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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 8, 1952)
mm Mi lw Fta mi Ms is 5 Years, $10,000 Meted Defendants; Judge Denies Bail Defense Attorneys File Appeal Notices Los Angeles (UP.) Olela O'Connor Yates, one of 14 California Communist leaders serftenced lo prison for con spiring lo teach and advocate the violent overthrow of the government, today was sen tenced lo an additional year . in jail for contempt of court. Los Angeles (U.R) The pro tracted six-month trial of 14 "second string". Communists draws to a close Friday when Federal Judge William -C. Mathes pronounces sentence on one of the party leaders for con tempt of court. Mathes 'called the West Coast Communists before the bench Thursday and handed each of them the maximum sentence five years in jail and a $10,000 fine for violation of the Smith Act. Defendants Denied Bail The defendants were denied bail and taken to County Jail to await transportation to fed eral prisons. The Communists were con victed of conspiring to teach and advocate the violent overthrow of the government. Mathes handed down the sen tences after refusing to set aside the jury's guilty verd'ct as de fense attorneys had asked. He then announced he would sen tence Oleta O'Connor Yates, one of the 14, on 10 contempt of court convictions. Mrs. Yates was found in con tempt during the long trial for refusing to answer questions at the direction of the judge. Appeal Notices Filed Defense attorneys said they have already filed written notice of appeal to the U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals and will de mand release of the 14 on bail pending a decision from the higher court. In refusing to vacate the ver dict. Mathes commented, "The jury's guilty verdict is appar ently beyond reasonable doubt. I therefore deny the defense mo tion for a judgment of acquittal." Under federal law, the judge considers such motions for di rected verdicts of acquittal after the. jury returns its decision. Mathes also denied a motion for a new trial, which the de fense sought on grounds that the release of an FBI report may have prejudiced the jury. Overthrow Plot Told The report was released in Washington before the jury be gan deliberations. It said Josef Stalin plotted to overthrow the' U. S. government through the agency of the American Com munist party. The judge, calling the Com munists before him one by one, allowed each defendant to ex press his defiance, protest his innocence and reaffirm his belief in the Communist party. Mathes then refused to set bail, and ruled that the prison ers must remain in jail until their fines are paid. Walter Pearson Named in Divorce Suit Portland U.R) Walter J. Peafson, Oregon state treasurer, is being sued for divorce in a suit filed in circuit court here by his wife; Dorothea L. Pear son, charging cruel and inhuman treatment. The suit also alleged that Pearson inflicted personal indig nities on Mrs. Pearson, making her life burdensome and un bearable. She asked custody . of their infant son, born in May. The Pearsons were married May 29, 1951. His first two mar riages also ended in divorce. Many Tales of Saved Carrier Tokyo (U.R) The Navy told Friday how officers and enlisted men heroically risked their lives to save the American carrier Boxer from destruction when a jet plane exploded and set fire to the hanger deck. Three of the nine men who were ' killed in the accident Wednesday died braving fire and exploding ammunition- to treat injured crew members. 32 Men Injured Thirty-two men were injured" and 50 others were treated for smoke exhaustion. Twelve other planes were destroyed. The acci dent took place while the Boxer was about 90 miles east of Won san off North Korea. The jet plane had just return ed from a mission over North Ko rea when it exploded. A spokes man said the fire, fed by gaso line, bombs and ammunition, ME United Press Full Leased Wire 47th Year 18 Pages CONCLUDE PACIFIC DEFENSE PARLEY New Zealand Foreign Minister T. Clifton Webb (left),,U. S. Secy, of State Dean Acheson icenter) and Australian Minister for External Affairs Richard G. Casey leave the conference house in Honolulu after concluding their talks on the Pacific Mutual Defense Treaty. Acheson, refer ring to the campaign to halt Red aggression in the Pacific, called the conference a "good start." Eisenhower, Nixon C q n f e r i t fi J5ules On Foreign Issues Denver (U.R) John Foster Dulles, Republican foreign pol icy expert, arrived here Friday for a series of conferences with Dwight D. Eisenhower and Sen. Richard M. Nixon, Republican presidential and vice presiden tial candidates. Dulles, who drafted the for-, eign policy plank of the .GOP's 