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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (March 22, 1950)
9 City Council Approves $2,800,000 Bond Issue Daylight Saving Asked For ,eu Time Starting Bedford Water April 30; Pipe Line City To Conform With California, Many Other Areas Carpenters Object To DST; Others Favor The city of Medford will have daylight saving time this year. As result of an ordinance enact ed last night by the city council clocks will be set one hour ahead of standard time between 2:01 a.m. April 30 and 1:59 a.m. Sep tember 24. Medford thereby will be uni form this summer with time in California, western Washington,' Portland and numerous other Oregon cities. Objections Voiced The council took the action after hearing objections from members of the carpenters' union, about 10 of whom were at the meeting. Councilman Har old Frye abstained on the first reading but the vote on the is sue was otherwise unanimous. I. C. Daley was principal spokesmen for the carpenters. He declared that the issue has By United Press Rural vs. urban battlt on the controversial daylight sav ing time issue was shaping up again today, with many Ore gon cities indicating they will adopt fast time generally oa April 30. Portland, Eugene, Corvallis. Roseburg. Klamath Falls. Lake view. Medford, Oceanlake. Seaside, Beaverton and Mil waukie have decided to put the daylight time in effect during the long summer days. Representatives from Coos, Curry, and western Douglas counties will talk over the is sue, while a number of Wil lamette valley points indicate they will follow in the steps of the majority. California will observe day light time, while the issue in Washington stale hinges on community action. The general period for fast time is April 30 to September 30. made dissatisfaction throughout Medford, has caused disruption aver the stale and has "made a failure of itself." Daley said tlfat changing to and from day light time is a poor .proposition and does not give everybody a fair deal. "No Benefits" A carpenters' resolution stat ed that there is no reason for changing the clock and that there are no benefits since there are only so many hours a person can labor. George Poturek of the carpenters' union and build ing trades council reported that building trades group and the central labor council sentiment was opposed to daylight time. He said the labor groups repre sented 3.000 American Federa tion of Labor members, and in cluding their families, 15,000 people. Opposition from the Central Point Granges was also reported. The council, however, pointed to petitions signed by 129 people favoring daylight time, and to pressure from airlines, radio stations and businessmen as to the need for uniformity with other areas on the coast and with eastern states. Charles Boyden, who said he was speaking for himself, stress ed the uniformity need and re creational advantages of sum mer time. It is understood that county offices will remain on standard time. Postmaster Moore Hamilton said this morning that mail car riers will remain on their same schedule to render their best service since trains will remain ton standard time. That would make city mail deliveries one hour later according to the clock. s Window service at the post of fice will operate on daylight lime. Greyhound and Trailways bus representatives here said their companies were undecided or had nothing definite on a time I change, nogue mver national Forest service reported nothing determined. Astoria, Ore., Mar. 22 (U.R) Fircboat service along Astoria's waterfront is available for the first time in more than 25 years.' Keith Mirick Top Winner In Amateur Hour Keith Mirick, son of Mr. and Mrs. I. A. Mirick, 509 West 11th street, became the county's lead ing amateur musician last night when he was named grand prize winner of the Original Amateur Hour competitions sponsored by McLain's Drug center, and radio station KYJC. Young Mirick't cornet solo, performed on the stage of the Cratcrian theater and broadcast over KYJC, The Mail Tribune station, brought thunderous ap plause from the large theater audience. An electric applause meter gave him a scientific edge over the seven other contestants competing for the attractive prizes that have been posted. He was awarded a S75 cash prize and free trip to Portland via West Coast airwavs. Qther Winners w Second and third place prizes went to Gene Linderman, Shady Cove vocalist, and to young Ron nie Peyton of Four Corners who : . e . -f Slayer Of Twin Refuses Appeal To Attend Funeral Fresno, Mar. 22 (U.R) Grave side rites were held for Sallv Richard today as her sister. Alice, after confessing the "hate slaying of her popular twin, re fused a last minute appeal by sheriff's officers . to attend the funeral. Authorities at juvenile home revealed the 14-year-old unre pentant twin, charged with the "cold and calculated" murder of her sister, has become "more morose than ever'' and has re fused food or to be questioned by doctors. 