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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (May 25, 1952)
t Tax Bureau Refuses To Believe Widow's Story of Many Gifts Editor'! Note: The following dispatch telli how the widow of J. B. Powell, the American editor who wai one of the civilian heroei of World War II, is having trouble convin cing the Internal Revenue Bureau that $40,000 was given to her dying hlusband simply ..because people admired him., and wanted to help him. In the wide, circulation of her story by the press rests Mrs. Pow ell's one hope of obtaining the .."proof" that the tax agents., demand. By ROBERT LOFTUS . Washington U.R) This is sort of an open letter to the hun dreds and hundreds of people who tried to help J. B. Powell when he came home to die in 1942. The income tax collector won't believe you helped. He claims the $40,000 you gave J. B. in fives and 10's and 20's wasn't a gift at all. Maybe you don't remember. J. B. was the editor of an American-language newspaper in Shanghai who started fighting his own war with the Japanese long before the rest of us got into it. Special Treatment J. B. got special treatment from the Japanese when Pearl Harbor came along. Solitary con finement for months in a wet, freezing dungeon. Starvation diet and torture. Prison doctors amputated most of both his feet Compromise May Be Aim for Civil Rights In Democrat Platform Washington (U.R) A ma jority of the Democratic party platform-writers will try to compromise the civil rights is use despite President Truman's no-compromise declaration, ac cording to a highly-placed De mocrat. The 20-man drafting commit tee named last week was chosen with an eye to avoiding a rift like that caused by the 1948 ci vil rights dispute. Harmony Not Guaranteed Agreement on compromise in the drafting group does not guar antee party harmony, however. Columbia Floods Shut Down Firms Portland (U.R) Two lum bering operations near Ridge field, Wash., were shut down Saturday and low-lying farm lands east and west of Vancou ver were inundated as the Col umbia and Willamette rivers filled by the year's first major runoff crested at below 21 feet. Several lower docks were ev acuated in Portland harbor as the Willamette, flooded primar ily by backwaters from the Col umbia, edged to a 20.3 crest, or 2.3 feet above flood stage. At Vancouver, the Columbia rose to 20.4 feet, or 5.4 feet above flood stage. The Welman Lumber comp any's sawmill and the Ridge field Shingle company, a branch of the Portland Shingle comp any, were forced to close down north of Vancouver because of the rising water. River forecasters said, howev er, there would be no major damage. Elderly Woman Killed In Hood River Blaze Hood River (U.R) Mrs., Karl Geissler, 72, burned to death Saturday when fire de stroyed her Pine Grove home everal miles southeast of here. Firemen said the blaze appar ently was caused by smoker's carelessness. Mrs. Geissler, a (emi-invalid, was known to be a chain smoker, Sheriff R. L. Gillmouthe said. Dead line Sunday Claulfledl Is at noon Saturdays. The drafting subcommittee and the full platform committee adopted a compromise civil rights plank in 1948. The convention itself overrode the platform committee and ap proved a tougher civil rights plank, provoking a walkout of some Southern delegates and formation of the States' Rights party. House Democratic Leader John W. McCormack, who is counted among the compromis ers, was chosen by party leaders to head the drafting committee. Compromise Evidence Seen Evidence of the compromise aim also was seen in the names of some of the oiher committee members. One was Burket Mur phy, an Atlanta attorney and friend of Sen. Richard B. Rus sell, (D-Ga). It was understood that Russell was invited to nom inate a member and that he chose Murphy. Russell, a Democratic presi dential candidate whose basic strength is in the South, has led Southern senators in their per ennial fights to block Mr. Tru- ma's proposals for civil rights legislation. After the drafting group .was named, Democratic National Chairman Frank E, McKinney expressed hope that it could draft a civil rights plank which all segments of the party could support. No Retreat Urged Two days later, Mr, Truman made his speech before Ameri cans for Democratic Action, urg ing no retreat from the 1948 plank. While he angered some of the Southerners, others private ly expressed doubt that the' no compromise view would prevail at the convention. before they shipped him home on the repatriation liner Grips- holm in August, 1942. J. B. was an international figure, but he was flat broke and desperately in need of hospitali zation when the Gripsholm land ed him in New York. That's when the gifts started pouring in. Many Offer Help He found a sack full of mail waiting for him at the dock, from strangers who had read about his Shanghai ordeal and wanted to help. Many didn't even sign their names. But their gifts added up to Sl-200. Then the friends J. B. had col lected in 30 years of newspaper- ing went to work for him. A group of Chinese reporters sent $10,000 from Chungking. The National Press Club in Washing ton raised $9,800. Tax Agent Emanuel N. Feigin said J. B. had claimed "too many gifts to be believed." The tax man insisted he must have per formed some service for hire to get all that money. And so the $40,000 was taxable income. Un less Mrs. Powell can prove her husband's honesty by producing the names, addresses and amounts given by each of the contributors. Letters Requested That's the reason for this let ter. If you contributed to J. B., anonymously or otherwise, may be you wouldn't mind telling the bureau about