'GUILTY TO '-GROUfiTDIHG 0
SKIFFER PLEADS
ill m
Medford
Unittd Press Full Lease Wire
44th Year
'Strange' Sub
Seen Off Coast
San Francisco, Mar. 30 U.R) The navy announced today one
of its patrol planes has sighted
scope ana patrol bombers and a destroyer were dispatched to
search an area off Eureka, Cal., near the California-Oregon border.
The commander of the western sea frontier said the patrol
plane sighted the periscope yesterday about 2 p.m. Early today, a
fishing vessel from Trinidad Harbor, near Eureka, reported to the
coast guard it saw an unidentified submarine in the area.
The navy confirmed an air-sea search was underway.
The area where the subsighting occurred is approximately the
came part of the California coastline where unidentified subma
rines were seen last January by an ex-RAF pilot.
The navy announcement said:
"Commander of western sea frontier reports that an unidenti
fied submarine periscope was sighted yesterday about 2 p.m. by a
navy patrol plane roughly 40 miles off Cape Mendocino in northern
California.
"The navy is maintaining a continuous patrol in that area."
"At 1 a.m. today, a fishing vessel from Trinidad Harbor, near
Eureka, reported to the Humboldt bay coast guard station the
sighting of an unidentified submarine four miles south of Blunt
Reef light, close inshore.
"The skipper of the fishing vessel, Ray Carpenter, is being
Interrogated by navy officials."
Three Cities Picked
As Key Points for
Air Warning System
Salem, Ore., Mar. 30 (U.R)
The Dalles, Eugene, Pendleton
and Portland have been ap
proved as key points in Oregon's
newly-activated air raid warn
ing system.
Approval, which came from
national civil defense officials in
Washington, D. C, was an
nounced here Wednesday at a
joint meeting of Gov. Douglas
McKay's advisory committee on
civil defense and the state staff
of the Oregon civil defense
agency.
Louis E. Starr, Portland attor
ney and agency director, said
personnel at the four key cen
ters would notify adjacent indus-
V Budget Estimate
I r II
sessions neanng
In County, City
Estimates of how much money
the city and county govern
ments will spend during the
next fiscal year may be known
within the next few weeks
Various governmental agencies
have started collecting data from
their departmental heads so that
tentative budgets can be drawn
up to be submitted at hearings
and finally to the public through
general publications.
The county rural school board
is farther along in its budget
work than any other group be
cause the procedure for final
approval of that budget is more
lonothv than for the others.
County School Superintendent
C. R. Bowman said today the
rural school board has already
studied the first budget esti
mates submitted by the indivi
dual rural districts and mai me
first hearings to consider the
board's revisions are set for
April 12. Bowman said the rural
school budget will have to come
to a vote since it undoubtedly
will exceed the six per cent nmi
tation.
No Data Set
Though the county court has
begun preliminary work on its
budget, no definite date has been
set for hearings or meetings of
the budget committee. Depart
ment heads of the county gov
ernment are due to submit their
estimated cash needs soon ana
actual work on this year's task
cannot begin until all the esti
mates are in. in addition to me
county court, the county budget
committee consists of Arnold
Bohncrt, Roger Rath and Thomas
Wrav.
City Recorder Ralph Wood
ford pointed out this morning
that there is still ample time be
fore the July 15 deadline for the
city to begin work on its budget
for the coming fiscal year. "We
haven't even started on it." he
said. The city will hold a series
of budget committee meetings
but no dates have yet been set.
One new member of the com
mittee will have to be appointed
to fill the vacancvy left by the
recent death of David Holmes.
Final approval of the citv bud
get may be accomplished bv late
Mav or .Tune. Woodford said.
School Work Beaun
Mrs. Rebecca Jensen, clerk of
school district 49. said she has
started to work out the prelim
inary detail' of the budget for
Medford schools but her work
has not progressed to the point
where any definite figures can
yet be submitted to the board,
All the budgets must be com
pleted and approved by July IS.