'Hardened Killer" A. A. George, attorney for blonde, blue-eyed Alice, likened the girl to "the worst type of hardened killer." He said she flatly refused to respond to questioning and has rejected even the most subtle psychiatric tests. While Alice sulked in confine ment at the home, sheriff's dep uties said their investigation was "closed." Officers reported they were "right back where wc started" without a single under lying motive since Alice confes sed firing a .22 cal. bullet through, her sister's head early Sunday. The slaying, Alice said, was the culmination of years of hate and jealousy. Astoria Voters Will Decide Housing Plan Astoria, Ore., Mar. 22 (U.R) Voters may decide whether the city will accept a government offer to build 150 low-rent hous ing units in Astoria, city offic ials said today. The city council is studying a proposed ordinance to put the issue on the May 19 ballot. The council itself is divided on the1 issue, largely opposed by build ing material firms and con tractors. Labor groups have supported the planned housing construc tion. Voting Under Way In Conservation Election Voting got underway this afternoon at six polling places throughout the county to decide the fate of a soil conservation district that has been proposed for the county. The referendum election was called as the result of petitions circulated by valley irrigation districts and other in terested parties. Hearings were held earlier this year to determine the extent of public interest in the issue and the election date was finally set by the state soil conservation committee. If approved, the dist rict would cover all of Jackson county with the exception of the northwest corner. Thirty per cent of eligible landowners must vote favorably if the district is to be approved. Competition delighted the audience with his rendition of "I'll Never Sec Maggie Alone. . Mirick is now eligible to en ter statewide competition in Portland. Saturday West Coast will fly him to Portland where he will appear in finalist elimi nations sponsored bv station KEX. If successful there, the youthful instrumentalist, a slu dent at Medford senior high scboil, will be a contestant on the Old Gold Original Amateur Hour that will be broadcast over a nationwide ABC hookup from Portland April 6. All eight contestants on last night's KYJC broadcast were winners in two previous local elimination contests. Three im partial judges. Dick Gliebe of McLains. Chuck Whillock of West Coast airways, and Holly wood Star June Storey, kept watchful eyes on the applause meter and announced its final verdict Awards were made by Miss Storey, :s -mam (Acme Telephoto MISSES FUNERAL Alice Richard, 14, shown above in cus tody of Sheriff J. W. Ripperdan following the slaying of her identical twin sister, Sally, in Fresno, Cal., Sunday, today re fused a last minute appeal of sheriff's officers lo attend the funeral. Graveside rites "for Sally, shown below, were con ducted in Fresno today. Sawmill Workers Protest Picketing Of Lumber Firm Members of the Lumber and Sawmill Workers local union No. 3063. AF of L. todav pro tested action of the Medford Cen tral Labor council, AF of L, which they said, if conti "may put at least 100 workers out of work." In a letter addressed In tin. Central Labor union, the lum ber and sawmill workers said: the attempt by your organi zation to force your demands on me Kogap Lumber industries and the methods used are defi nitely disapproved by all those employed by Kogap Lumber in dustries and by those employed in M & M Planing mill, includ ing all those who belong to the Lumber and Sawmill Workers local union. . . ." "We therefore request," the letter continued, '(1) that vou stop trying to restrain inter state traffic of our employer's lumber so that we can continue to work and earn a living. (2) That you remove pickets at the operations. . . ." The Lumber and Sawmill Workers union represents em ployees of the Kogap Lumber industries, as the result of an election certified by the NLRB in 1948. Pickets were placed in front of the plant In February of this year as the result of a dis pute arising from the employ ment of Kogap employees in con struction and repair work at the plant. OfficialsTleased With Fire Program Progress in the improvement program of the Medford fire de partment was noted by a party of fire officials who visited Med ford today. The group included Robert B. Taylor, state fire mar shal: Chief Edward Grenfell, Portland fire department: Wil liam