it. You could write to Feigin at the New York col lector's office or to Internal Revenue Commissioner John B Dunlap here in Washington. Red plane Production Ahead of US by 2 to 1 Washington (U.R) Russia, according to present indications, is producing 12 to IS military planes for every seven the Un ited States builds. During the period from the end of World War II until re cently when American produc tion began to gather steam again, the ratio was three-to-one in Russia's favor. Reliable Data The figures are based on re liable data from military and in dustry sources. They help to ex plain Speaker Sam Rayburn's unqualified assertion to the House Friday that "we have lost air superiority." Rayburn made the statement a speech protesting cuts in President Truman's defense and foreign aid budgets. He called Russian superiority a "galling and an appaling fact." In numbers alone, Russia has had superiority since American air power was dismantled Author Fulton Oursler Dies at New York Home New York (U.R) Fulton Oursler, 59, author and senior editor of the Reader's Digest, died early Saturday in his apart ment in the Hotel Novarro. Members of Oursler's family said he had not been ill and ap parently died of a heart attack. Oursler was the author of 32 novels and non-fiction books and several plays. Among his best sellers was a series of murder mysteries written under the pseudonym of Anthony Abbott. The Siamese name of Bang kok is Krung Thep. Overland Greyhound Employees Cast Vote Portland (U.R) Overland G r e y h ound's transcontinental bus lines, strikebound for more than two weeks, may be running again by Sunday night or early Monday. Members of the AFL North west Motor Coach Employees union were voting Friday on an agreement reached Wednesday. Results of the balloting will not be known until early Sunday morning. The agreement includes a 4.6 per cent pay increase retroactive to April 7, a 4.4 per cent hike next October 1 and a 9 per cent boost Oct. 1, 1953. Employees will go on a 5'4 day week next October 1 and on a 5-day week Oct. 1, 1953. 194S. House critics claim the situa tion wasn't helped by the ad ministration's refusal to spend certain aircraft production mon ey appropriated prior to the Kor ean war. But air strength comparisons also involve the composition of air forces, quality of the various plane types and training of men. American experts do not believe the Russians have superiority plane type for plane type, de spite the surprise handed them in the fighter department by the MIG-15 Jet. Sunday. May 25, 1951 MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE SEVEN MEXICO GROWING OLIVES Mexico City (U.R) The Mexican Chamber of Commerce says the northern states of Mexi co are becoming Important pro ducers of olive oil. The minis try of agriculture will plant 700,- I nnn - tui. uuu ii cis mis ycui. The United States Weather Bureau at the San Francisco air port is the largest West of Chi-cago. CARS COLLIDE Cars driven by James Wolford Garrett, 192 Van Ness avenue, Ashland, and Richard Wayne Imhausen, route 3, box 180, Barncburg road, Medford, col lided early Saturday on Hill crest road, state police reported. Damage was listed as minor, and there were no personal iniuries. in I the report said. 126 I. Main Medford DUO mod.ling. You'll bt Jurpthi. CCS ed to find out how oaiily ?2F Utfi. flnrl and conveniently a mortgage !,H5' JOk&Sk jOflC m4y arranged to at eWtftfffffffffffQQatSSS' Jackson County Federal Savings and Loan Association TUfflE JSIEWILY.. MKDMErHMIIEIEnD (KDSdDCEIE'iriEIHillA Small Firms Not Exempt From Wage Regulations Seattle Firms employing only a few workers are not ex empt from Wage Stabilization Board regulations, according to Leo Kotin, chairman of the re gional WSB. "Reports have recently reach ed us that some employers are under the impression that they are exempt from wage regula tions because they employ fewer than five or six or ten employ ees," Kotin said, and added, "This impression is wrong. No exemption has been made on the ! basis of the size of an employ er's work force." NAPOLEON'S CLOCK FANCY Boston !U.P.) A clock once owned by Napoleon I of France, with a small organ in the base, was displayed in a Boston store window. The organ can be set to play one of 12 different tunes every hour on the hour. 206 W. Main St r r l riii 1 DM WM, B 9 A.M. TO ' 'l 7 V" ft 'W I EXTRA BOMOS PRIZES TODAY! 0 Here are a few of the many ar ticles to go during our tale: Costume Jewelry Pictures Mirrors Wall Brackets Figurenes Fine Writing Papers English Bone China Cups and Saucers. Aluminum Lazy Susans, Trays, Silent Butlers. Wide range of articles in brass from China, England, India Copper and Brass Plante domestic made. STARTS MONDAY! CONTINUES THROUGH SATURDAY Many unusual items that you will want and CAN AFFORD At Savings that will surprise and thrill you. We art not quoting prices here, as you couldn't pos sibly appreciate the values we are offering you,, without seeing the merchandise. SALE SPECIALS! IN EVERY DEPARTMENT! REMEMBER This sale will continue throughout the entire week but many of these values will go fast So come early Store Hours During Sale 9 A.M. to 5:30 P.M. No obligation to buy - just come in - you don't have to be present to win. HERE ARE THE PRIZES 2 -UNIVERSAL AUTOMATIC TOASTERS 2 -TWIN WAFFLE BAKERS 1-AUTOMATIC ELECTRIC COFFEE MAKER 1 - PICNIC ICE BOX Winning Numbers Posted in Store Monday Morning GRAND PRIZE AWARDED WEDNESDAY NIGHT! $250 MERCHANDISE ORDER AT MANN'S DEPARTMENT STORE A complete outfit for Pop or Mom from this famous style center of So. Oregon. All advertised bargain prices for the opening effective until Memorial, Day as stock permits
