Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989, February 15, 1946, Image 1

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Medford mail tribune., February 15, 1946, Image 1

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Newspaper Page TextMl mm. mm Ml Weather I ' . 'v- MAL W NORTHWEST HIT MrxitTYbTL Jmwm$L .Ttjt'rttot? byworstshogk Fortieth Year New Wage - Price Formula Opposed By A. F. 1. President TRUMAN'S PLAN GREEN'S CLAIM Program Would Be Blow At Collective Bargaining, Union Leader Declares. By United Preu President Truman's new wage price formula designed to break the nation's reconversion crisis ran into opposition today from the American Federation ol La bor. President William Green, of the AFL, said the President's plan was unacceptable. Mr. Tru man's program was aimed at set tling strikes Idling 1,529,000 American workers and was spe cifically directed at walkouts in the steel, electrical, and automo tive industries. CIO-GM Resume Shortly after the President's plan was announced General Motors and the United Automo bile Workers Union (CIO) pre pared to resume negotiations in the 87-day GM strike. GM President Charles F. Wil son planned to attend the nego tiations for the first time since the strike began, Nov. 21. In attacking Mr. Truman's program, Green said it was a "body blow at free collective bargaining." .'.,... He predicted it would "create widespread social, industrial, and economic discontent and up heavals." U. S. Steel Corp. and the CIO Steel Workers Union reportedly had reached agreement on all major issues. Mr. Truman's new policy 'would permit a steel price increase of $5 a ton in return for an 18V4 cent an hour wage boost. The steel walkout has kept 750, 000 workers idle for 26 days. An additional one cent an hour has constituted the major stumbling block to ending a t i . . i .nil nnn rir r- . 1 Motors employes, now in its 87th day. CIO auto workers officials earlier this week rejected a prof fered I8V2 cents raise and an nounced they would not settle for less than 10Mt. The wage-price question has been the critical issue, too, in a strike of 200,000 CIO electrical workers against General Elec tric, Westinghouse and General Motors' electrical appliance di vision. GM electrical workers are voting this week on a com pany offer of an 18',4 cents an hour increase. The President's policy, based on higher living costs, permits somewhat higher wage increases than previously, as well as easier relief for employers who raise wages. Other labor developments: 1. Ford Motor Co. reported that its last operating plant at Richmond, Calif., would close tonight because of the steel shortage. 2. Three persons were injured yesterday when AFL pickets clashed with non-strikers at the Hicks Body Co., Lebanon, Ind. TAC0MA ELECTRICIANS PLAN MONDAY STRIKER Tacoma. Wash.. Feb. 15 U.R Larry Thaller, business agent for the electrical Workers' union (AFL). said today the organiza tion had rejected the city coun cil's request for a week's delay In striking in support of wage demands at Tacoma city light installations. Thaller said approximately 200 workers would walk'off the job at 12:01 a. m. Monday un less the city granted demands for a 15 per cent across the board wage increase and double time for overtime work. Subscribers It roe do eat rclw mt pr telephone 114! ef 495 tfort Mt p:m. OnSondaTfi.il 1141 mr 5 krforn 12 .m United Preu (Acme Telephotot Big Three powers sit side-bv-slde at UNO council meeting at London, England, In which Andrei VUhlnsky, Russia (second from left), and Kmest Bevln, Britain (center) are chief protagonists and Edward 8tettiniust . . . Jr., USA (second from right) is chief peace-seeker, Trygve Lie (right) Is UNO secretary-general. Bowles Agrees to Slight Price Increase Gains Added Power As Inflation Fighter PI BOWLES 3 col hed Washington, Feb. 15 (U.R) Hold-the-Line Chester Bowles, the government's foremost in flation fighter, won new power today and a bigger job as eco nomic stabilization director. The OPA chief had to let the '.'line" bend in order to do it. CHINA ASKED FOR Chungking, Feb. 15 (U.R) The United States has asked China for a full explanation of reports that Russia is stripping all Manchurian industry as "war booty" without consulting the other allied powers, an authori tative source disclosed today. Chunking. Feb. 15 (U.R) Competent observers forecast today Russian troops may re main in Manchuria a long time instead . of withdrawing on schedule. This informant said Washing ton has asked Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek's government for a detailed account of Rus sian activities in the liberated Manchurian territories, includ ing the alleged looting of indus trial equipment. Reds Queried Also Persistent but unconfirmed reports circulated in Chungking that the United States dispatched a similar request to the Soviet government. The American action was un derstood to have been taken aft er Chiang expressed concern to the United States over the con tinued presence of the Red army in Manchuria. The Russians originally were scheduled to leave the territory last Decem ber, but their departure has been postponed several times and no definite date has yet been fixed, U. S. Kept Out American concern apparently centered on the reported indus trial looting by Russian troops in Manchuria, particularly since the United States reparations com mittee headed by Edwin W. Pauley only recently was refused permission to enter the Russian held territory. It was pointed out that an al lied reparations committee al ready is functioning in Germany on disposition of German indus trial equipment, whereas the United States has no voice in the disposal of Manchurian indus tries, although it was the prin cipal foe of Japan throughout the war. VETS GET PREFERENCE Sacramento, Feb. 15 The state assembly voted today to give veterans an added chance at state jobs, passing a bill in creasing the veterans preference in civil service examinations front i to 10 points. Full Leased Wire MEDFORD, OREGON, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1946. Sile Selection Debated by it mS w 1 til Taei nm swum mWI mSk s He agreed to a policy of more liberal price increases than he previously had favored to offset wage raises. But he got the stabilization position, in which he will have control over hotti wages and prices in carrying out President Truman's new wage-price policy. From that command post he will now fight a new campaign to hold the somewhat inflationary line to which he has retreated. Mr. Truman announced that Bowles would succeed to the stabilization post in which Judge John C. Collet has been having an unhappy time trying to recon cile conflicting pressures. Col let will return to the. federal bench in Missouri. Under Bowles in charge of OPA, will be Paul A. Porter, an other advocate of a firm hold-the-line policy. Porter recently has been chairman of the Fed eral Communications commis sion, but previously was rent ad ministrator in OPA. FCC Com missioner Charles E. Denny, Jr., will become acting chairman of the FCC. Also under Bowles, on the wage side of the picture, will be the wage stabilization board. W. W. Wirtz will continue to head Bowles' new office as stabiliza- DOG SAVES CHILD FROM "BIG KITTY" IN YARD Kane, Pa., Feb. 15 (U.R) Four-year-old ClmiHr. t.tii,,,i er, Jr., today owed his life to nis daddy's mongrel watch dog Who Was killed ua hn hD.k a warning when a "big kitty" came imo me yard where Claude was playing. The "big kitty" was a moun tain lion. The lion had escaped from a nrivate 700 nhnill nnn milA frnm the Mollander home in a heav ily wooded section near here. , BELL BUILDING SOLD Los Angeles, Feb. 15 (U.R) Louis Newman, of Los Angeles, today was the new owner of the Continental building, one of the properties of Arthur L. Bell's bankrupt Church of the Golden Rule, now being liquidated. Newman paid $410,000 for the building. Destruction of Navy Supplies on Guadalcanal Told by Ex-Officer Los Angeles, Feb. 15 (U.R) Merchant Capt. F. K. Williams, a former lieutenant commander in the navy, charged today that hundreds of navy Jeeps in good condition had been driven into the bay at Guadalcanal. "I saw hundreds of navy jeeps driven into the bay." the skipper of the Lilxrty ship Morgan Hob ertson said after docking here. "I saw two enormous cranes, scores of small cranes and 50 or more trucks dunked into thous ands of fathoms of water." William said 10 new fire trucks were destroyed on the ground at Guadalcanal, 3,600,000 UNO xr AY tion director falls under the technical jurisdiction of John W. Snyder, the reconversion direc tor. Their exact relationship is still to be defined by the pres ident. It was plain, however, that Bowles had been assured of a substantially free hand in ad ministering the new wage-price policy or he would not have taken the job. L IN SLOW FLIGHT New York, Feb. 15 (U.R) Transcontinental and Western Air inaugurated non-stop cross country air service today, and such an inauguration you never did see. The pilot was a young man, named Howard Hughes, with $125,000,000 in