Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989, December 28, 1954, Image 1

Historic Oregon Newspapers

Medford mail tribune., December 28, 1954, Image 1

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Newspaper Page Textovlet prison) Camp SIMDy Vienna (U.R Three Ameri cans held in a Soviet prison camp southeast of Moscow are in excellent health and may be released soon, a group of return ing Austrian prisoners reported today. The three Americans are Wil liam T. Marchuk of Bracken ridge, Pa., William A.v Verdine of Starks, La., and John Hell muth Noble of Detroit. The State Department has demanded several times that Russia free them. Marchuk was reported absent without leave from the U. S. Army on Feb. 1, 1949, in Berlin. He was born April 5, 1916, in Maynard, Mass. Verdine was reported AWOL in Europe on Feb. 3, 1949. He had reenlisted for three year's Army service on Aug. 21, 1947, at Ft. Sam Houston, Tex. He is 28. Noble has been in Soviet cus tody for nearly eight years. He was taken to Germany by his parents in 1938 and was arrested in Dressen in 1945 with his father. His father later was re leased and returned to the Unit ed States with the rest of the family. Johann Schick, one of the 55 Austrians who returned today, said the three Americans told him Soviet prison officials prom ised them they would be sent home very soon. Schick said Verdine and Mart schuk told him they both were soldiers when the, Russians ar rested them in East Berlin 1947 or 1948. Noble told him he was a civilian when the Russians seized him at Dresden, Germany, in 1946. Noble was permitted to write to his father in Detroit last year "through a mistake of one of the Soviet prison guards," Schick said. Noble later receiv ed a letter from his father. The three Americans arrived at the camp southeast of Mos cow last summer from the Wor kuta coal mine area in northern Russia, Schick said. He described them as being "in good physical condition" when he saw them for the last time on Christmas Eve shortly before the Austrians boarded a Vienna bound train for freedom. Schick said the prisoners at Potma went on strike last year to try to force the Russians to release them and "for many months we have done almost no work. Apparently tne strike im pressed the Russians.' ' -----"We refused to work because we thought it would be better to die than remain as prisoners in definitely," he said. The Golds said they left jobs in London in July, 1953', and en tered Red Germany illegally. After 15 months, during which they worked in a locomotive fac tory for wages of $14 a month, they decided they had had enough and headed for home. The Communists caught them trying to escape and held them for 10 weeks. They finally re gained their freedom last month, after agreeing to sign a paper saying they had been "well treated." During their confinement, they said, they were held in a private house in Soviet-occupied Dresden which was used as a prison by the Reds. "There were several Ameri cans and Germans "there who were beaten up at intervals," Sydney Gold said. "Some of them we saw for a few days and never heard of again." , When they first entered Com munist Germany, ' the brothers said, they were screened by the Reds and then sent to the Rene gades' Club in Bautzen for indoc trination in the party line. Their fellow students included 15 ex-GIs, five former British soldiers and one other British ci vilian, a Dutchman, a Spaniard, a Mexican and a Nigerian Negro. " "We were billeted in the town, but had to attend classes at the club' every day," Sydney said. "Communist propaganda was at the top of .the .curriculum under the heading of social science." After three months at the club, the Golds got their factory jobs. Each month, they had to pay $5.06 of the $14 pay for rent. The low pay didn't matter too much, though, the brothers said. There were so few consumer goods available in the Soviet zone it didn't make much dif ference. London (U.P.) Two British brothers who returned recently from behind the Iron Curtain said they met "15 former GIs" among the members of a Russian-supervised Renegades' Club in Soviet Germany. The Gold Brothers, Sydney, 30, and Alfred, 26, did not give the names of any of the renegade Americans in the accoun t of their adventures published by the lib eral News Chronicle. Three Amnierocaini Prisoners SaM me lor Release Froin'S Medford United Press Full Leased Wire 49th Year 12 Pages ivasion Declared Salem (U.R) Persistent charges of long haul truckers that there was widespread eva sion of mileage payments due under the motor transportation code were found to be without foundation, the