F. White, chief engineer of the Oregon Insurance Rating bureau, and Jack A. Hayes, de- j putv state fire marshal. j After conferring with Acting j nre unlet ieo weidner. Mayor I Diamond Flynn and other citv . officials, Taylor said he is "very much encouraged" by evidence of intelligent support of the fire program by the city administra tion. "Much progress has been made In this entire program of strengthening Mcdford s fire de fenses, and changes and Im provements of considerable Im portance have already been made," Taylor said. "More, of course, remains to be done," he added. Hollywood. Mar. 22 01 R) Lawrence Tibbett Jr.. son of the opera star, and Norma Fletcher 1 Meredith, an heiress to the Flet- (until the CAA decision is made cher Castnria fortune, were mar i known, at which time Gehring ried secretly Monday, his moth-1 will return to the Phoenix sli er revealed today. - lion. Medford 44th Year 14 Pages Policemen Scour Vancouver Region For Missing Girl Sex Attack Feared By Police Officers Vancouver, Wash.. Mar. 22 (U.R) Twenty-five policemen aided by volunteers, searched through deserted buildings and shrubbery at the old Vancouver barracks today for an 18-year- old girl feared slain by two men who kidnaped her from a city street. Police believe the girl, Joann Dewey of Battleground, Wash may have been raped and killed by abductors who beat and then dragged her into a car Sunday night while she screamed lor help. Centered In Barracks Area Search for the girl centered in the Vancouver barracks area, four miles north of Vancouver Police also checked a barn fire on a farm ten miles north of Van couver. A gasoline can near the barn indicated arson. Miss Dewey was snatched from a dimly-lighted street with in sight of residents. The men tossed the girl into 1941-modcl black coupe and drove away before the witnesses could call officers. Other volunteers searched cis terns and gutters for the girl s body. Mother rears Attack The girl's mother, Mrs. N. C. Dewey, said she was convinced that her daughter had been at tacked by sex licnds who abduct ed the tirst girl to cross neir paths. She doubted if there was a ransome motive. Miss Dewey, who worked as a kitchen helper at Portland, Ore., sanitarium, was on her way to spend the night with a girl friend at the St. Joseph's hospi tal here when the men attacked her. The scene was two blocks from the hospital. Witnesses said they saw the girl struggle with the men. They said the men beat her on the head. An apartment tenant, Dr. C. N. Thackeray, yelled to the men: "What's all the noise about?" One man shouted back, "Shut up, it's my wife." The doctor said the girl screamed: "No, I'm not, I'm not!" Despite the witnesses, the ab duction was not reported to po lice until Monday noon. Since then, scores of "tips" from resi dents kept police busy tracing flimsy leads throughout this city of 40,000 persons. Rape Trial To Go To Jury This Afternoon The case of the state of Ore gon against Earl G. Edison on a statutory rape charge was ex pected to go to the jury fn county circuit court sometime this after noon. Final arguments to the Jury were underway by 10 a.m. today and were to be completed by the middle of the afternoon. Attornevs for the defendant, George Roberts and Edward Branchfield, have contended that Edison was in Yreka. Cal., on the day the state charges the crime was committed. In his statement to the jury, Deputy District Attorney Paul Haviland told the jury of six men and six women that the defense did not have sufficient proof of Edison's aimi. When he took the stand yes terday afternoon, Edison, who is general foreman of Medford cor poration's railroad, denied em phatically that he committed the crime charged in Ihe . secret grand jury indictment returned against him February 23. Southwest Airways Manager Returns Joe Gehring, Southwest air ways station manager here un til rcccnUy. returned to Medford today to rcassume his duties with the airline. He had been transferred to Phoenix. Ariz., to Uke over the company's stalipn there, but has returned pending a civil aero nautics administration decision on the extension of Southwest' franchise to Include the pro posed new southern California Arizona route. The man who was lo succeed him will remain in Chico, Cal MEDFORD, OREGON, Girl Held For 21 Months By Rapist Is San Jose, Cal., Mar. 22 (U.R) A honey -haired 12 -year -old schoolgirl tearfully told police today she was held captive for 21 months by a convicted rapist who told her he was an FBI agent. Sally Horner, an attractive blue-eyed Camden. N. J., girl who could pass for a 18-year-old, identified Frank La Salle, 56, as her abductor. She was rescued late yester day when LaSalle left a trailer court where they were staying School