Vancouver, Wash., Mar. 30
UP.' Pinball machines were on
their way out today following
V. approval of an anti-pmball ma
jemne ordinance oy we
council.
city I
20 Pages
an "unidentified submarine peri
tries and residents in the event
of the approach of enemy air
craft. Starr also said an effort is un
der way to locate a filter center
in the Portland area. He .said
the site will be selected with
consideration to availability of
needed telephone facilities and
the security of women volun
teers. He mentioned the recent
atrocity death of an 18-ycar-old
girl who was abducted at Van
couver, Wash., as an impetus to
ward the latter consideration.
Airforce officials from Hamil
ton field, Cal., are aiding in the
job of finding a suitable site.
Starr said five airforce offi
cers will be assigned to the filter
center during its first "dry run"
this summer. They will be with
drawn after the test, but the air
force will continue in charge of
the overall air defense operation
in Oregon.
A skeleton force of local vol
unteers, to man the center has
been raised, but other volunteers
are needed both for the center
and for the scores of observation
posts in all parts of the state, he
said.
Starr said the activation pro
gram is "progressing very nice
ly and will be ready, I think,
ahead of the time Washington
wants it."
Fair Weather Spurs
Search for Airplane
Portland, Ore., Mar. 30 U.R)
Pilots took advantage of fair
weather in north central Oregon
today and began combing the
mountains for a missing yellow
Beechcraft biplane missing nine
days with four persons aboard
on a flight from Lakeview, Ore.,
to Portland.
George Blakkolb, brother of
the missing pilot, Lee Blakkolb,
requested pilots who flew yel
low biplanes in one of two areas
on March 21 to report to the
CAA in order to simplify search
operations. Blakkolb listed the
areas as:
1. Crooked Rriver Bridge-Ter-
rebone-Madras, between 2:30 and
3:10 p.m.; or
2. Hood River-Cascade locks
in the Columbia river gorge, be
tween 4 and 5 p m.
Blakkolb said a number of
witnesses reported seeing a yel
low plane at those times in those
areas, but that he wanted to
know if any planes other than
his brother's also were in the
two areas.
Blakkolb said a 51.000 reward
had been posted for the person
finding the missing plane within
one week's time, ending mid
night, April 4.
Mr. and Mrs. Lee Blakkolb
and Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Lund
strom were aboard the ship
Search planes have been operat
ing out of Portland, Hood River,
The Dalles, Redmond and Lake
view. Bartleit Pear
Order Reactivated
Sacramento, Mar. 30 (U.P
The state department of agri
culture today announced the re
activation of a marketing order
for fresh bartlett pears and a new
amended order for canning and
freezing asparagus.
lhe department said B6 per
cent of the producers and nan-
dlers voting in a referendum on
the bartlett pear order favored
reactivation. The order has not
been in active operation since
1942. It provides for establish
ment of minimum grade or size
regulations of bartlett pears sold
for fresh consumption in Cali-
zorm.
MEDFORD, OREGON, THURSDAY, MARCH 30,
Nine Patients Die
By Dense Smoke in
Mental Hospital
Violent Inmates
Saved by Rescuers
Philadelphia, Mar. 30 (U.R)
Nicholas Verna, 26, a convict
ad arsonist, confessed today
that he set the fir which
killed nine mental patients at
a private sanatorium, state
police reported.
Sgt. Charles Taylor, arson
investigation expert for the
state police, said that Verna
made his confession at Valley
Forge General hospital in
nearby Phoenixville, where he
was taken with 13 other oa
tients following the fire at the
sanatorium.
Philadelphia. Mar. 30 (U.R)
Nine men. mental patients, tug
ging in terror at the chains wnicn
bound them to concrete slabs,
died today in a fire in a private
sanitarium.
The dense smoke which killed
them, pouring into their barred
cells from a basement fire, felled
two other patients in the ward.
They were in critical condition
at Montgomery hospital in Nor
ristown. Pa.
Nurse Saves Lives
A male nurse. George Lewis,
51, saved the lives of the four
other inmates of the violent sec
tion. He groped through the
smoke and unlocked the leather
bound chains which shackled
either by the wrist or ankle to
an iron ring in their concrete
"beds."