1952 patform, planned to spend several days here talking with Milk Marketing Laws Subject of Meeting The Grade A Milk Produces league will meet at the court house auditorium at 8:30 p.m. today to discuss the Oregon milk marketing laws. Edgar Grimes, chairman of the milk committee of the Ore gon Farm Bureau federation, and Stanley Church, representa tive of the Oregon Milk Produc ers committee, will speak in favor of the laws. Grover Steele, Portland, will represent Safe way Stores, which have actively campaigned against the law. - Pee Wee, Cub Players Will Picnic Saturday All boys who participated in Southern Oregon Junior Baseball league pee wee and cub activity this season may attend the picnic and swim starting Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Jackson Hot Springs, Lee Ragsdale, Medford school athletic director, said today. Families of the boys may also attend. All persons going are to take their lunches. Boys from eight southern Oregon towns took part in league play. Heroism Told of Men Who Boxer From Destruction . made the ship an "inferno" in a matter of seconds. Well-trained Navy firefighters were on the job "almost before the sound of the first explosions had died away," attacking the fire with water and foam. Then the flames burned out vital fire fighting equipment and commu nications lines. . Portable Pumps Rigged "One bomb exploded, spread ing the flames and inflicting cas ualties on the fire and rescue parties," the spokesman said. "Emergency communications and portable pumps were rigged and the fight continued ... "Plane crewmen rushed in among the fire fighters and stripped bombs and ammunition from the Corsairs, Skyraiders and jets. "Many men were trapped briefly in spaces above and be low the hangar deck by the DFOI Eisenhower, Nixon and the Re publican top command about the stand the party will take on foreign issues during the cam paign. Final Plans Prepared Nixon arrived a few hours ahead of Dulles. He expected to remain for at least 10 days and perhaps longer while final cam paign plans are being whipped into shape. Meanwhile, an unannounced visitor into Eisenhower's private sanctuary late Thursday created something of a stir around the GOP nominee's headquarters. The visitor was Davis Mer win, who identified himself as a cousin of Gov. Adlai Steven son of Illinois, Democratic nomi nee for president. Merwin and his brother, Lor ing, own the Bloomington, 111., newspaper, the Pantagraph, along with Stevenson and Ste venson's sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Ives. Military Views Talked Merwin, en route to Korea as a correspondent for the Panta graph and ' other newspapers, said he talked with Eisenhower concerning the Republican nominee's views oil military policies particularly in jegard to matters of. air-sea power. He said he wanted to learn whether Eisenhower had chang ed his views from certain opin ions he had axpressed previously- Eisenhower had a light sche dule of visitors;- today, saving most of his time for foreign pol icy discussions with Dulles and Nixon. dense smoke. Rescue workers in oxygen masks guided many of them to safety. Far below the water line, engineers were forced to don masks to remain in their places." Lt. James E. Schropshire, Bir mingham, Ala., a medical officer for Carrier Air Group Two, was killed by a fragment of an ex ploding shell while treating pa tients only 100 feet from the flames. ' Men Leap Into Su Bomb fragments also killed Hospitalmen Richard Smith Tay lor, Kendallville, Ind., and James Veryle Wark, El Monte, Calif. Sixty -three men were forced to leap into the. sea . when . the flames and smoke became un bearable. All but one were res cued. ' The 27,000-ton carrier is now en route to Yokosuka Naval Base near Tokyo for repairs.- . MEDFORD, Wayne Long Dies In Prison Chamber For Rucker Murder Long Tells Newsmen Trial Wasn't Fair (Editor's note: Bill Force, author of the following article on the execution of Wayne Long at Oregon State prison today, formerly was a reporter for The Medford Mail Tribune and is the son of Mr. and Mrs. H. D. Force, Gold Hill. He join ed the United Press about a year ago.) By BILL FORCE Salem U.R) Wayne Leroy Lone died in the state's lethal gas chamber at 7:17 a.m. (PST), Friday for the June 14, laau, murder of Walter L. Rucker in Clackamas county. The calm, gum -chewing 28-year-old Long, one of the slate prison's most notorious inmates, strode unassisted into the state's new death - house just outside the' prison wall a few minutes before 7 a.m. He was accom panied by the Rev. William Mc Clory, Catholic chaplain at the penitentiary, who was Long's constant companion in the hours just before the execution. Long was the 14th person to be executed since Oregon estab lished gas as the state's form of capital punishment. Door Clanks Shut At 7:02 a.m. the heavy steel door of the gas chamber clanked shut and moments later the dead ly white cyanide fumes cuiled like smoke through the ctiamDer. At 7!17 a.m. the final heart im pulse was recorded on instru ments outside the champer, jusi 14V2 minutes after the first lumes struck Lonk's-face, -x.