Districts In Applegate To Merge Alter Vote Monday's consolidation elec tion, considered vitally impor tant to school patrons through out the Applegate valley, has re sulted in the merger of four for merly separate school districts into a single large district. Voters in the Watklns, Forest Creek and Uniontown districts approved consolidation with the Ruch-Slcrling district Ruch resi dents' voted in favor of the mer ger with all three districts. One district, Little Applegate, turned down consolidation with Ruch- Sterling by a vote of five to eight. Merger Delayed Due to the adverse vote in Little Applegate district, actual consolidation of uniontown wnn Ruch-Sterling must be held in abeyance for 10 days to allow for possible filing of remoastrance petitions. It is understood that new petitions for consolidation will be circulated in Little Ap plegate since it was believed the issue was not fully understood by patrons In that area. The district has transported its pupils to Un iontown for a number ot years since its school building has been declared sub-standard and not eligible for state support monies. Valuation High Total valuation of the comBin cd district, exclusive of Little Applegate, will be $807,981.56. There are 107 pupils. Henry Kamman, principal of the Ruch-Sterling school, says the entire valley is indebted to Fred West and "Red" Ranncy for their work in leading the campaign that finally resulted in the consolidation. There has been considerable concern In educational circles In the county for the fate of the schools In volved since none of the school hullriinas in the district meet state requirements for standard ization. Only through consonna tion, it was felt could the dis tricts hope to achieve the stan dards set for them. They have been adjudged conditionally standard for some time to enable them to correct their shortcom ings. Approximately 38 per cent of their operating budgets come from state funds. Redmond Area Eyed For Air Academy Redmond, Ore., Mar. 22 (U.R) Three men from the Portland office of the army engineers will be in this area until to morrow to Inspect proposed cen tral Oregon sites for the national air academy. Douglas Pelton heads the group and they were to meet with Redmond and Bend repre sentatives of the chamber of commerce as well as representa tives from other towns. The meeting was to be held at the Pilot Butte inn at Bend. Harold C. Clanp of Redmond, chairman of the central Oregon chamber of commerce aviation committee, said the three Port land visitors would be flown over the proposed lands today, and then would go to Prinevllle tomorrow to look over other lands in that area. Hollywood. Mar. 23 UR) Movie fans weaned from theat ers by television no longer need to deprive themselves of pop corn. A television store here of fers a rorn popper free with each video eU WEDNESDAY, MARCH Captive Freed and went downtown to look for a job. While he was gone, Sally telephoned an older sister in New Jersey and pleaded with her to "send the FBI right away." Jailed By Deputies LaSalle was jailed bv Santa Clara county sheriff's deputies and formally charged with vio lating the Mann act by transport ing a woman across state lines for immoral purposes. He was arraigned before a U. S. commis sioner. FBI agents said "in all proba bility" he would be tried on the Mann act charge before being turned over to Camden, N. J., authorities for action on a grand jury indictment charging him with abducting Sally. New Jer sey officials said they would take "immediate steps" to extradite him. LaSalle, a thin-faced, grey haired man who previously had been convicted of five counts of statutory rape involving young girls, was sullen and morose in his Santa Clara county jail cell. He kept demanding to see a lawyer. Relations Admitted Sally at first denied she had improper relations with La Salic but later admitted to a doctor who examined her that she had sex relations with him. The girl hysterically claimed LaSalle forced her to live with him. LaSalle, FBI agents said, was equally emphatic in claim ing the girl went with him will ingly and had stayed with him for nearly two years of her own free will. He denied having In tercourse with the girl and claimed she is his daughter. Sally, however, told authori ties today the reason she stayed with ' him was that LaSalle threatened to reveal her "im moral acts" and warned her she would be sent to a reform school if she told anyone. The girl told an FBI agent to day that LaSalle first approached her in a five-and-dime store In Camden in June of 1948. Sally said she was being initiated in a small girls' group and that one of the requirements was that they "swipe something from the store." LaSalle saw her, she said, drew heraside, and