State Highway Interim Committee said today, and it will recommend that the weight mile tax on trucks, which originated in Oregon, be con tinued without change. The committee, in its report to Gov. Paul L. Patterson, pre sented today, also recommended that taxes on motor vehicles and motor vehicle fuel should be the exclusive right of the state of Oregon and cities or other politi cal subdivisions of Oregon should not be permitted to levy or im pose such taxes. Favors Legislation . ' The committee, headed by State Rep. Edward A. Geary of Klamath Falls, recommended that "legislation should be enact ed to clearly establish and limit the levying and collecting of revenue taxes on motor vehicles and motor vehicle fuel to the " state of Oregon, exclusively, ex- cepting only- the right'6f the federal government." . .: Oregon originated the gaso line tax, which now amounts to six cents a gallon. Uncle Sam adds another two cents tax. The committee, which was cre ated by resolution of the 1953 Legislature, recommended "a further study should be made to bring under one head thp activi ties relating to the regulatory and revenue field of motor ve hicles." Wants Separate Department The Interim Committee on the Department of Revenue, headed by State Sen.' Paul Geddes of Roseburg, recommended in its final report that a separate de partment of motor vehicles be established, under the appointive power of the governor. The mo tor vehicle department now is a branch of the secretary of state's office. The Highway Interim Com mittee said it made no conclu sive study on this subject of consolidating the presently dis persed activities because the matter was being studied by the interim committee on the depart ment of revenue. The committee said it recog nizes that the control of adver tising signs on highways bill boards is essential and recom mended that such legislation be considered.- Fourth Recommendation And its fourth recommenda tion was: 'The committee be lieves our present reciprocity status can be made to better meet the problems among the several states, with relatively minor changes, and recommends a definite reciprocity officer be designated with sufficient au thority to meet the changing needs and carry out the legisla tive intent." Noting that "Oregon has been the leader in the weight-mile tax," the committee said that be cause of the persistent charges of evasion of this tax, it engaged the Stanford Research Institute to conduct the study impartially and to report its findings. When that study was completed the institute found that evasion of the weight-mile tax amounted to about four per cent. And the in terim committee noted that even this low percentage could be les sened as the public utilities com missioner completes the installa tion of its machine-records sys tem which will enable even more efficient auditing of the books of motor transportation companies. , Other members of the high- DOW-JONES AVERAGES New York (U.R) Dow-Jones final stock averages: 30 indus trials 398.51 up 4.63; 20 railroads 145.36 up 1.52; 15 utilities 61.43 up 0.06; 65 stocks 148.47 up 1.40. MEr it Shares way interim committee are Sen. Warren A. McMinimee of Tilla mook,' vice chairman; Rep. Rob ert L. Elfstrom of Salem, secre tary; Sens. Jack Bain of Port land and Charles W. Bingner of La Grande, and Reps. Robert W. Root of Medford and Loran L. Stewart of Cottage Grove. Asian Ministers Open Conference To Restore Peace Bogor, Indonesia (U.R) Five Asian prime ministers today opened a two-day conference of African and Asian nations on re storing peace to the world. The group, had been expected to discuss the subject of 11 American airmen jailed in Com munist China, but Prime Min ister Sir John . Kotelawala of Ceylon said he would not bring it up, for fear of "upsetting, the United Nations applecart." . ; The U. N. has" taken up the matter and Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold leaves for Peiping early in the new year to discuss the case with the Com munist regime. The prime ministers attending the conference here at Kotela wala, Jawaharlal Nehru of India, Ali Sastroamidjojo of Pakistan and U Nu of Burma. They met this afternoon behind the heavily guarded walls of the presiden tial palace in this West Java mountain town. Sastroamidjojo proposed the conference of African and Asian nations to attempt to lessen the tension between East and West by creating an "area of peace" extending from Asia through Africa. The meeting would be held in Indonesia next February or March. The five Colombo powers agreed at their last meeting in Colombo to let Sastroamidjojo work out plans for the