The cuts and bruises on the
bodies of the dead told the story
of how they struggled futilely
to break the shackles that held
them.
About 30 other persons, in
cluding firemen and attendants,
were overcome or sickened by
the dense smoke from a rubbish
fire.
Amid the confusion of smoke,
the rescuing of 75 terror-stricken
inmates and firemen battering at
cell doors, there was heroism.
Mrs. Theresa Shaw, a 38-year-old
nurse from New York,
crawled on her stomach through
the smoke to lead firemen to the
locked doors of bedridden pa
tients. Spectators Aid
Heroic firemen carried other
patients, naked or clad in night
clothes or underwear, to safety
down ladders in the chill early
morning hours. Spectators,
drawn to the scene by smoke and
fire sirens, aided in the rescue
work.
Mrs. Shaw had just returned
to work at the Belle Vista sana
torium in the exclusive Chestnut
Hill section when the flames
broke out.
"A half hour later. I heard the
alarm," she said. "I don't know
who gave it."
Immediately. Mrs. Shaw went
to help her patients.
Confined to Basement
There was no way and no
time to get the ward records, so
we could first resells the most
feeble." she said. "I just called
on memory to aid me. As each
patient was led or carried to
safety, I called her bv name and
assured her that everything was
all right and that everyone would
get out all right.
the blaze, confined to the
basement, was discovered at
iu:4a p. m. yesterday bv four
patients lounging in bathrobes
while watching a television
show.
Elgin Air Force Base, Fla.,
Mar. 30 (U.R) Funeral services
will be held tomorrow at 10:?0
a.m. in Arlington national ceme
tery in Washington for Brig.
Gen. Dale V. Gaffney. deputy
commanding general of the sir
force proving ground here.
Reasons
Reasons which motivated the
Medford water commission to
propose a bond issue for the con
struction of a new city pipeline
from Big Butte springs were list
ed today by Robert A. Duff, su
perintendent of the water depart
ment here.
They include:
1. The fact that the bond issue
can be liquidated without any
increase in taxes or water rates
to city users.
2. The fact that present wa
ter supplies are becoming in
creasingly inadequate due to
population increases within the
city limits. ,
3. The fact that a single wa
ter line presents a considerable
hazard in case of fire.
4. The fact that the present
pipeline is beginning to show
signs of age and repairs will
have to be made upon it with in
creasing frequency.
3. the fact that all demands
for water in the foreseeable fu
ture, both within and without
the city limits, will be met with
the addition of the proposed new
lint.
Eli m
Pi (ppn p
M laUlMiS
mesa m
IS
(Acm Tel f photo)
XIVING BUDDHA' PRAYS FOR LATTIMORE - Th "Living
Buddha" offers prayers at his home in Baltimore. Md in behalf of
Owen Latttmore, expert on Far Eastern affairs who has been called
Russia's top agent in America by Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy. The
Prince of the Mongolian Buddhist Church. Dllowa Httukhtu, said he
is sure Lattlmore, his long-time friend, was Innocent of the charg
made against him And was praying for him.
Leon Blum, Famed
Frenchman, Passes
Paris. Mar. 30 (U.R) Leon
Blum, president of the French
socialist party and three times
premier of France, died today
just 10 days before his 78th
birthday anniversary.
The elder statesman who
weathered the rigors of two
world wars and gave France its
new deal in the middle 30s,
died at his country home, Jouy
en Josas, near Versailles.
Blum died of a heart attack.
He had suffered for some years
from phlebitis, an inflammatory
ailment of the views, but showed
some improvement after an op
eration last year.
Blum's famous role In French
poD'.ics was his premiership of
the popular front government in
1936. The socialists of whom he
was the dean had joined forces
with the communists after the
bloody rioting between left and
right in 1934.
A wave of sit-down strikes, the
first prominent use of that labor
weapon, greeted Blum's arrival
to power. He refused to clear the
men from factories by force and
the strikes finally were settled
without violence.
Blum put through a series of
labor reforms which Included the
for Water
Details Givtn
In giving additional details
supporting these reasons, Duff
cited the emergency water sup
ply conditions confronting the
city, especially during-the sum
mer months. Last year it was
necessary to restrict the use of
water for lawn sprinkling, but
even then water consumed each
day was as much as the total ca
pacity of the old pipe.
