, 33 persons died on tha highways. Texas Second Texas, biggest state geograph ically, had the second highest violent death toll. Twenty-six of the state's totnl of 46 deaths were traffic fatalities. Fifteen of Texas' 20 other accidental deaths were described officially as murders. Other states with high num ber of holiday deaths Included Pennsylvania with 44, Connecti cut with 27 and New York and Missouri with 24 each. In the upper half of the na tion, where freezing rains and slippery highways took a high, (oil of holiday dead, stnje police reported fewer accidents with) gradually rising temperatures. Five Children Burn Tragedy hit hard at Fayette vllle, W. Va., yesterday when five of the 10 children of Mr. and Mrs. George Sodder burned to death In an early morning; fire. The parents and four other children narrowly escaped when the blaze completely leveled their two-story frame home. One fireman was killed and, another Injured last night when flames destroyed the Commer cial National bank at Anniston, Ala. The dead man was Burt Coles, 55, a veteran of 20 year with the department. Fire Chief Emmctt White was treated for Injuries. OF 17 MD FOLK Hartford, Conn., Dec. 26 U.R State Fire Marshal Edward J. Hickey said today that a panicky nurse at the Nilcs street hospital dropped a fire extinguisher in attempting to put out a blazing; Christmas tree on Christmas) eve and fled the building, leav ing an outside door open. Hickey said flames were driven into tha upper floors by the draft of air. The nurse discovered the fira In the hospital office, he said, and took one of the four avail able fire extinguishers, all o( whirh were in working order. "She lost her head," Hickey said and dropped the container, turned and fled to summon help. "When she went out the front donr she left the outside door open and that draft of air from the outside just whipped tha flames and smoke up the stair way and the people upstairs were suffocated before help could get to them." Hickey's disclosure came as an official investigation into tha fire, which caused the deaths of 17 aged men and women, waj interrupted by a summons from Gov. Raymond E. Baldwin who said he had talked with Hickey and State Health Commissioner Stanley H. Osborn about "what steps we could take to organize a stale-wide survey and study of safety regulations and precau tions." FAMED 28TH COMING San Diego, Cal., Dec. 26 (U.R) The famed 28th marine regiment of the fifth division, which rais ed the U. S. flag on Mount Surl bachl on Iwo Jima, was enroute home today and scheduled to ar rive here within a few days.