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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 7, 1953)
eSredjs (iw C0UHC1L UNANIMOUS; TRIBUNE, JURY HIT A unanimous vote of confi dence for Police Chief Clatous McCredie was given by Med ford's city council at a meeting in the city hall yesterday after noon. The vote came after the coun cil voted 5 to 3 to table another motion, which had been drawn up by Councilmen Paul Selby and Stanley Jones Jr. just prior to the meeting. The majority of the council would not accept the two men's entire statement. Members said they felt it might harm the cur rent investigation of police de partment procedure and prac tices. Voting against the majori tv were Jones, Selby and Earl Miller. Hava Faith In Chief Although not specifically stated in the motion which passed, the council, through earlier expression, voiced opin ions of faith in Chief McCredie's personal integrity and character, and desired to put them public ly on record. The meeting, which was at tended oy some 45 citizens, was originally scheduled as a closed police committee meeting to con tinue the investigation concern ing police department activities. Chairman John Snider declined to hold the committee's hearing, because in his opinion, the testi mony should be confidential. Mayor Diamond Flynn then conducted the meeting as an open session of the full council, stating that he had had "hun dreds of requests" for attend ance at the session. Policy Reviewed In the statement prepared by Jones and Selby, they said "very limited" statements have been published regarding the death oi Lester Hurley, 62-year-old Camp White member, who died on July 4. In general, the state ment reviewed the city's police policy and defended action taken following the 1951 report on William P. Beall Jr. of the Berkeley, Calif., police depart ment. In speaking of the 100 recom mendations by Sgt. Eeall, the statement read, ". . . Insofar as jl has been financially possible, the police department has com plied with these recommenda tions." It noted an April, 1952, letter showing Beall's findings on progress since the first re port. The letter said "a number of problems had been solved,' and it was the writer's belief "that personnel of the police de partment . . . have done an ex cellent job." The next step for the people of Medford and the city council was to provide wage and working conditions similar to those existing in the local labor industry, the letter said. Get What Pay For Beall added that although ma ny of the recommendations have been initiated, there was very little more the police department could do unless wages were raised, and that the "city would get just about what it paid for. ' The Jones Selby statement strongly criticized the district attorney and The Mail Tribune. It read, "The insinuation by the district attorney and The Mail Tribune that Hurley probably met his death as a result of brutal treatment by the police department was wholly unwar ranted and without foundation. Such irresponsible attacks have served only to undermine the confidence of the people in their police department ..." (Editor's note: The grand jury's report said: "Lester Hur ley's injuries, which resulted in his death, were caused by an accidental fall. There is no evi dence of any criminal responsi bility for Lester Hurley's death.' The Mail Tribune has made no insinuation that Hurley was brutally treated. It reported the fact that he was confined to the city jail , for 41 hours without medical attention while suffer ing from a skull fracture that later proved fatal.) Heading "Irresponsible" The statement rejected by the council majority also called the headlines in the Wednesday edi tion of the M-T "an irresponsible outrage." Councilman Dick Woodcock, speaking against the motion, said he felt the council should not judge the editorial policy of The Mail Tribune nor the work ing of the district attorney's of fice. "We should run our own city," he said, and he added his belief that the police committee should continue its investigation of the police department. Five citizens from the audi ence spoke on the Hurley in vestigation, and expressed their confidence in Chief McCredie. They were Medford Attorneys Charles Reames and Paul Havi land; two former mayors, J. C. Collins and Halbert S. Deuel Sr.; and R. B. Gibson, 209 Girard dr. Reames attested to the per sonal integrity of McCredie and directed an attack at the grand jury. He stated that the grand jury had no jurisdiction over the matter when no criminal act had been found. Questions Jury's Act The latter point of law was reiterated by Haviland, former district attorney of Jackson county. He reported that " . . . it seems to me that where a grand jury has determined that no crime has ben committed that they are acting beyond their authority in recommending that any city administration dis charge any public official of any city who has been guilty of no crime. Actually this grand iury has besmirched the char acter of Chief McCredie and in terfered with the city adminis tration without the right by the law to do so." He spoke at length on the Beall report and stated that after the report had been submitted and approved it