whispered that he was a federal officer. lie said 'Come with me, we have a nlace for eirls like vnn ' the officer quoted her as saying. Told of Vacation LaSalle then told her he was an FBI agent, that she must ac company him or he would turn her over to an institution. - The girl then returned to her home and told her widowed mother she had been Invited to spend part of the summer vaca tion with two classmates at At lantic City. On June 14, 1948, her mother kissed her goodbye and put her on a bus with I. aha lie. who posed as the father of one of Sally's classmates. Then began a two-year odys sev which took the couple to Atlantic City. Dallas. Tex., and finally San Jose. LaSalle worked for several months In the vicin ity of Dallas as an automobile mechanic. Sally posed as his daughter. The FBI said-there was no In dication LaSalle used force or violence to compel the girl to stay with him. The girl said the compulsion which forced her to stay with him was LaSalle's threat to expose her to shame and "put me in a reform school." Thieves Steal Register; Total Take 12 Cents Thieves who broke Into the O'Hara Union Oil station at Ashland between 11 p.m. yes terday and 12:05 a.m. today must have been ptevad whan thay axamined their loot. Stat police said that cash register was taken from the service station. It contained 12 cents. Police are still Investi gating. WEATHER FORRCAftT: rirarlnf tht v. nlnf but htrnmlnt cloudy wtih iteration I Itht rain ThtiMday. Continued con). Tmp. IMthtit YMloriUr l.owtit tnli ,M or nine . 11 Pree. U 4:19 A.M. Torlajr .12 Tribune 22, 1950 NO. 306 Police Break Up Demonstrations In Rome Streets Government Meets Communist Challenge Rome, Mar. 22. (U.R) Police fired into the air today to drive off a communist mob advancing on the Italian foreign office dur ing a 12-hour communist nation wide general strike. The demonstration, most ser ious among a flurry of other in cidents throughout the nation, oc curred in downtown Rome at noon. Riot squads drove jeeps into the crowd and broke it up. Police Used The government met the 12 hour communist challenge to -its authority by sending 144,000 armed police and carabinieri In to the big cities to preserve order. Quick-moving police broke up attempted communists rallies and there was no serious vio lence. At noon police announced 1.000 persons had been arrested. Most were released. Powerful police forces on guard in Rome used fire hasps ef fectively to drive back crowds attempting to stage demonstra tions in the squares. Public ral lies were banned for the day in all big cities. In Rome and elsewhere com munist strikers stoned street cars running in defiance of the strike, overturned jeeps carrying police and fought with their fists against office workers and shop clerks going to their jobs. At Bologna, 30 demonstrators and three policemen were in jured slightly when police broke up a parade. Guards were sent to Bologna university when com munists tried to persuade stu dents to strike. The general strike, threatened for days, was called by the communist-led General Federation of Labor (CGIL) at 6 p.m. pro testing a peasant-police clash in a small village on the Adriatic in which two men were killed. The strike itself shut down big industrial plants in the north and cut off electricity and gas for several hours In some cities. Slayer Of Negroes Sentenced To Life Kosciusko, Miss.. Mar. 22 (U.R) A bushy-haired ex-convict accused of killing three little Negro girls casually puffed a cig aret last night as he heard him self sentenced to life in prison. An all-white jury decided witn In four hours that Leon Turn er was guilty of murdering Ruby Nell Harris, one of three chil dren slaughtered In a "revenge" attack on a share-cropper's cab in last January 9. Like thejury that found Win- doll Whltt guilty of the same of- tense Inst week, last night s group disagreed on the punish- nent, making a life sentence automatic. Next week, Malcolm Whltt, the third man indicted in the case, will come to trail. Turner, a 38-year-old river bottom dweller, sat picking his teeth as a state witness quoted him as saying "I'll kill every damn one of them" as he blazed away with his pistol. Orleans, Mass., Mar. 22 (U.R) Katherine Grey, 78. noted act ress of the early 1900 s died at her home here yesterday. aw Court of Appeals Upholds Truman's Loyalty Program Washington, Mar. 22 U.R The U. S. court of appeals today upheld the constitutionality of President Truman's loyalty pro gram. in a 2 to 1 decision, the court uheld the right of the govern ment to fire employees for loyal ty reasons. j he court s decision was maac In the case of Dorothy Bailey, former employee in the federal security agency who was fired from her job on grounds of hav ing