Had a serious fire occurred
and the pipe broken at the same
time, properly loss and suffering
could have been severe. Duff
said. Reservoir facilities could
not meet peak demands for more
than a tew hours, and if the si
uation continue", fire Insurance
rates could be increased sharply.
Mad Studies
Taking these factors Into con
sideration, the board of water
commissioners began studies
many months ago to determine
the most practical method of in
creasing supplies Briefly, the re
sulting plans call for the "total
development" of the Big Butte
springs tret, tbt conjunction of
Tfabune
1950
40-hour week and a minimum
wage. His administration be
came known as "France's new
deal."
As a leading socialist and Jew,
Blum was arrested soon after the
Vichy regime was established in
1940. His defense of the popular
front was one of the features
of the Riom trials in 1942. Vichy
sought to prove that Blum and
his associates were responsible
for the war. The trial finally was
called off by the Germans.
Blum and other French lead
ers were taken to Germany, He
was welcomed wholeheartedly
by his party when he returned
to France in the summer of 1945.
Mickey Rooney's Dad
Dies of Heart Attack
Hollywood. Mar. 30 (U.R)
Joe Yule, 58, father of Actor
Mickey Rooney and old-time
vaudeville actor, died today of
a heart attack.
His pint-sized son reached his
father about the time he died,
and as an inhalatnr squad tried
to save his life.
f if i . -r v I
Development Cited
a dam on Willow creek for sup
plemental storage, and the con
struction of an additional pipe
line of 20-cubic-feet-pcr-sccund
capacity.
Duff explained that the city's
water rights to the water are co
extent with an equal right of
the Eagle Point irrigation dis
trict. Withdrawals are in the ra
tio of 100 cubic feet per second
to the district, and 30 cfs to the
city. With increased usage of
water by the city, it would be
necessary under the water rights
to furnish additional water to
the irrigation district.
Foraita Dam Use
This can be done. Duff said,
by a dam on Willow creek to
store run-off water for the dis
trict. Completion of the development
would more than double the
present water supply available
to the city now 17 cubic feet
per second, or 10.986.000 gallons
per day. Surplus water made
available by the development.
Duff said, can be sold to water
districts organized by nearby
United Press Full Leas Wire
mm
mm
WARRANTS ISSUED
FOR 2 BROTHERS
Vancouver, Wash., Mar. 30 (UP) Prosecutor
Dewitt Jones today issued first degree murder, and
kidnaping warrants against Turman Wilson, 20, a con
victed rapist, and his brother, Utah E. Wilson, 25, for
the abduction-claying of 18-year-old JoAnn Dewey.
An all-points bulletin was broadcast for arrest
of the two brothers, who, according to Jones have
fled the state of Washington.
Turman was released from Oregon state prison
after serving a sentence for raping a 17-year-old Port
land Ore., girl and for escape.
Capt. William Brown, chief of the Portland po
lice detective bureau, said two abandoned automo
biles believed to have been used in the abduction
have been found and impounded in Portland. A Pon
tiac was recovered early today and a Buick was driven
to Portland from Camas by Vancouver police.
Both the cars were registered to Grant Wilson,
one of five Wilson brothers. Grant Wilson hat no
police record.
Articles Found by
Police in Automobile
Capt. - Brown said either a
tooth or a small piese of bone,
labels off several beer bottles,
human hair, blood and a button
assertedly from Miss Dewey's
coat were found In the Pontiac.
Portland police fingerprint ex
perts examined a beer bottle
found at the scene of Joann's ab
duction and announced that one
of the fingerprints on it was that
of Utah Wilson.
Miss Dewey, a plump, attrac
tive Portland, Ore., hospital
worker, was kidnaped by two
men from a Vancouver street
Sunday night, March IB. One
week later her battered body
was found on a gravel bar in the
Wind river. Skamania county.
Car Gas Fatal
An autopsy showed that the
primary cause of death was acute
asphyxiation resulting from in
halation of carbon monoxide
gas.