was given to the police department for execu tion," . . . notwithstanding the fact that it was recognized in the report that certain individ uals, from a police administra tion standpoint, had certain shortcomings as to background and ability with which to carry out those recommendations." Says "Scapegoat" Demanded Continuing, Haviland said, "I do not recollect during the past two years that the Medford Mail Tribue or the mayor or the council as a whole have made any statement indicating that they were dissatisfied with the speed with which the recom mendations were being adopted. He stated further that "... those that we depend upon for the functioning of our public de partments failed us and I mean specifically the mayor, the coun cil and the press, but now, be cause of the unfortunate situa tion relating to Lester Hurley, certain elements are demanding a scapegoat." He placed the responsibility for the present situation with the three groups cited and asked for correction of any wrong condi tions "as quickly as possible.- Haviland later stated, "It may be necessary that Chief Mc Credie step aside, entirely or to a degree necessary to effect these changes, but none of us should be a party to condemning him and for turning him out, after many years of public service, in disgrace." Commends Investigation He concluded by commending the council for continuing their investigation of all phases of police administration. Councilman Snider at the be ginning of the session placed the responsibility of the present sit uation on no one person, but on tne present city administration and previous administrations who have allowed conditions de scribed in Beall's report to de velop. Former Mayor Deuel agreed with Snider's placement ot responsibility and stated he would never feel happy if Cla tous "is made the goat for us.' Fire Damages Cupp Furniture Barn Central Point Some roof and water damage resulted yester day when a fire started at the John Cupp Furniture barn just south of the Central Point city limits as about 5 p.m., according to Dick Krupp, fire chief of the city's rural fire protection dist rict. The call was answered by both the city's department and rural group, Krupp said, and with the aid of the city's salvage covers most of the furniture was protected. Cupp reported this morning he was in "fine shape" although there was some water damage not yet estimated. He praised the quick action by both Central Point fire groups and said their handling of the fire was "a won derful job." The owner stated that he had just begun re-shingling with fire proof material and about one fourth of the roof was complet ed. About one-half of the old roof was partially burned. Cause of the blaze was not de termined, but one theory was that a spark from a sawmill burner started the blaze. Weather FORECAST: Fair and slightly - warmer. PomIM afternooa and evening thowere. Law to night J. Hifh Wednesday ST. Temn. Highest Yestrday . " , 1) Lowest this Morning Me United Press Full Leased Wire 48th Year. Americans Must Continue To Bear Economic Burden Eisenhower Reviews Major Accomplishments Washington (U.R) President Eisenhower declared soberly last night that the American people must continue to bear a "stag gering economic burden" be cause the danger of war has not ended in spite of the Korean truce. In a nationwide radio broad cast, Mr. Eisenhower credited his administration and the Re publican controlled 83rd Con gress with major accomplish ments in the past seven months. But he conceded these were "little more than a beginning." It would be "foolish," he said, to claim the Republicans "have seen and conquered all the prob lems of our nation." Future Is Uncertain "The future, both immediate and distant, remains full of trial and hazard," he declared. "The end of our staggering economic burden is not yet in sight. The end of the peril to peace is not clearly in view." The broadcast was the Presi dent's first detailed report to the people on the GOP stewardship that began last January after 20 years of Democratic rule. It was a mixture of pride for the "bright beginnings" and a reali zation of the heavy tasks that lie ahead. Mr. Eisenhower pledged Amer ica to fight any new outbreak of aggression in Asia or other parts of the world. He praised rebel lious East Germans for opposing Russian domination. He said the Korean truce was good, but no cause for "wild rejoicing." Lists Accomplishments In addition to the Korean truce, he listed these major ac complishments of the first seven months of GOP rule: 1. Stringent economies pared nearly $13,000,000,000 from the budget requests of the Truman administration, a saving of "some $80 for every American." 2. Teamwork between Con gress and the executive branch has been restored so that the government is no longer "di vided against itself." He paid high tribute to the late Sen. Robert A. Taft for his contribu tion to this effort. 3. The nation's economy has been freed from "a labyrinth of needless controls." . Government Reorganised 4. "Repair and reorganiza tion" of the colossal machinery of government is well advanced because Congress approved all 10 of his reorganization plans, "an unprecedented record." 