confer ence. Today's meeting was to decide which nations will be in vited and what subjects will be discussed. Stevenson Stickers Permitted on Mail Washington U.R) The Post Office Department - said today that anyone who wishes may decorate envelopes and pack ages with stickers quoting Ad lai Stevenson. . . . ' , . A department spokesman said a local postal employee made a mistake when he questioned the admissibility of such articles to the mails. Leland Merrick, Bronx, N.Y., a Stevenson admirer, had asked for a department ruling whether the stickers legally could be put on mail following the incident in the post office here. The stickers, like other quota tions, slogans, and similar mate rial, can be put anywhere on items to be mailed so long as they don't interfere with ; the addres, return address, or post age, the spokesman said. Dean of Portland Newspapermen Dies Portland (U.R) Rolla Git tings, 91, known as the dean of Portland newspapermen, died in a local hospital today. Gittings, called "Git" by his friends and associates, retired on New Years day of 1946 after more than 39 years on the staff of the Oregon Journal. He was Northwest editor, telegraph edi tor and finally exchange editor. He continued to write guest articles for the editorial page after his retirement. Gittings had been ill for about three weeks. Utlirue ? O United Press Full Leased Wire JESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1954 BRAKING SHOWN BRAKING DISTANCE IS 75 III MINIMUM BLACK MAXIMUM WHITE mmm IM m T r GLARE ICE J 1 46' 75 Il57 61' WINTERIZED TIRES I I 48' 61' MUD-SNOW TIRES Tl50' 54' WINTERIZED MUD-SNOW TIRES H 35' 40' REINFORCED TIRE CHAINS i i - - r HARD PACKED SNOW 21' AVERAGE- REGULAR Broking distances do not Includo "reaction dtstancos." Reaction time may bo as much at of a second or more. Using of a second (a generally accepted average for reaction time), the "reaction distance" at 20 mph would be 22 feet, which should . be added to the above braking distances to determine the total stopping distances. :' NATIONAL SAFETY COUNCIL Sriov Covers Valley; List Few Accidents As Drivers Cautious Snow covered the Rogue val ley this morning. Amounts ranged upward from the one inch measured at the Medford weather bureau at the airport. ; The snow began -in flurries about midnight, then resumed in a steady fall shortly before 6 a.m. By about 8 ajn. streets were covered and slushy where traffic was heavy. . Apparently drivers were using extra caution on the slippery surfaces,' for accidents reported this morning were few, with'no injuries listed. City crews were at work early, sanding the packed snow on hills to give motorists better traction. Stops By 9 A.M. -, The snowfall stopped by 9 a.m. and began to melt as tempera tures rose' above freezing, al though there were a few later flurries. About .06 of an inch of moisture was contained in the inch of snow at the weather bu reau. At 8 a.m., about IV2 inches were measured at Jacksonville, and on the Siskiyous and Green springs passes amounts ranged up to three inches. Chains were required for travel over both routes, state police said. Rain N was reported from Grants Pass, and the highway over Sexton mountain was clear. About an inch of new snow was reported from Prospect, and at Klamath Falls only a trace was reported. More snow at lower elevations was not predicted by the weather bureau, but more may fall in Gen. Peyton March Observes 90th Birthday Washington U.R) Gen. Pey ton C. March, Army chief of staff during World War I, cele brated his 90th birthday yester .day at Walter Reed Army hospi taL March has been at the hospi tal since he broke a hip a year ago. Attaches said he is coming along fine. Price 5c No. 241 DISTANCE BV TESTS IN FEET FROM 20 MPH 125 I5 175 2M 221 EH2027 ' REINFORCED TIRE CHAINS AT 20 F. REGULAR TIRES TIRES ; DRY PAVEMENT showers over the mountains, the forecast said. Rain showers this evening, and a chilly, foggy morning tomorrow Was pre dicted. ' : Road Conditions ; Chains were required for travel over both Siskiyou and Groensprings mountain passes' this afternoon, after - three inches of new snow fell dur ing the night. '..':.., L Highways to the north were clear of snow. Elsewhere in Oregon, chains were required over the Santi am pass and at Lapine, and -were advised oa most other mountain route. Routes closed for the winter include the east and west Dia mond lake highways, the Mt. Hoed loop from Warm Springs junction to Cooper spur, the rim road at Crater lake, and the McKensie pass. Roosting Place for Estimated 21,000 Robins Found; Birdwatchers Report on Annual Bird Census Monday A roosting place for ' a mam moth group of . robins was dis covered here yesterday by three birdwatchers out to make an annual census of the birds in the Medford area. The three, Mrs. Howard Bush and the Rev. and Mrs. Thomas McCamant, said this is the 55th year that such counts have been made throught the coun try, and last year there were 521, including three in Oregon, at Portland, Eugene and Med ford. They counted 44 species of birds and an estimated 21,781 individuals. The count, was vastly; larger than that recorded last year, Mr. McCamant said, because of Weather FORECAST: ' Rain showers In the valleys and snow showers In mountains tonight. Valley fog Wednesday morning; otherwise partly clondy with widely scattered showers. Low tonight 32; high Wednesday 45. - Temp. Highest Yesterday 36 Lowest this Morning' .. .. 31 Prec. To 10 ajn. Today 06 Brother-in-Law of Portland Artist Admits Shooting Parka-Clad Companion Mistaken for Deer The Dalles (U.R) Joseph Ferguson, 39 -year -old Mosier, Ore., rancher, was booked in Wasco county jail here at 12:30 a.m. today on suspicion of man slaughter in connection with the death Sunday of the rancher's brother-in-law, Portlapd artist Charles Eaton, 29. Ferguson, who had been Eat on's hunting companion in the mountains near Mosier on the day after, Christmas, succumbed to police questioning and sobbed out a statement admitting he had shot the young advertising artist with a .30 calibre rifle, mistak ing his parkaclad figure for a deer. ' .30 Calibre Shells Found State -Police Sgt. Glenn Ray said a search of the death area yielded ' two ; .30 calibre shell cases after officers had retraced Ferguson's steps. Ferguson had at first told of hunting with a .22 calibre weapon. Dr. Homer Harris of the state police crime detection laboratory reported that Eaton had not been killed by a .22 rifle like the one he carried and that the wound in Eaton's head was not compact, ruling uui me pussioniues oi suicide or an accidental dis charge of the artist's own gun. Fatal Shot Admitted Confronted with the labora tory findings, Ferguson produc ed his .30 calibre rifle and ad mitted that he had fired the fatal shot. He said the incident oc curred at 9:30 a.m. Sunday. Eaton was shot through the head. The bullet entered the right side of the head at the ear and emerged at the left side. His own gun was found under his body. ' Ferguson explained to offi cers that he had panicked after shooting his brother-in-law and had returned to his ranch home. He fled without stopping to ex amine Eaton's body. , Formal charges were not filed immediately but Ferguson was booked on suspicion of man slaughter count in connection with the death. United States Sending Wheat To Yugoslavia Washington U.R) The Uni ted States has promised to give Yugoslavia enough wheat to tide the Balkan nation over a criti cal grain shortage, a State De partment official said today. " The exact amount which the United States will supply will depend upon how much Yugo slavia needs until her next har vests come in. Preliminary esti mates run about : 850,000 tons but the amount could go higher. Svetozar Vukmanovic-Tempo, Yugoslav vice president in charge of economic affairs,, was in the United States two months ago seeking American aid to tide his country over one of its most critical wheat shortages. the robins' roost. It is located in a long, tangled thicket of black berry vines which grow along Bear creek south of Sacred Heart hospital and west of the IOOF cemetery. There were an estimated 21, 000 robins in 'the roost, Mr. Mc Camant reported. He said that at 7:10 a.m. yesterday they be gan to leave the roost, and for about half an hour the birds continued to fill the sky in a dense cloud, fanning out to feed throughout the valley and the surrounding hills. : The birdwatchers said they also spotted a large number of bluebirds and cedar waxwings feeding on mistletoe -berries on the slopes of Roxy Ann butte. Because there were only three Fire, Wind Sweep South California; Damage in Millions Forest Fire Burns Big Watershed Area Los Angeles (U.R) Fire and wind swept regions of Southern California again today, sending damage estimates soaring into millions of dollars. A two-day brush and forest fire in the San Bernardino Moun tains flared anew behind high winds and consumed 3,000 acres of watershed. Twelve families were forced to flee their homes during the night at Verdemont near Cajon Pass. The Forest Service reported no structures burned, however. The fire Was placed about 10 miles northwest of San Bernar dino and burning on a three-mile front. About 500 fire fighters were on the line. They stood off the blaze as