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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 26, 1954)
HGHT MEDFORD (OREGON) mail tribune Sunday, December 28, 1934 Cooperation Said Key to Success in Some of Phases Local Organization Cited as Example By ERIC ALLEN JR. Mail Tribune City Editor . The lumber industry is full of contradictions. It is one of the most highly competitive of all industries. At the same time, it is utterly de pendent on cooperation for much of its long-range success. It is an industry of little "one-horse" operators called "gyppos," and of mammoth tim ber empires, and of operations somewhere in between. It is an industry dependent on unstable markets, on the weath er, on actions of government, and on a public which, general ly, is unfamiliar with its prob lems, and - is frequently un sympathetic. Its foes include fire, bugs, dis ease, and, sometimes, the in ability of industry members to get along with each other. Jumble of Ownerships , Companies formed to harvest the vast timber stands of the Pa cific Northwest are a strange jumble of partial ownerships, in terlocking directorships, and ob scure hierarchies of companies-within- companies, holding-companies, operating companies and sales companies. The industry also has a tangle of trade organizations,' set up for different purposes, which sometimes conflict, some times cooperate and sometimes ignore each other. They range from such huge and powerful groups as the West Coast Lum bermen's association down to small, specialized and local groups of loggers or millmen. The attitudes of lumbermen vary as much as they them selves do and they are, by and large, a bunch of individualists. A declining number still oper te on the "cut out and get out" philosophy which denuded the hills of the midwest, and robbed future generations of a continu ing source of wealth. .. Obligation To Future More and more, the industry is coming to realize that it owes fan obligation to the future an obligation to see that continuing "crops" of lumber, will be avail able, and that cut-over land will again, in time, bear the green gold of timber. . This attitude is known by sev eral names; sustained yield and tree farming are two. They are not synonymous, but both the sustained yield program of the state and federal agencies and the tree, farms of the industrial operators are dedicated to the same end a perpetual harvest of mature trees, and a careful protection of the growing, im mature trees. . "Conservation," to a modern forester, does not mean forests sitting idly, while over-ripe lumber rots, and bugs and fires destroy the economic values that took centuries to develop. Meaning of Conservation . . Instead . conservation means harvesting ripe or overripe tim ber, thus employ in e thousands of men in what iy Oregon's big gest single industry. It means protecting the streams and watersheds so vital to the growing cities and indus tries. It means the safeguarding of the forests from the ravages of bugs and forest fires. It means the perpetuation of wildlife and fish. In short it means the fullest use of the forest lands for Jheir greatest possible long-range pro ductivity, for the benefit of the greatest number of people. This type of conservation at the governmental level goes back to the days of President Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot. It is more recently than that, however, that lumbermen began to realize that their own best interests lay along the same lines. ' Takes Hold Recently And only in recent years, par ticularly since World War II when timber was heavily over cut, has the idea taken hold strongly. Because the lumber industry is so important to southern Ore gon, furnishing more than half the money in circulation, a look at conservation in this area would seem appropriate. The governmental agencies here which manage timberlands chiefly the Bureau of Land Management and ; the Forest Service operate under regula tions which have long required the observance of the sustained yield principle. - While privately-owned lands are under no such strict regula tions, here too the ideal of per petual forests is growing. It is . best exemplified in tree farms of Jackson county, which now cover more than 200,000 acres of the country's best forest land. There are nine such tree farms, ranging in size from BO acres to LUMBER HwllSW lEGLMEl FULL IF COnTnUUHCTIOHS OTP ROBLECiSI TREE FARM CERTIFICATES Four Jack son county tree farms' were certified at ceremonies here recently. Shown above are Floyd Hart, vice-president of the Industrial Forestry association, who presented IFA certif icates; J. W. Fitzgerald, of the 3B Tree Farm; William Schmidt, of the Oregon Switzerland Tree Farm; L. L. (Doc) Simpson, secretary-manager-forester of the Southern Oregon Conservation and Tree Farm association; B. 80,000 acres. The educational and "mission ary" work which led to this aus picious start toward a stable for est economy was done by an or ganization with the ponderous but descriptive name of .South ern . Oregon Conservation and Tree Farm association. SOCTFA was organized in 1947 when about 12 companies decided they needed a group to represent their joint interests. Before it was out of the forma tive stage, some 40 firms had joined. There are now between 90 and 100 member-companies, and the membership fluctuates