5. Congress did what "sense and honesty" dictated by ex tending for six months the "onerous but needed" excess profits tax, and by postponing tax reliefs in other fields until next year. He said the government as the Republicans found it in January required "repair and reorganiza tion." "We have made a good start," he said. Estimated $586 Taken In Ashland Burglary Cash and checks estimated at $586 was taken Aug. 5 in a safe burglary at Busch Motors, Ash land, Sheriff Howard Gault said this morning. Some $270 in cash was believed missing.ihe sheriff said. Reports by investigating of ficers indicated that experienced safe crackers were involved in "punching" of the safe. Entry to the buildins was sained throueh a rear window, they stated. More POWs May Be Held for Political Reasons, General Clark Tells UN Newsmen United Nations, N,Y. U.R) Gen. Mark W. Clark said to day the Communists might be holding unlisted American pris oners as hostages for political purposes. ' The Far East commander told United Nations newsmen that he "never knew what motiva ted" the Reds. But he said in answer to a question that their purpose "might" be to use pris oner hostages as a bargaining weapon to extract political con cessions from the free world.. . Wait Suggested However, Clark suggested that "we should wait until the exchange of prisoners is over before we make this protest that I'm sure my government would make" if it is proved that the Reds hold more prisoners than they admit. Clark first raised the issue yesterday in Washington, saying DFOBD 20 Pages District Attorney Declines Comment On Judge's Rebuke Misunderstanding Said Cause of Act District Attorney Walter Nun ley today refused to comment on a rebuke against him made earlier this week by Circuit Judge H. K. Hanna following re lease of a grand jury report to the press. "I do not wish to enter into a public controversy with my su perior," Nunley said. Judge Hanna said he was "shocked and incensed by the violation of the oath of secrecy" in the release to the press of a grand jury report recommend ing dismissal of Medford Police Chief Clatous McCredie. Exonerates Jury, Press In issuing the rebuke against Nunley, Judge Hanna exonerat ed the jury and The Medford Mail Tribune after Jury Fore man J. E. . Crawford informed the judge that Nunley had urged the jury "to speed its report" so that it could be released to the press Wednesday. In open court Nunley replied that the allegedly premature re lease was the result of a mis understanding based on the method in which the report of a previous jury was handled. Nunley spoke both to the full jury and to individual members of the group. He said he accept ed full responsibility for the re lease and explained that in re leasing the report he believed that he was following the wishes of the court. Judge Hanna said he had no word of the grand jury's report until he read his paper in the afternoon. Referring to Nunley's action, the judge said he had never before witnessed such a move in his career on the bench. Dismissal Advised The jury recommended Mc Credie's dismissal after investi gating the death in the city jail of Lester Hurley, a member of the Camp White veterans domi ciliary center. Hurley died of re sults of an accidental fall and the jury said there was no evi dence of criminal responsibility in his death, but suggested that McCredie be replaced by an out sider. Judge Hanna said he question ed the jury's authority to make such a report when it did not return a true bill. Dulles, Rhee Reach Alliance Agreement Seoul, Korea U.R) Final agreement was reached today on the terms o a defense alliance pledging the United States to come to the aid of South Korea to repel any future aggression. A State Department spokes man announced the treaty which will be subject to ratification by the U.S. Senate, will be in itialed at p.m. (PDT) today by U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and South Korean President Syngman Rhee. Korean officials said the de fense pact pledges ihe United States to take "military action" in support of the South Korean republic against any further Communis! aggression. It also gives the United States the right to base armed forces in South Korea, they said. the UN command had some evi dence that the Reds might be holding from 2,000 to 3,000 more American prisoners than the 3,313 listed for exchange. Clark expressed the hope that the other 15 United Nation members that participated in the Korean campaign would Washington (U.R) Sev eral congressmen urged the administration today to do everything possible to learn if the Communists are holding back U.S. prisoners and, if so, to take action to got them back. "keep their troops there" dur ing this "difficult period." . He said the "disintegration of the UN aspect of the Korean operation would be a very ser ious blow to the free world and MEDFORD, OREGON, Ml df ISM i a I-.