communist associations. The decision was written By Judge E. Barrett Prettyman. Judge James M. Proctor con curred. Judge Henrv W. Edgerton wrote a stinging dissent in which he said to oust an employee as disloyal "on rumor and without trial" is to pay too much for pro tection against the harm such an employee might do. ine majority admitted mat Increasing Need For Water Cited; Vote Suggested No Increases In Taxes ' Or Water Rates Seen . Medford's board of water com missioners last night proposed that the city council ask resi dents to approve a $2,800,000 bond issue for construction of a new water line from Big Butte springs. The commissioners sug gested that the special election be held on May 19 in conjunction with the primary election. Robert A. Duff, superintendent of the water commission, read the proposal to councilmen at their regular meeting. No action was taken by the council last night, although comments of the group were favorable to the plan, A number of water com mission and council conferences are contemplated between now and the next regular council meeting on April 4. Population Cited Commissioners pointed to the increasing population in Med ford and vicinity in their mes sage to the council, told of en gineering studies initiated mora than two years ago and said they felt the city can best be served by installation of an additional line from the springs. They ex pressed hope that the aqueduct could be finished by the summer of ,1951. Computations indicate that no tax levies or increase of exist ing water rates will be necessary to amortize the cost of the devel opment over a 30-year period. The project would include con struction of an earth-fill dam on Willow creek, a tributary of Big Butte creek, to assure Eagle Point Irrigation district its pro rata share of the stream flow from supplementary water. Both Medford and the irrigation dist rict possess water rights on Big Butte. ( Supply Inadequate Commissioners brought out that the present water supply is inadequate and that during last summer it was necessary to re strict use to conserve water. They explained that in 1926 Med ford water served an estimated population of 9,622, and on Feb ruary 28, 1950, an estimated 23,913, a yearly rate of Increase of about 915 persons. Although the present pipe will serve Medford past its previous ly calculated life expectancy of 40 years, commissioners stated that more repairs will become necessary and Interruption! to service more frequent. It is vir tually impossible to shut down the pipe during summer months for repairs, it was said. Commissioner Seth M. Bullis at the council meeting warned of the danger of depending upon one pipeline and expressed the need for two as a safety factor. The fire hazard in case of a pipe line break or low water pressure was mentioned. Use As Standby It is planned that old line will be standby for peak summer periods, when both old and new lines can be used to keep city water mains full and pressure up. The new pipeline would care for city and adjoining commit tees for the next 50 years and would have a life expectancy of 60 years. It would follow much the same route of the present pipeline but would be far enough from It to prevent the same acct dent befalling both. Length c the present aqueduct Is 30.4 miles. The new one would be 30.5. At last nights meeting Councilman Dwight Houghton brought out the need lo keep pace with community growth and Councilman Harold Frye stated that the need Is so vital he could not see why there would be objections to It. SEASICKNESS KILLS COWS Vera Cruz, Mexico, Mar. 23. (U.R) Officers of the Freighter Tamaullpas said today 135 out of 315 cows being taken to Mex ico City for slaughter died of seasickness. The vessel was pounded by heavy seas while on a sandbar near Lizardl Point. Wash! ngton. Mar. 22 U.R) LI. Cmdr. Bernice R. Walters, one of five women doctors tn the navy, will be the first to serve aboard a ship. Miss Bailey's case "Is undoubt edly appealing." "She was not given a trial In any sense of the word and she does not know who informed upon her," the majority opinion said. "Thus viewed, her situation appealed powerfully to our sense of the fair and Just. But the case must be placed in context and In prospective." The court said that the presi dent, If there is no specific law against it. may remove from government service "any person of whose loyally he Is not com pletely convinced." He mav do so, the majority opinion said, without assigning any reason. If he should, as a matter of policy, wish to Inform the employee of some of the in formation against him and hear what the employee has to say, "he does not thereby strip him self of any portion of his consti tutional power to choose and to remove."