slightly as firms come and go. Only one of 'the major lumber operators in the county does not belong. The member-companies account for about 80 per cent of the lumber production in southern Oregon. Activities Expand The original objective of SOCTFA was simply to encour age the long-range conservation and use of forest land. But as time went on and as members found that . he organization could serve as a "sounding board" for their points of view, and as a service and coordinat ing agency, its activities ex panded. The man who . has ... served SOCTFA as executive secretary, manager and forester since its inception is a wiry, decisive for mer federal . forester named Lewis L. (Doc) Simpson, whose single passion is service to his members whether this involves tangling with, some government bureau (the state highway com mission is a good example), or getting a replacement for a brok en part to a remote forest opera tion quickly. To anyone familiar with SOCTFA over a period of time, it is obvious that Doc's person ality has had much to do with welding the organization into a functioning and useful entity. It is. equally obvious, however, that no one, not even Doc, could have done it without full and willing cooperation on the part of the members. . :, Radio First Service The first major service proj ect undertaken was the radio network which SOCTFA oper ates under the name of Roxy Ra dio, named after Roxy Ann Butte where its major transmit ter is located. About 20 compan ies joined this service at first, putting up funds for the pur chase of the transmitter equip ment and for the mobile units placed in the . vehicles of the members. There are now about 80 mobile units in Jackson County, plus another 50 in the affiliated Sexton Radio in Jose phine county, for a total of 130 units, serving 53 different com panies. - In practice, the radio network receives its greatest use for ad ministrative, purposes ordering parts, finding out where such-and-such or so-and-so can be lo cated, and so on. It has fre quently been used to call am bulances for accident cases. Dur ing fire season, however, its pri mary and most important func tion is in getting the news of fires around and fast. Fire Control Plan ' As for fire control, SOCTFA has a hand in that, too. It was two years ago that the organiza tion set up within its own mem bership a cooperative fire agree ment, which requires signers to assist in fighting fires, and sets forth how the costs of the job shall be apportioned. . : Equally important are three caches of . firefighting ' equip ment located in.Medford, Ash land and Grants Pass, which are readily available when needed. All equipment is standardized so there will be no confusion or uncertainty when a crew gets on a blaze. A newer service being per formed by SOCFTA is a clear ing house for truckers, where they and loggers can register. When a - truck is needed, SOCTFA head quarters , can check its registry and. get a truck on the job with a mini mum of delay, benefiting both the logger who needs the work done and the trucker who needs the job. " ' " In addition, the organization is an effective lobbying group, L. Nutting, manager of Medford corporation which owns ' the Medco Tree : Farm; Albert Straus, of the Sams Valley Irrigation Associa tion Tree Farm, and U. R, Armstrong, president of the Western Pine association, which pre sented his organization's tree farm certificates. The 81,000 acres of tree farms, dedicated brought the total acreage in Jackson county up to more than 200,000, on nine tree farms. Medco's 80,000 acre unit is the largest: The smallest is about 80 acres. (Brainerd photo.) and keeps a sharp eye on legis lation which might affect the forest industry. In recent months it also has been working on freight rates, attempting to in sure its members that they will not have any added handicap from rates which would discrim inate against this area. Three fields which SOCTFA has left strictly alone so far are labor relations, market sur veys, and trade promotional activities. But in the fields where it does operate, it has had notable success in bringing a bunch of hard-headed, individualistic log gers into agreement on the basic tenets of conservation, and into cooperation in the day-to-day job of harvesting Jackson county's forests with an eye to the future. A Nichol's Worth of . . . Comment On This and That By HARMAN W. NICHOLS United Pres Feature Writer Washington (U.R) What's new in Washington: , Some of the better bars around town did something pretty nice for the down trodden this yule tide. When a tip pler said he'd like "one for the road," the waiter sug gested that in stead he con- Harman Nichole tribute the price of his drink to the needy. Most drinkers went along with the idea. Welfare groups picked Cardinal Spellman Says Masses for Troops in Korea Western Front, Korea (U.P Francis Cardinal Spellman said two masses Saturday in Korea. The cardinal held midnight mass for more than 2000 soldiers at the Seventh Division parade ground near the truce line and then celebrated mass in Jackson Theater for 500 men of the I corps. Arrived by Helicopter Cardinal Spellman arrived on the western front by helicopter with Col. John A. Dunn of Bal timore, chief chaplain of the Far East Army Forces. : "The American soldiers them selves have been missionaries to the Korean