- V.: MERCY SHUTTLE SERVICE Prisoners of war released by the Reds and brought to this point by ambulance near Panmunjom wait for returning helicopters. The men are being airlifted by shuttling 'copters to processing centers and hospitals. Eight Allies Swallowed Red Line Returned Enemy Captives Reveal Panmunjom, Korea (U.R) Prisoners of war returning to freedom disclosed today that seven Americans and one Briton swallowed the Communist propa ganda line and refused to go home. The defections were reported at nearby Freedom Village shortly after 81 Americans in good condition went through the Panmunjom reception center in the third day "Operation Big Switch." Each of the soldiers told of the relentless attempts by the Reds to convert prisoners to Com munism. Friction With British Cpl. Donald R. Disney of Pond Creek and Ashland, Ky., and Pvt. Steve Glowacki of Brook lyn, said the seven men's deci sion to "stay with the Commies" was kept secret until the last day. "Camp No. 5 is now empty ex cept for the seven who stayed plus one American who was sen tenced to a year in jail," Disney said. No. 5 is the Communist "holi day camp as described by Peip ing radio, on the shore of the Yalu river near the Suiho reser voir. Pfc. William C. Hansens, 21, Maspath, N. Y., said the British soldiers were more impressed by Communist propaganda than the Americans, causing friction in the camp. Fight Threatened "A lot of the British seemed to take to the Communist propa ganda," Pfc. Donald Deumas of Wadington, N. Y., said. "Most of the Americans did not. The Brit ish seemed to fare better than we did." "There was some trouble be tween us," Hansen told news men. "It did not break out into fighting but when we started to Hells Canyon Dam Hearings Recessed Washington U.R) The Federal Power commission's "hearing on Idaho Power Co.'s plan to develop Hells canyon was recessed today for six weeks. give aid and comfort to the enemy." The commander came to UN headquarters to "pay my re spects" to the world organiza tion which opened the campaign against Red aggression in Korea in 1950. He called on UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold in the UN chief s 38th floor office. Then Clark came downstairs to the blue and gold Security coifrv cil chamber to make a brief statement and answer questions of newsmen. Intelligence Report In the course of the news con ference, Clark said: 1. Evidence that the Commun ists may be holding unlisted pris oners comes from intelligence sources and from evidence of those prisoners of war who came back in the sick and wounded exchange. FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 1953 tats mrimmmrm V " - ,4 V celebrate . Fourth of July, the British threatened to start a fight, so we did not celebrate." Hansen, Deumas and Pfc. Thomas R. Murray, 23, Balti more, each told Of Communist treachery in jailing prisoners at the last minute, backing up Maj. John Daujat's report last Wed nesday that Americans were be ing imprisoned for "instigating against peace." One Third Died "I guess one out of every three Americans died," Deumas said. . 1 'v. v '1 1 .V. I Red Toughs' Storm West Berlin Sector Berlin (U.R) More than 3,000 Red toughs stormed the Western sectors of Berlin today under orders to break up distri bution of "Eisenhower Food par dels" to hungry Soviet zone Germans. The Communists battled West Berlin police in the streets of the American, British and French sectors before being Frozen Foods Worth $225 Said Stolen The theft of $225 worth of frozen foods from a locker at 413 Benson st. was reported to city police yesterday. The food was taken sometime between 8:30 p.m. Aug. 4 and 6 p.m. on Aug. 6, they reported. Entry was gained to the house through a broken kitchen win dow and unlocking the , door's hasp. The complainant. Lee Bethel Butler, 401 South Newtown st., was in the process of moving things from the houe when the theft was discovered. A former tenant, Gordon Clif ford Satterlee, 38, alias Dick Sat terlee, Gordon Barnes and oth ers, was arrested at a local auto court as a suspect in the case and was booked on a charge of drunkenness, police noted. Sat terlee had recently moved from the house where he was a roomer. I 2 "I think the Communists wanted a truce badly for rea sons best known to themselves. They had taken very heavy pun ishment." 3. Some of the discrepancy be tween the number of prisoners listed for exchange and the much larger total of missing Ameri cans may be accounted for when the Communists hand over a list of those who died in captiv ity, as provided in the armistice agreement. 4. "The only thing we can do short of force, and I don't advocate that, to compel the re turn of additional prisoners is to use political and diplomatic means." , 5. Clark repeated his state ment of yesterday that the UN "could have won a military vic tory" if "we had massed the means in air, sea and land forces." EIBUNE United Press GEM T(2 I r t f :' t' 0 "It was malnutrition. Frostbite got some of them and others just gave up hope." Deumas said he knew of "at least 2,000" Americans who died. The new exchange of prison ers today was accomplished quickly. Russian trucks brought the 81 Americans down the graveled road from Kaesong. Only one American was ill. He had influenza. None of them looked like the gaunt Americans exchanged on the second day. driven back behind Berlin's lit tle Iron Curtain. Western police used clubs and powerful "water cannon" mounted on trucks to beat off the Red invaders bent on wreck ing food distribution centers. 