the bank. The passengers ranged from the brightest stars of Hollywood, such as Paulcttc Goddard, who got on the plane laden with Mothersill's seasick remedy, to photographers and newspaper men. Hughes wanted to set a rec ord but he didn't make it. The trip from Burbank to LaGuardia field, New York, took eight hours, 38 minutes, or more than an hour longer than the com mercial record set Feb. 3 by another TWA constellation.. COLD WAVE SWINGS TOWARD NEW ENGLAND By United Press The severest cold wave of the year tightened its grip on the Great Lakes region today and began swinging into New Eng land. The U. S. weather bureau said Intensely cold air was pouring over the Ohio and Mississippi river valleys toward the Allnntic seaboard and the gulf states. The 100-mile ara surrounding Chicago was covered with a lay er of Ice under three to five inches of snow. M Chicago the mercury dipped to three below at 4 a. m., a drop of 27 degrees since yesterday noon. feet of lumber and countless wooden buildings burned and a warehouse 150 feet long emptied of thousands of good tires which took six bulldozers three days to bury- "The navy scuttled a landing craft tank loaded with pumps. engines, concrete mixers, pipe wrenches." Capt. Williams said. "In fact I raided their big two door ice box and salvaged 47 pounds of butter, several slabs of bacon and numerous hams be fore they sank the ship. Canned goods galore, including aspara gus tips and pineapples, were dktroyed witb ths ship. ON PEARL GUILT Chairman Barkley Says Re port Will Be Ready June 1; Extension Will Be Asked. Washington. Feb. 15 (U.R) The Pearl Harbor committee heard today that tHe late Presi dent Roosevelt saw part of Japan's final intercepted diplo matic note the night of Dec. S, 1941, and immediately an ticipated war. A naval officer who deliver ed the Intercepted message to the White House, told the com mittee Mr. Roosevelt read It for 10 or 15 minutes, turned to the late Harry L. Hopkins, his confidential adviser, "and said, 'this means war'." Washington, Feb. 15 (U.R) Chairman Alben W. Barkley of the congressional Pearl Harbor inquiry said today his committee plans to wind up public hearings next Wednesday and present its report by June 1. Barkley announced after an executive session of the com mittee that he will ask congress to extciid-the inquiry deadline to June 1, but that all "present prospective -witnesses" would .be heard by Wednesday. This - remark indicated that some committee members may wish to call other witnesses not yet announced for further ques tioning later. Non-Delivery Earlier the committee learned that a breakdown in the war de partment's message delivery system prevented the army's high command receiving an in tercepted Japanese response to a last minute U. S. peace pro posal on the evening preceding the attack on Pearl Harbor. Col. Rufus S. Bratton, 1941 chief of the army's Far Eastern intelligence section, admitted that no delivery of the 13-part intercept was made to Gen. George C. Marshall, then chief of staff, until nearly noon on Pearl Harbor Sunday. Committee members, counsel and Bratton clashed repeatedly with edgy tempers in connection with changes in Bratton's testi mony. GOLD HILL'BOY HIT BY AUTO ON HIGHWAY Gold Hill, Feb. 15 Steven Bauer, 6, returned to his home here today from a Grants Pass hospital where he was taken Thursday after being struck by an automobile near McDonald's Cabins, two miles west of here. His mother, Mrs. Hazel Craig, said the boy was apparently re covering satisfactorily. The first grade pupil was struck by a Ford coupe driven by i. e. Yannayon of Sacra mento when he ran in front of the car while crossing the street to meet a school bus. The boy suffered bruises and shock and was rendered unconscious. SIDE GLANCES By TRIBUNE REPORTERS Ed. Canoosc trying to tie a ribbon on "Snafu" the parrot. with much noise from Snafu dur ing the process. Florence Dean thinking it worthy of mention, since Crater Lake is so often credited to Cali fornia, to note that yesterday a broadcasting company kindly moved Seattle down into Oregon. Charlie Hoover so pleased over certain new services ren dered him and fellow Route 4 residents that he even parted with a pound of butter. Oris Crawford celebrating his birthday yesterday and being tcasingly referred to "as a comic valentine.'' United Preu Full Stettinius Urges j Troop Withdrawal In Syria, Lebanon London, Feb. 15 (U.R) Ed ward R. Stettinius, Jr., of the United States appealed today be fore the United Nations security council for the early withdrawal