people" Cardinal Spellman told servicemen. Cardinal Spellman was refer ring to a church built at Uijong bu with funds donated by I corps soldiers. . ; Soldiers are Missionaries "Even in time of war the American Soldier is a mission ary of peace because the United States wages war only to save our . country and " Christianity from destruction," ; the cardinal said. Cardinal. Spellman, military vicar of all American service men, cited the great work ac complished by U. S. military and naval personnel in helping the Korean people. -' Before mass, Cardinal Spell man visited every patient in the 43rd Mobile Army Surgical hos pital, passing out . Christmas gifts he had brought with him from the United States. Vancouver Murder Suspect in Custody Vancouver," B. C.;---(U.R) Po lice, said Saturday they were holding a suspect in the brutal slaying seven weeks ago of news paper printer Robert , Hopkins. Further, evidence was being awaited before laying a definite charge against the suspect, police said. He is now being held in the city jail. ' The unidentified suspect was convicted of - another charge a few days ago and is now being held under close guard, police added. v Hopkins, a printer at the Van couver Herald, was murdered Nov. 8 under bizarre circum stances. He was shot through the head, strangled with an electric cord, and a necktie, and his feet were bound with rope. The 47-year-old victim lived alone in a small bungalow. up the ; kitties every day and used the money for food, cloth ing, and toys. Vice - President Richard M. Nixon got a folksy little note from an eighth grade boy in Oklahoma. "We have been studying aviation in our school," the boy wrote. "We need an air plane in our schoolyard. I have read that our country has lots of planes left from World War II. We need one pretty bad be cause there are so many things we want to learn about planes. We will invite other schools to look at our plane. Answer soon. Loren " The vice-president an swers his mail. Sen. Alexandria Wiley, the other Republican from Wiscon sin, is asking his constituents for advice. In his Christmas let ter to the folks back home, the senator says: . "May I have the benefit of your views on legislation which you feel I should advance in the coming session of Congress?" The senator also Invited "any criticism you may have of my newsletter." The FBI doesn't' go In much for office parties. The gang, in stead, puts away the pistols and gives a lot of parties for the benefit of poor, kids around the country, and also for sick FBI employees. Guards around the halls of Congress, stuck around, but didn't have much to do but drink coffee and chit-chat with visitors. And there were not many visitors. Mostly, all the out of towners found to do was to walk through the halls and gawk. Oregon Sets Payment Of Survivor Benefits Salem (U.R) - The Oregon state ' industrial accident com mission i Friday announced it would pay benefits to the sur vivors of four men who drowned last August while working at Bonneville dam. , The commission said H would make the payments while federal courts decide whether Oregon or Washington is liable for the com pensation claims. The Oregon commission would be repaid by the Washington state department of labor and industries if Wash ington is judged to have been responsible for the claims. The men drowned when the tug Muleduzer ventured too close to the Bonneville spillway, was capsized and sank.. The captain of the tug was also drowned, but his death was covered by other insurance. DIES OF INJURIES Ellensburg KU.R) Grace K. Ellis, - 26, a Newport, "Wash., schoolteacher, died of injuries Thursday night about two hours after her car skidded on an icy highway four and one-half miles west of here and plunged, up side down, over a 15-foot em bandment. '' -.-.. DIES OF INJURIES San Mateo, Calif. (U.R) James Kelly, 40, San .Mateo, died shortly after 9 ajn. in San Mateo Community hospital of injuries received early Saturday in a Bayshore Highway accident. Two other persons were serious ly injured. Dead line for Sunday Classified Is nom Saturday: 10 ejn.-Monday for Moodajt etberdaye fde mrtousdjy. Back stairs: El By MERRIMAN SMITH United Press White House Writer Washington 1 U.R Back stairs at the White House: Some of the President's close advisers are disturbed by expres sions of opinion that he will not seek reelection in 1956. This may account for the current rash of flat-footed statementsby big fellows in the GOP that the chief executive must and will run again.' . ; . The storm of. political words concerning the - President's fu ture rolls over his head at this point. In about a year, however, he will have to face up to ah important decision. Any forecast of his decision before early 1956 probably will . represent a per sonal opinion of the forecaster, including this one who believes that the human burdens of life in the White House may out weigh the considerations of pres tige, power and the future of the Republican' party. - On the side of logic: The elder statesmen of the GOP will bring all kinds of pressure on Mr. Eisenhower to run again. On the human side: After more and Reelection Bids To Be Called On Columbia Project Ephrata (U.R) Bids will be called next year on two major projects to bring Columbia Basin irrigation to the Wahluke Slope area, Philip' "R. Nalden, Colum bia Basin project