--"- Some 50 witnesses and news- ottonHeH the execution in lii,'. --'--'- - addition to prison guards and officials. Dr. Emil Muns, prison physician, and Dr. W. Ray Poin dexter, state hospital physician, acted in a supervisory capacity at the execution. Unfair Trial Claimed A few minutes before Long ,Wn from the euard cao- waa l ti 1 1 i . cj - tains office he was interviewed by news men. He continued to maintain that he had not received a fair trial but he ignord a re porter who asked if he still claim ed he was innocent of the Rucker murder. Long ate no breakfast Where I'm going I'm not going to need any breakfast," he said. During the night he played pinochle with Father McClory and prison guards. Long and the Women inmates clustered around their cell windows on hQ rr. floor of the prison ad ministration building as Long was taken to a car and driven the short distance to the death house. , There was no disturbance among the convicts as the exe cution hour drew near. Convicted of Murder ronvicted bv a Clack oc mil ntv circuit court jury of fatally shooting Rucker in or der to use the Portland carpen ter's pickup truck in an abortive attempt to hold up a orancn Daiih. -Portland's eastside. Long went to his death still maintaining the jury which con victed him was not impartial since all the jurors had said they were not opposed to capital punishment. Long, who was first arrested ,hon he was 12 for stealing a bicycle, had been one of the prison s most unruly inmates, nc marfo spveral escape attempts and was a leader in many of the prison disturbances. Sheriff's Deputy To Return Morgan An agent from the sheriff's office has been dispatched to. Indianapolis, Ind., to return Mil ton E. Morgan to Medford, ac cording to Sheriff , Howard Gault. Morgan, 25, is wanted by local authorities in connection with the 1948 robbery of Chris tian's market, 1135 Lozier lane. He is. charged with assault with a deadly weapon and at tempted robbery. He was arrest ed in Indiana for another of fense and Gov. Henry F. Schricker signed papers to ex tradite him to Medford. . , Washington (U.R) The De fense Department said Friday it has asked Selective Service to draft 371 physicians and 200 dentists in October. OREGON, FRIDAY, AUGUST 8, 1952 mm eks TeM Allies Continue Slaughter of MIGs; Sinchon Blasted Civilians Warned Of Pending Raid Seoul, Korea (U.R) United Nations jet planes shot down three Communist MIG-15 jets Friday while B-26 Invaders blast ed Red troop concentrations and supply areas at Sinchon after warning the Communists they were coming. In Friday's jet battles, Capt. Clifford D. Jolley, Salt Lake City, became history's 18th jet ace. He made hjs fifth kill in an afternoon fight between 12 Sabrejets and 15 MIGs. Civilians Warned Sinchon, about 45 miles south west of Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, is one of the 78 cities and towns marked for at tack by U.N. warplanes. Before the B-26s appeared overhead, Radio Seoul warned civilians to clear out. The warning was given in ac cordance with the Allied policy of trying to avoid needless de struction of civilian lives. Town Attacked Tiqe The B-26s attacked. Sinchon twice,: .dropping.. more., than .50 bomb loads. Pilots could not give a detailed description of the dam age because of darkness and smoke. Elsewhere the ground war came to an almost complete halt in 108-degree heat. Communist troops tried again Thursday night to dislodge tough South Korean troops from Capi tol Hill west of the Pukhan river on the Central Front, but were driven off in a 50-minute fight. The Communists hit the South Koreans with 500 rounds of artil lery before sending a company of infantry against them. The hill has changed hands six times since August 5; ' Staffordllected Red Cross Head; Secretary Resigns Col. Ben Stafford, former Jackson county Civilian Defense director, was elected chairman of the Jackson . County Red Cross chapter at a board of di rectors meeting yesterday, ac cording to Edward Branchfield retiring county chairman. At the board of directors meeting, Mrs. Enid Rankin sub mitted her resignation as execu- t i v e-secretary for "personal reasons," according to Branch field. The board "regretfully accepted" the resignation, effec tive August 31. He said the board is drawing up. an official resolution