'American Swine' They shouted "American swine" and "give back the food packages" at thousands of East Germans collecting the Ameri can food parcels. Police said several members of the Red goon squads were sent to West Sector hospitals suf fering scalp and head injuries. A score or more of the Commu nist hot heads were arrested. It was the second Red raid in a week. Wednesday, 5,000 Com munist agitators demonstrated before two breadlines until West Berlin police drove them off with water hoses and night sticks. Send in Troops Meanwhile, the Soviets were reported rushing troops into strife torn East Germany from Poland to strengthen their forc es in the face of a growing anti Communist rebellion. This report was given West ern authorities by East German railway men who came into West Berlin to receive "Eisen hower parcels" of American food. They reported the movement of trainload after trainload of Soviet troops into East Germany from Poland beginning last week end. North Korea Official Accused of Spying Tokyo (U.R) Pyongyang radio said today that North Kor ean Vice-Premier Pak Hung Yong has been accused of spy ing for the United States and implicated in a plot to over throw the Red regime. Pak, recently booted out as foreign minister, was involved in the activities of 12 North Korean officials prosecuted for spying and attempting to seize the government i The broadcast said Lee Sung Yap, inspector general of the North Korean People Council and one of the arrested officials implicated Pak in his confession. Lee was quoted as saying Pak and two other planned to build up an armed force of 3,900 men with which to seize power. Coos Bay (U.R) The first an nual Coos Bay Timberoo opens here tomorrow in conjunction with the city of Empire' Cen tennial celebration. Full Leased Wire No. 119 Airline, Subway, Bus Employees Join in Strikes Action in Protest Of Premier's Demands ParU OJ.PJ The Socialist .party moved tonight to have the National Assembly recon vened in emergency session and have Premier Joseph Lan iel explain the economy meas ures which have brought on France's most paralysing gen eral strike since 1936. Paris (U.R) Airline, suhwav and bus employees today joined a mushrooming strike of mnrp than 2,000,000 French civil ser vants and nationalized job hold ers which brought life in France to an almost complete standstill. Paris radio and television sta tions went off the air when their employees staged a nina hour walkout in support of the rapiaiy spreading strikes. The wholesale walkouts, which have criDDled telonhnno telegraph, gas, electric and post al Services. Was in nrntacf against government economies demanded bv Premier Laniel. Protest Economy Moves The government answered the strikers with an annaunnmpnt that Laniel's drastic economic decrees will be pushed through in spite of the paralyzing pro tests. Latest grouD to ioin the sfrik were the ground personnel of the nationalized Air France Air Lines. Many flights wen grounded at Le Bourget and Orly fields. Subway and hm walked off their jobs earlier. nauway men, miners, gas and electric workers, street cleaners, garbage collectors and even undertakers had joined in the nationwide shutdown, the most crippling since the series of strikes in 1936 which brought the Socialist Popular Front into power. Government Challenged The Socialists launched th campaign in a challenge to the new right wing government of Laniel. They stole the thunder of the flabbergasted Communist party which had talked vaeuelv of launching an attack against the government this fall. No incidents were reported in contrast to the serious Commu nist attempt to seize power in the winter of 1947-48 with th long and bloody mine and rail strikes. But for the average French man or tourist there was plenty of annoyance. 1 nousands of would be travel ers sat on their trunks and suit cases as railroad stations closed their gates and only about one out of every 50 trains arrived or departed. Telephones except for urgent medical or police calls and dial phones were out. Cable lines urora Aut pvrpnf fnr pmprppn- cies. Mail remained undelivered for a second day and thousands of Parisians who use the postal savings system as their bank found themselves without money. Roseburg Cabbie Slain by Officer Roseburg (U.R) Loran Kenneth Arthur, 52-year-old Roseburg cab driver, was slain early today and a Roseburg po lice officer seriously wounded in a gun battle outside a local hotel. Hospital attendants said the condition of Sgt. Carl Smith was "fair" after he suffered two gunshot wounds in the fight with Arthur. Smith was leaving the hotel after making a routine investi gation, police said,' when the desk clerk told him Arthur was in the lobby with a gun. Smith ordered the cab driver to come to the police station with him when Arthur opened fire with a revolver. Smith was struck in the left leg before he could draw his own gun and return the fire. As he ran for a parked taxi for cover, he was struck by an other bullet in the back. He was knocked to the ground and drop ped his pistol but managed to retrieve it and fire the fatal shots at Arthur through the window of the cab. Douglas County Coroner L. L. Powers said a coroner'i inquest would be held tonight. 9