"Through the tireless efforts
of the Vancouver police depart
ment we have developed what I
believe to be a very strong prima
facie case against Tcrman and
Utah Wilson," Jones said.
"There was no evidence that
these men were seeking this par
ticular girl. It is believed that
they were waiting for nurses to
come out or the (hi. josepn si
hospital that night. This girl hap
pened to be a victim because she
came along at the time they
were seeking a victim, we be
lieve," Jones said.
Seattle. Mar. 30 (U.R) An 18-
year-old girl forced into a car
early today by two young men,
was choked and then raped, snc
told police.
The girl told officers the
youths seized her at a bus stop
about midnight.
While she was being driven
around the city, one of the men,
about 19. attacked her. Four
hours later they released her
near her North End home.
communities without cost to
Medford, thus reducing costs to
city consumers. Any water sold
to users outside the city, Duff
added, would be sold only on
the basis of availability over and
above the city's requirements.
Plan Bond Eltction
Costs of the development, un
der the plan, would be met by a
bond issue of $2,800,000, which
will probably be presented to
citv voters at a special election
held in conjunction with the pri
mary election May 19. The
bonds. Duff emphasized, would
be retired over a 30-year period
without tax or water rate in
creases in the city. This can be
done, Duff explained, because
the Improvements would be com
pleted during the summer o' 1951
and existing bonding indebted
ness will be paid off by March,
1952. After that date present
revenues, plus revenues from
sale of water outside the city,
will be sufficient to operate the
water department and tmortize
tbt bonds.
WEATHER
FORECAST: Fair and continue
mild tonlfht and Friday.
Temp.
Hlghcit Yeitcrday 71
Lowest thli Mornitif 35
NO. 313
McCarthy Repeats
Laffimer Charges
Washington, Mar. 30 U.R
Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy R
Wis.) said today Owen Lattimore
"is a Soviet agent and is or has
been a member of the commu
nist party."
McCarthy said he can produce
a witness who will testify under
oath that Lattimore has been a
member of the communist party
"for many years."
Lattimore, a frequent consult
ant of this government on far
eastern affairs, is director of the
Walter Hines Page School of In
ternational Relations at Johns
Hopkins university In Baltimore.
He is flying home now from Af
ghanistan where he had been on
a mission for the United Nations.
He has described McCarthy's pre
vious similar charges as "moon
shine" and "hogwash."
McCarthy repeated and elab
orated on his previous charges
against Lattimore during a long
speech on the senate floor. He
promised to tick off specific de
tails on his charges that the state
department is loaded with pro
communists. LighteiTW'Seeii
In Portland Skies
Portland, Ore., Mar. 30 W:R)
Four Portland women were won
dering lodav what was floating
around southwest city skies last
night.
Mrs. Francis Wehlitz, and Mrs.
Mildred Walker, her mother.
Mrs. Eva Hicks, and her sister
Lucille Hicks reported seeing
lighted "balls" move west across
southwest Portland and disap
pear over the 1,000-foot high
west hills.
Mrs. Wehlitz. said the two ob
jects had a yellow flickering
light and seemed to be circling
over the hills. She said an air
plane buzzed the objects as If
trying to find out what they
were.
Several air force planes from
the Portland air ba.se were sent
up after the objects were report
ed to the air base by the civil
aeronautics administration of
fice. Pilots were unable to find
the objects.
Mrs. Walker said the balls
had a humming sound as they
moved due west some 2'J miles
south of Portland's Sellwood
bridge.
SOIL MEETINGS TONIGHT
The Sams Valley schoolhousc
will be the scene of a meeting
at 8 p.m. today that may mark
the beginning of another cam
paign for a soil conservation dist
rict in the county, inougn a pro
posed district that would have
covered most of the county was
defeated at a referendum elec
tion last week, residents In the
Sams Valley area are interested
In reviving the Issue for the
rural communities of Sams Val
ley, Beagle, The Meadows and
Table Rock. They will attempt to
draw tentative boundaries tonight.