commending M r s. Rankin for her public service. Board Officers Board officers elected at the meeting, which was the first board meeting following the an nual election on July 26, were, besides Col. Stafford, M r s. Frank Fairweather, first vice1 chairman: Dr. Elmo Stevenson, second vice-chairman; El wood Hedberg, treasurer; and Mrs. Lester Adams, secretary. . - Members named to the execu tive committee of the board were Branchfield, Hedberg, Mrs. C. L. Pierce, Mrs. Adams, Mrs Sam McNair, Mrs. Howell Mur phy, Mrs. John Day, Mrs. C. Reese Braley, Mrs. Fairweather and Dr. Stevenson. Mrs. Katherine Hall Cham bers, disaster field -representative, Pacific area, National Red Cross, was the principal speaker this morning at a county-wide organizational meeting for nat ural and war-caused disasters. The meeting was held in the Lincoln school gymnasium. Over 55 representatives from county Granges and school groups attended the session which saw the setting up . of community heads to orsane loctl groups to he a c"-.r.r-3 o; the mass care services of lodg- RIBUIE Sh4 51 TIRANA GAMMA ISLAND JjpS GREEKS SHELL DISPUTED ISLAND-Cross marks spot where the Greek Army shelled disputed Gamma Island in an attempt to drive off Bulgarian Reds who seized it July 23. The island, always' considered Greek territory, lies in the Evros River, which for 10 miles forms the frontier between Bulgaria and Greece The Greek press said the bombardment was a prelude to reoccupation of the island. Stevenson's Aides Discuss Itinerary . For Southern Jaunt .Springfield, 111. (U.R) Gov. Adlai E. Stevenson's aides are mapping out a campaign itiner ary", which tentatively calls -for taking the presidential nominee's train into the South. it was learn ed Friday. Although the Democratic presi dential nominee's headquarters has heard generally favorable news from the once-safely Demo cratic South, his campaign aides have decided that the campaign train should go there. Walkout Threat Gone The threat of any large-scale Southern walkout from the Democratic Party this year has just about evaporated. With the assurances received this week from Sen. Richard B. Russefl of Georgia, the Steven son headquarters appeared fair ly confident that the entire South would give its electoral votes to the Democratic nominee. Rus sell conceded, however, that Dwight . D. Eisenhower, the Re publican nominee, would prob ably poll more Southern votes than any GOP candidate in re cent years. Concerned About Texas Among the southern states, the Stevenson camp seemed most concerned about Texas, Eisen- Medford Boy Loses Toes in Accident Eleven-year-old George Bem is, son of Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Bemis, 1808 Spring street, had several toes amputated at Com munity hospital this morning af ter an accident at his home, at tendants reported. Young "Bemis caught his right foot in a hay baler when the in jury occurred. His parents rush ed him to the hospital in their car for treatment. ing, feeding and clothing during a disaster. The position of the Red Cross disaster chairman in the CD set up was explained by Mrs. Cham bers. She pointed out that the Red Cross unit was transferred under the CD organization to the mass care section with the Red Cross chairman becoming the CD section chief. Finances are different, however, with the Red Cross in charge of natural disasters and the government fi nancing war-caused disasters. The field representative stressed the fact that "no area is immune from disaster. If we are to survive we must organize and make mass care everybody's business." She noted the unity and cooperation between the CD section and Red Cross in disaster preparations. " Mrs. O. A. Eden, vice-chairman cf the Red Cross disaster committee, was in charge of re cruiting volunteers for the vari ous local units at the meeting srd'TSr?." Pr.rV'.i spoke briefly, on the chapter's organization. United Press Full Leased Wir mm hower's native slate, which nor mally produces a larger Repub- lican vote than " other Southern states. - - : Stevenson's first speech out side of Illinois is now scheduled for the American Legion Conven tion at New York August 27. This is not billed as a campaign speech. Ashland Man Found Dead in Hotel Room Percy Clifford Shutt, 435 "B" street, Ashland, was found dead at about 3:40 p.m. yesterday in a room he had taken at the Med ford hotel, according to city po lice. They said Shutt apparently had taken his own life with a single pistol shot. The unemployed pensioner reg istered at the hotel at 7:10 a.m. 