it threatened ,the community of Devore Heights, officials said. Forest Service Supervisor Don Bauer said he did not expect the fire to be controlled before to morrow. Continuing winds made the situation critical, he said. ' Steady winds of hurricane force which swept in from desert areas subsided somewhat today but were expected to reach gusts ranging from 45 to 70 miles an hour. , The Weather Bureau said small craft warnings were up from Point Concepcion to Ocean side. Trees, Wire Downed , Yesterday's winds knocked down trees and high voltage wires, sandblasted some autos, grounded boats, damaged prop erty and fanned a fire at Fuller- ton which destroyed two large fruit plants',, a storage plant, a dress factory and a water-softening plants Damage from the fire was placed at $2,000,000. The windy weather, confined areas, was accompanied by cold temperatures last night which sent the thermometer down to 16 at Palmdale and below 32 in many citrus areas. It was 37 in Los Angeles. , "By UNITED PRESS - . Winter 7 landed its biggest punch of the season today. At Fraser, Colo., President Eisen hower's favorite summer fishing retreat, the mercury plunged to 36 degrees below zero. A similar reading was reported at West Yellowstone, Mont. ; A New Mexico blizzard with winds up to 50 miles per hour stranded more than 1,000 motor ists in the little town of Vaughn. Most of them resumed their trav els today after' spending the night in homes, motels, churches,' the City Hall and the high school gymnasium. ; v ... ' v Snow, sleet and freezing rain spread a treacherous glaze over Midwestern ' highways. Klamath Man Held For Embezzlement Klamath Falls (U.R) Ken neth Dean Snyder, former sales man for. the Klamath : Falls creamery, was held in the coun ty'jail today on a charge of- lar ceny by embezzlement after he was alleged to have misappro priated $900 of company funds. Snyder waived preliminary hearing when arraigned this morning before Judge D. E. Van Vactor and was ordered held for the grand jury. Bail' was set at $2000. District Attorney Frank Ald erson said. Snyder. admitted tak ing the money to pay debts. He said -Snyder had not been in previous trouble. counters, and because of the shortness of the daylight hours; they couldn't make the count as complete as they wished, but they covered Roxy Ann's slopes in the morning,, and in the aft ernoon made a trip to the Mili tary Bridge area of the Rogue river. . Other than the robins, the numbers of which they could only estimate, here is the count on other species listed by the birdwatchers: ; Mallard, 2; pintail, 1; cooper's hawk, 1, red tailed hawk, 1; sparrow hawk, 2; .. California qaaiL 120; mountain quail, 10; ring necked pheasant, 4; ameri can coot, 11; killdeer, 6; wilsqn's snipe, 2; mourning dove, 20; belted kingfisher, 3; red shafted denudes Success feir . Paris (U.R) Opponents of German rearmament introduced new delaying tactics .-. in the French ' National Assembly to day but Premier Pierre Mendes France remained confident he will win final approval of the fateful measure in two votes of confidence tomorrow. - A rightist Peasant party depu ty, George Loustanuau - Lacau, brought out a new amendment Ike 'Gratified' By Approval of Germany in NATO Augusta, Ga. U.R) Presi dent Eisenhower was reported "gratified"? today that the French National Assembly ap proved the entry of West Ger many t into .the North' Atlantic Treaty Organization. However, the ; President de dined to issue a formal . state ment until the Assembly, in re cess until tomorrow, acts on other phases of the accord which would, bring the Bonn govern ment . into the Western alliance as an armed power.. President Reluctant. ." ' . The President was said to be reluctant to voice . enthusiastic approval until after the Assem bly takes final action on all of the Paris accords to rearm West Germany. . Press Secretary James C. Ha gerty said: "I have informed the President of . the vote of the French Chamber of Deputies and he is gratified at the turn proceedings have taken in' that chamber. There will be no for mal statement until action has been completed on all the meas ures." V Britain Keeping Silent This was a restrained manner of speaking on the part of the White House. In effect it under scored the tenseness of 'the situ ation among all of the Western powers. Britain has said it was "keeping quiet and keeping its fingers crossed." The Bonn gov ernment in West Germany ex pressed mild pleasure. ; . US-Canada Route Urged by Morse 'Washington... (U.R) Sen. Wayne Morse today - released copies of a letter , sent to Secre tary of State, John Foster Dulles and to Civil Aeronautics Board Chairman Chan Gurney urging favorable action on a proposal to establish air service between Portland and Calgary, Canada. Morse indicated that the sub ject of air routes between the United States and Canada was under discussion between the State Department and the CAB earlier this year.