Captain Assumes
Full Responsibility
On Three Charges
Court Martial Drops
Original Counts
Norfolk, Va., Mar. 30 (U.R)
Capt. W. D. Brown, former skip
per of the battleship Missouri,
pleaded guilty today at a navy
court martial to charges that ha
was responsible for grounding
the ship in Hampton Roads Janu
ary 17.
Brown pleaded guilty speclfi
cally to charges of suffering a
ship of the navy to be stranded,
suffering a vessel of the navy to
be hazarded and neglect of duty.
Three Counts Dropped
The court martial agreed to
drop three counts originally
charged against Brown, who was
skippering the Missouri when it
grounded during its first cruise
under his command.
To each of three charges and
four specifications Brown ans
wered guilty." i
Then he read a statement to
the court:
"I trust that by my pleas of
today and by my statement of a
month R0n. whtph hnram. mn.
ter of public record, my position
iios u mane unmistakably
clear. I am not concerned with
the leenl tpphnii,oiitias M
position. I recognize that I was
responsible for the safe naviga
tion of the ship. My orders put
the Shin namttnrl T'U.....
---- r- . i .i . liltiriUlO,
any culpability involved in the
kiuimiuiiik is mine, mat Is my
position.
End Of Road
Brown'i counsel stepped be
fore th .tarn nnM.knM - t
after Brown had read his state
ment. "The pleas of guilty which
were sincerely made a few min
utes ago," Capt. C. C. Wood aaid,
"marked the end of a long and
difficult stretch of road which
Captain Brown has had to tread
Since ft'22 An th iYinmlNM
-- ..- ...... . i ii i u,
January 17.
tie feels that the court can
not Impose any sentence which
Will h Orpolop In nffrt... V, L
self-inflicted punishment which
litis mit?Hny resulted irom this
tragic occurrence.
"NppHloia in bv WaJ
j, ,,vu win
the court, "the scari of this pun-
isnmeni win long outlive any
action taken by this court."
Attempted Rape
Trial Goes to
Jury Here Today
A circuit court Jury retired
early this afternoon to decide
whether Rex Joseph Coy, 839
Wabash avenue, assaulted an 11-year-old
Medford girl with in
tent to commit rape, as has been
charged In a grand Jury indict
ment. The state and the defense both
rested their cases yesterday aft
ernoon and closing statements to
the jury were completed at noon
today. District Attorney George
Neilson and his deputy, Paul
Haviland, had called 17 wit
nesses in their attempt to prove
that the 28-year-old Medford
man, who city police arrested
shortly after the crime was com
mitted, is guilty as the young
victim has testified.
Defense Argument '
Two court appointed attor
neys, Manville Hcisel and Stan
ley C. Jones Jr., who are de
fending Coy, implied In state
ments to the jury this morning
that the three young girls who
testified against the defendant
were incompetent witnesses be
cause of emotion and suggestion.
One of the last witnesses
called by the prosecution was
Dr. Howard Richardson from the
state crime detection laboratory
in Portland. He had analyzed
Coy's clothing and other articles
at the request of Medford police.
He testifed that he had found
soil samples on the knee of
Coy's trousers that were similar
to soil samples taken from the
scene of the crime.
If he is convicted, Coy could
be sentenced to life in the state
pentcntiary or he could be giv
en a set term of from 1 to 20
years.
Foreign Ministers
Will Invite Germany
To Council of Europe
Strasbourg, France. Mar. 30
(U.R) Western European foreign'
ministers voted unanimously to
day to invite Germany and the
Saar to join the council of Eur
ope as associate members.
The council representing 13
western European nations, met
with Germany's admission top-'
ping their agenda.
State Gas Station
On State Street To
Serve State Autos
Salem. Ore., Mar. 30 U.R)
A state-owned gasoline station
to service state-owned cars
will open here Monday on
State street near the state
highway shops.
Under the present setup, the
state buys Its gasoline from
privately-owned stations. Of
ficials said the new system
will save the state 3.9 cents e
gallon on gas and 3.S cents a
gallon on oil, The station also
will handle tires, tubes, antl
freese. tire chains, jacks and
ether tulo tccessoiies.
i
S
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