manager, said Saturday. Nalder said the work planned for '1955 eventually will result in adding 36,111 irrigable acres to the basin project in the slope area. - The land is in Blocks 19, 20, 21 and 48. Both projects were made possible by the release last year by the Atomic Energy Commission of part of the slope for settlement. Bids will be called Jan. 10 for further construction in Block 19.' Bids probably will be called in November for the $7,000,000 Wahluke siphon. and 16,000 feet of canal. than 40 years in federal govern ment service, ; Mr. Eisenhower may decide that his new farm house in Gettysburg looks more inviting than ' another lease on the White House. ;' - The arguments between these two schools of thought will pro vide interesting reading and list ening until the day that Mr. Eis enhower :- announces a decision. Public Misconception Probably one of the greatest misconceptions of the public re garding life in the White House is the glamor allegedly involved in t living and traveling with a president. " People outside the presidential orbit seem to think that moving in the Eisenhower cavalcade is akin to high living and a very big deal. It doesn't work out that way, however. - ' : Here is what" a Christmas in Augusta looks, sounds and smells like to the members of the Eis enhower staff and press-radio entourage who move with him: Christmas Eve is about the loneliest night of the year. The Christmas tree at the Bon Air Hotel where the -staff lives will be gay enough, . but driving through the neighborhood out side the . hotel, will see family groups gathered around Christ mas trees that have a warmth and v familiarity 'impossible to achieve in a hotel lobby. Taxi Drivers Stir: - ' ; ' Outside, sleepy taxi drivers will stir against the sound of their short wave radios, hoping for a cushy job somewhere in the country club section of Augusta. The liquor store owner in the basement of the hotel will stay open as long as the law allows, hoping for a late customer. Secret Service agents will stride into the hotel cjong about midnight as they change shifts around the President's cottage, shaking off the midwinter cold and wishing they were back on more comfortable jobs of chasing counterfeiters. A bellhop will say "Merry Christmas." The elevator opera tor will say "Good night" . And, on Christmas Day,' when most people are contemplating too much turkey, the people who travel with a President will say, "wouldn't it be wonderful to be home for Christmas." Unidentified Man Diet . In Portland Accident Portland U.R) An unidenti fied man was killed early Sat urday when he was struck by an automobile at SE 174th ave nue and Powell . boulevard in Portland. Police said- the accident oc curred about 12:30 a.m. The vic tim, who police say was about 60 years oldwas hooked onto the hood ornament of the ear by his jacket. ' Driver of the car was Ttal Fred Mitchell, 23, of Portland. He told police he dimmed his car lights for an oncoming ear and saw the victim, standing in front of his car when he switch ed the hshts on. brieht aeain. He said he didn't have time to avoid hitting the man. . i Prior to 1913, robins were classed as game birds in some southern states. ' -. TYPEWRITERS & ADDING MACHINES Repaired MEDFORD OFFICE EQUIPMENT COMPANY 41 S. Grape Phone 2-4100 Liner Sets Sail With Cargo Dragging Behind New York (U.R) The liner Independence set sail from Gibraltar Friday with pari of Us carbo trailing behind in the ship's wake. The watersoaked "cargo" consists of a number of watch-: es being tested for shock re sistance and waterproof quali ties. They ' will be checked ; daily during the voyage to New York. WEATHER By United Press Northern California: Decreas ing fog in the central valley and fair elsewhere Sunday. Ris ing daytime temperatures . in Sacramento valley; northwest winds 12-24 mph near coast. . , Tans Plan NOW to Enjoy Your SWEAR' DIHHER "The Pick-Up That Never Lets You Down" -AT NO EXTRA COST! Hotel Medford Lulu's Cafe . El Rogue Cafe Red Streak Cafe Rogue Valley Country Club Busy Bee Cafe Holiday Inn Coffee Shop Steak House Cafe Maury's Corner Eaton's Dinner House Trailways Cafe at Your Favorite Restaurant Aii the goodness of a home-cooked meal with no fuss, no dishes to do Excellent service; all the "extras" you love. Re serve your table today and be SURE to drink plenty of MILK - it costs no more. Whistle Stop Cafe Big Y Super Markr Kim's Restaurant Top Notch Cafe Maid-Rite Sandwich Shop Al White's Rogue Restaurant Groceteria Hotel Jackson Brown's Cafe Wimer Cafe K Other restaurant er cafes wishing to cooperate and ee Included en ear future ad Call Med ford 2-8212. Ad paid by Milk Producers League and Jackson County Pomona Grange. Examples are . . . . MOT SPOKEN Looks like his dad.. . Chance are, hell grow up to thin!- synagogue .. .and you'd like to grab Walks like his dad. ..' He Hii dad. ForPop's the hero J. . . forty extra winks. You can't bhtmt " Acts like his dad and the way he does things, the way him, years from .now, if he hasn't faith he acts, is "the right way." a b God ... in life . i . in himself. . .if ' -f --Think of that next time you're tired you haven't shown him whore to look swha it's time to go to church or for it. ; ' Light.their life 'Atk JaitJi i Zt XT' una Contributed to the Religion In American Life Program by IV IVUiUlU 1 V 1CU1 1 llfttUlW