of Apglo-French troops from Syria and Lebanon. Stettinius threw the support of the United States behind a Syrian-Lebanese demand for the unconditional with d r a w a 1 of Anglo-French troops from the Levant in the closing hours of the security council's work here. This was the lust problem before the council. Rvrin nnH T.phnnnn Hpmnnd- ing the withdrawal from their territory, asked the council to supervise it. AMERICAN LEGION CONVENTION HERE JULY 29, 30, 31 Mcdford will be host for the big slate convention of the Oregon department of the American Legion, July 29, 30, and 31, It was announced today by Glenn Jackson, convention general chairman. ' It will be the first post war Legion convention In Oregon and It Is expected to be the largest In the history of the state department. Over 150 posts will be represented. Many of them new posts and some are made up entirely of World War II veterans. . World War II members, who already outnumber the War 1 members are expected to take over the convention. Chairman Jackson will an nounce committee appointments and general convention plans in a few days. Bengtson Files For Legislative Return O. H. Bengtson, Medford at torney who served as represen tative from tills district to the stale legislature the past two years, has filed his declaration of candidacy for the coming elec tion according to a news dis patch from Salem. Bengtson, re publican, stated several days ago that he planned to seek re-election. KIDNAP HOAXER FREE OF MURDER CHARGES Boston, Feb. 15 (U.R) Mrs. Rose Carlan, 23-year-old mother who aroused the nation's sym pathy for 16 days with the hoax that her baby son had been kid naped, was freed today of a manslaughter charge in the in fant's death. Mrs. Carlan was arrested Dec. 14 shortly after police found the body of her 6-month old baby Ronald hidden beneath the drawer of a China closet In her tenement. The discovery of the body ended a 16-day kidnap hunt in which Mrs. Carlan had said the baby was stolen from his carriage outside her home. Tremblor Not Felt in This Region; Crater Activity Check Impossible Earthquake shocks which shook coastal points in Washing ton and northern Oregon last night apparently were not felt in the Rogue River Valley. Weather station attendants at the airport stated this morning that there was no evidence of the quake at the station, and that the staff had no indication of the disturbance until reports began to come In on the teletypes. Many stations north of here re ported the quake, and one naval weather station reported that the staff had been forced to va cate Die station, It was said. Crater Lake National Park service employes stated that jinca no one is now at the park Leaied Wire NO. 278. 4-F'SFOR ARMY Most of Inductees Will Be Non-Fathers 250,000 Draftees Needed Is Word. Washington, Feb. 15 (U.R The nation's draft boards began combing their registration lists today for younger 4-F's to meet the army's critical need for oc cupation troops. The army, admitting defeat in its efforts to obtain fully fit men, asked selective service to funnel 75,000 physical rejects into uniform by the end of April. These will be in addition to the 50,000 men a month the army has requested from the draft system to meet Its dis charge program and still retain a strength of 1,500,000 men on June 30. Mostly Non-Fathers The 4-F's for the most part will be taken from the ranks of non-fathers between the ages of 18 and 25 who previously quail fled for limited service but wore not taken because of over flowing quotas. - The draftees also will in clude some with physical dis abilities at present deferred for agriculture and occupational reasons. The army admitted the new order would lower efficiency and result In a larger percen tage of disability discharges but It said there was no alternative. It was pointed out that the army must have 250,000 draft ees during the first five months of the year. STOLENCARCLUE IN CONS' ESCAPE Salem, Ore.. Feb. 15 (U.R) State police today were investigating- a stolen car report as a possible clue in their hunt for two "dangerous!' Oregon State convicts who escaped over the prison wall yestcrduy. ' The automobile was reported as stolen from the Kciser dis trict, five miles north of here. Police said the vehicle may have been used by the two convicts, Allen D. Brumficld, 31. and Arnold W. Manning, 24, as a get away car after they broke out of their cell and scaled the wall in a thick fog. The fugitives were described by Warren George Alex ander as "dangerous." Brum- field a convicted