- v '. Morse told Gurney and Dulles that "air service on a permanent basis between Portland and Cal gary will produce increased commerce and travel between our countries and this in turn will serve to strengthen our tra ditionally fine relations with Canada. -.' ' flicker, 23; acorn . woodpecker, 15; downy woodpecker, 4; stel ler's jay, 2; scrub jay, 8; moun tain chickadee, 1; - plain tit mouse, 16; common bush tit, 12; white breasted nuthatch, 7. Bewick's wren, 5; american robin, 21,000 (estimate); hermit thrush, 3; varied thrush, 3; west ern bluebird, 91; townsend's sol itaire, 2; ruby crowned kinglet, 5; cedar waxwing, 106; audo bon's warbler, 17; house spar row, 18; meadowlark, 18; brew er's blackbird, 37; house finch, 1; american golf inch, 6; lesser goldfinch, 26; spotted towhee, 17; brown towhee, 5; oregon junco, 130; white crowned spar row, 13; golden crowned spar row, 52; fox sparrow, .8; song sparrow, 8. calling for talks with Russia in advance of ratification of West European Union. ,' . But the same informed sources who reported, Mendes-France's, optimism also said the new de laying action is doomed in ad vance. American and AllieH embassy circles were cautiously optimis tic over the Premier's chances for final victory but both they. and the French Foreign Office knew it would not be a fact until the votes are counted. The reluctant National Assem bly approved German entry into NATO by a vote of 289 to 251 early today in an atmosphere of grim T silence and then1 ad journed until Wednesday. Men-des-France appeared to have sav ed the 'alliance With Britain an the United States. No 'Wild Rejoicing But there was no wiM t-o. joicinz . in Bonn TmHnn . - Washington. President Eisenhow er was reported "gratified" and ' West German officials expressed pleasure and relief. But a Britain Foreign Office spokesman sai only that London was "keeping nuiet ana ; Keeping its fingers crossed." s . ; The big test Wednesday comes when Mendes-France seeks re versal of the assembly's Christ mas Eve vote in which it turned down German - entry into the Western European Union, the key part of the Paris accords to rearm a free Germany. Must Approv Ratification The other vote will be on the overall ratification bill on Ger man entry into NATO and an amendment insisting that " Ger many approve the Saar accord before ratification is complete. That vote will lartrelv h tition of Monday night's ballot ing. ; But in each . ra?o Vsnise. w iwuvo France has staked the life of his government in ah effort to save the Atlantic alliance. If .he re ceives an adverse vote he must resign and France must face the future outside the Western al liance. Mendes - France wrestled the vote on NATO to a surrpscfni conclusion with , a series of im passioned, appeals to the as sembly .members. ' Rejection Delays Rearming ? The assembly has approved al- most all the articles of the Paris accords. Only rejection of Ger man membership in the West- " ern European Union is holding up the rearming of 500.000 West Germans on the side of the West. The expected decision still could be UDset and France's al lies must take care in the next two days to avoid giving the re luctant deputies an excuse to turn and throw over the whole system again as they wrecked the European Defense Commun ity. The United States and Britain have made it clear they will rearm West Germany regardless -of what France does. Mendes France told the deputies this and warned of France's being iso lated if they do not vote rearm ament. (Se story on, Pag 2) Americans Removed From Burning Vessel Singapore (U.PJ Six Ameri can passengers removed from the burning Danish freighter Lexa Maersk shopped today for new wardrobes to replace be longings they lost in the ship's fire. The Americans, together with, two Australian passengers, left the ship after it caught fire Christmas Day while leaving Singapore with a cargo of food- i stuffs, rubber, rosin, teak and ' textiles. . '-The cargo was valued at $1, 300,000. It was a total loss. The 7520-ton freighter was beached today on the eastern coast of Singapore, two miles from her original position. Thick black' smoke rose more than 500 feet from the hulk and could be seen for miles around. . The - six Americans were lodged in a hotel awaiting the arrival of Maersk line officials. ii I i i it i "5. '. "JHIftiai'."