'Two letters addressed to Coun ty Coroner Carlos Morris were found in the room, police stated. One told Morris where to find a suitcase containing clothes for burial purposes and the other re quested that the coroner con tact his brother, H. M. Shutt, Grand hotel, Medford, according to investigating officers. The second letter contained $405, -with the request that the money be used for burial pur poses, officers stated. They said a total of $3,455, including the burial money, was found in the room. The remainder of the cash was in a papeV sack addressed to Shutt's brother. Shutt's body was discovered by a hotel maid, police said. They added that he had apparently taken his life with a .45 caliber pistol, aided by a mirror. H. M. Shutt told police his brother had talked of killing himself since being released from a mental institution about 11 years ago. HST's Special Brings Cries Washington (U.R) Presi dent Truman's disclosure that he may call a special session of Congress to strengthen price con trols drew hoots of "politics" from Republicans Friday. Some key Democratic lawmak ers endorsed the idea, but most of them fervently hoped that Mr. Truman at least would wait until after the election. They pointed out that all members of the House, and one third of the senators, currently are up to their ears in reelection campaigns. May Consult Stevenson One congressional informant said he is confident Mr. Truman will make no decision on the matter without consulting Gov. Adlai Stevenson, the Democratic presidential nominee. Stevenson is coming here Tuesday for a White House luncheon with Mr. Truman and the Cabinet. Sen. Joseph C. O'Mahoney, D- Weather FORECAST: Continued fair through Saturday. Little tem perature change. Low tonight 58. High Saturday 92. Temp. Highest Yesterday 91 ' Lowest this Morning 58 No. 120 Warning Issued To Slay Off Isle; 'Calm' Prevails Evacuation of Civilians Denied Athens (U.R) The Greek Army warned Bulgarians Friday they would be fired on without warning if they landed again on the disputed border island of Gamma in the Evros river. The Greek general staff an nounced, however, there was "ab solute calm" in the Evros river area following Thursday's rout of Bulgarian troops who had seized Gamma July 23. The Reds fled back to their own side of the Evros under a Greek mortar barrage. Return Fire Denied The general staff communique denied press reports that the Bui garians had both returned the fire and concentrated large num bers of troops on the north bank or ine river opposite Gamma. "Bulgarian peasants are busy with their fields like ours," the communique said. It also denied reports that Greek inhabitants were being evacuated from the frontier area. One report had said civilians be gan moving from the village of Dikaia, opposite Gamma, Thurs day night. Warning Backed Dispatches from the area indi cated the Greek Army had back ed up its warning to Bulgaria against any renewed attempt "to take Gamma by sending large in fantry forces, along with artil lery, tanks and planes, to the scene. Although they insisted Gamma historically is Greek, the Greeks said thev would not attemnt to occupy the island until the U. N. feace commission formally de cides its ownership. The Greeks said they would not permit the Bulgarians to oc cupy the .island while the U. N. is considering the dispute. Elliott To Address Young GOP Meeting Robert A. Elliott, state Repub lican chairman from Medford, will speak on the GOP national convention highlights tonight at 7:30 o'clock in the Pioneer room of the Jackson hotel, according to Robert Dickey, chairman of the county Young Republicans. Elliott will replace William McAllister, convention delegate, who was slated to speak but was filing 1 m A vl- A4 nut nf 4a. .M on business. Phil Hitchcock, Klamath Falls state senator, a convention alternate, is also ex pected at the meeting to which all Young Republicans in Jack- -son county are invited. Salem (U.R) The name of Russel H. Nichols, Cascade Locks, was on file Friday in the State Elections' Bureau here as an independent candidate for state representative from Hood River county. Session Plan of Politics1 Wyo., chairman of the Senate- House Economic Committee, told a reporter that if Congress is call ed back before election day "it is highly improbable that it will discuss anything except the presi dential campaign." Election Necessary First "We have an inflationary prob lem, but in my opinion it can be constructively settled nly after the arguments of the campaign have been silenced by the votes of the people on election day," he said. Mr. Truman's news conference disclosure Thursday that he is .considering a special session was prompted at least in part by stern warnings from Price Sta bilizer Ellis Arnall that a 1M per cent food price jump from mid-June to mid-July may mean that inflation is about to "get out of hand." gars