murderer, was serving a life sentence, and Manning was serving time for burglary and for arson within the prison. Using soup and green Ink to cover up their work, the two had sawed through a baron their cell door. headquarters or lake, there was no way of determining what might have taken place In the crater or that vicinity. Since the United States Geological Survey sent a geologlist to the lake this winter to Install a hy drophone in an attempt to de termine if there is a recurrence of volcanic activity in the crater regret was expressed that the instrument was not working and under observation last night during the quake. The cable connecting the hydrophone and the recording drum was broken by a snowslide shortly after Its installation and the dangerous task it repairing It was post ruined and the geologist departed fur the wkL EVER RECORDED Seattle Damage Between Quarter and Half Million Dollars Several Injured. Seattle, Wash.. Feb. 15 U.R) An earthquake described by seismologists as the worst In th history of the Pacific northwest rocked a 60,000-square mile area last night and caused damage that may run Into hundreds of thousands of dollars. In Seattle alone the city en gineers department estimated damage at between $250,000 and $500,000. Several persons suffered slight Injuries when the quake rumbled along a 300-mile coastwise front, tumbling merchandise from the shelves of drugstores, restaurants and taverns. Second Shock A second "after-shock" quake of minor intensity occurred at 4:16 a. m. today, lasting two minutes, but passed unnoticed except by relatively few all night workers throughout Wash-. ington state. Although no serious casualties were reported, cities from Salem, Ore., to Vancouver, B. C, re ported cracked walls In build ings, falling plaster, broken mer chandise and shattered plate glass windows. Startled residents ran scream-' Ing into the streets In several northwest cities, Including Se ultle, Tacoma, Bremerton, Olym pia and Wenatchee, Wash. Thea ters in most cities were emptied within a few minutes when frightened patrons scurried for exits. The shock, recorded by the University of Washington seis mograph at 7:18 p. m, (PSTJ, was reported to have been felt In more than 30 cities along the coast and 300 miles Inland to' Spokane, Wash. Needle Thrown Off The seismograph needle at the university's geology laboratory was thrown completely off Its cylinder by the sudden tremor for the first time since it was in stalled. Professor G. E. Good speed said. "It was the strongest shock In my 27-year experience at the university," Dr. Goodspeed, ex ecutive director of the geology department, said. "Disturbances kept registering on the seismo graph for 16 minutes after the actual quake." Goodspeed and Assistant Ge ologist Howard A. Coombs classi fied the tremor as "plus-six" In tensity, twothlrds as strong as the disastrous 1906 San Fran cisco earthquake. Goodspeed and Coombs at first had logged the tremblor as "plus five." Olympia Center Coombs said the direction ot the quake was unknown but scismographic recordings indi cated that its epicenter was "slightly north and west" of Olympia, Wash., where the most extensive damage was reported. Authorities In Olympia, Wash ington's capital city, reported 100-foot cornice fell from the lop of a downtown six-story building and crashed on a first story roof. One drugstore closed after hundreds of bottles toppled Into the aisles and another re ported that Us cntlro perfume counter was shattered by the force of the quake. Cities and towns throughout the area reported extensive dam age in homes, confined mostly to broken dishes, wall pictures and floor lamps. One Seattlo family narrowly escaped Injury when a new eight-foot-high stone wall crumbled into the back yard. Smith Tower Sways Heaviest single damage was reported at the Seattlo Fisher Flouring mills where a 100.000 gallon tank of water burst atop the 14-story elevator and seeped through thousands of bushels of stored wheat. An old two-story brick building crumbled In south Seattle and water mains burst In several sections of town. Coast cities, Including Tacoma, Olympia, Bremerton and Seattle, reported the most severe effects. Observers saw the 42-story Smith tower, Seattle's highest structure, sway "several feet" north and south. A radio station In the tower shut off Its power for 10 minutes. BUS DRIVERS RETURN Spokane, Wash., Feb. 15 (U.B Overland Greyhound bus drivers In Spokane and Walla Walla have ended their 137-day strike with a 28 to four vote In favor of returning to work.