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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (March 3, 1955)
mm S Medford United tress nil Leaded wire 49th Year 26 Pages MILL FATAL WORK Eugene R. Birk Dies; Death Caused By Blows on Head B. H. White Arrested; DA To File Charges District Attorney Walter Nunley arrived in Medford shortly after noon today, and announced that he has request d the county clerk's office to summon the grand jury imme diately concerning the death of Eugene Raymond Birk. ' Eugene Raymond Birk, 32, of 215 Fourth st.. Phoenix, died at Ashland hospital last night from injuries suffered when he was hit on the head in an alter cation yesterday morning, ac cording to Dolice authorities. Bernice Hampton White, 37, of 228 Hartley rd., Medford, was booked into the county jail last night for assault with a dangerous weapon. Filing of ad ditional charges is being upheld pending word from District At torney Walter Nunley, who was to return today from Salem where he went to appear in a case before the state supreme court. Police Called State police were called at about 11:13 a.m. yesterday, and were told there had been, a fight at the Talent sawmill, and that a man had been injured and taken by ambulance to Ashland hospital. Police officers and deputies went to the. mill and arrested White. Witnesses told officers that White, a head resaw man at the mill had been arguing dur ing the morning with Birk, a handyman and relief worker. At about 11 a.m., officers were told, men on the resaw unit were being relieved, and White and Birk resumed their argument. The witnesses said that Birk made a motion toward White to go away, and that White then went behind Birk, picked up a two-by-four board some four feet long, and struck Birk over the head, knocking him down, then hit him again. The mill superintendent took the board away from White, and held him in custody until offic ers arrived. Birk died at about 7:45 p.m. Deputy District Attorney Gene Piazza, Sheriff Howard Gault and state police officers questioned White this morning. It is expected that a charge ar ising out of Birk's death will be filed in circuit court, probr ably today. . White is married and the fa ther of three small children. Leaves Wife, Parents Birk leaves his wife, Beiyl, L. his parents, Mr. and Mrs. E. L. - Birk, Phoenix, a sister, Mrs. Rita King, Medford, and a brother, Clifford, in Arizona. He was born in Gridley, Kans., and has lived in Phoenix about 19 years. He served as an Army ser geant during World War II. Funeral services have been ar ranged for Saturday, March 5, in Litwiller's Mountain View chapel, with interment to follow in the Ashland cemetery. 'Most Valuable Student1 Awards Listed By Elks; Medford, Crater Students Win Michael DeVore, a student at Medford High school and son of Mr. and Mrs. R. Ronald DeVore, 806 East Jackson st., has been named first place winner in the annual "most valuable student" contest of the Medford Elks lodge. The announcement was made bv Frank Hussong, exalted ruler of the Elks here. Second place winner, who also won first place among girls, is Verity Day, Crater High school, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ben Day, Sam svalley. The two will compete for reg ional honors which will be awarded at Bend on March 6. They will be guests of the Elks MEDFORD, OREGON, THURSDAY, MARCH ? F! m U Work Undler Way on City, County, School Budgeb for 'SS-'SS Work ha3 started on 1955-56 fiscal programs for Jackson county, the city of Medford, and School District 49, which in cludes the Medford public schools. County Commissioners L. G, Morthland and Chester Wendt said this morning that county departments have started prep aration of estimates of their budget needs for the fiscal year, Depth of Snow Said Over Average In Goolaway Area Snow on the ground in two areas at the head of Evans creek appears to be deeper than aver age .according to measurements made this week. A Monday trek into the snow courses at Goolaway gap and mountain, by a crew using a four-wheel drive truck, resulted in measurements which show the -average depth on the moun tain course was 32.3 inches, and at the gap 11.2 inches. For the seven-year period from 1939 to 1946, the last pe riod during which the two snow courses were measured regular ly, the average depth was 11 inches on the mountain and 4 inches at the gap, with March 1 measurements ranging from only a trace up to 34 inches on the mountain, and from nothing up to 14 inches at the gap. Nearly at Top Clem Ault, technician here with the U.S. soil conservation service, said both measurements this week were nearly as much as the greatest depths recorded during the seven-year period. The measurements Monday were made by Bill Cox, SCS technician with the Sams Valley- Beagle district, and Al Petska, engineer for both local soil districts, with equipment loaned by the California Oregon Power company. Ault said figures as to water content of the snow this week are not available, but he added they probably would be a little higher than the seven-year average of 3Vfe inches. Two Children Perish As Home Destroyed New Plymouth, Ida. (U.R) Two small boys died in a fire which gutted their one-room home here Wednesday night. The victims were identified as Donald Dawes, 11 months, and his brother, Edgar, 4. Firemen said cause of the blaze has not been determined. The parents were outside the house doing their farm chores when the fire started about 7:30 p.m. New Plymouth is just a short distance across the Snake river from Ontario, Ore. ' at the Bend meeting. Young DeVore wins $40 in scholarship funds, and Miss Day will received $25. Third place winner is Nancy Hammers, Phoenix High school, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. F. A. Hammers, 4069 South Pacific highway, Phoenix, $20, and honorable mention was given to Elaine Sorum, Medford High, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert Sorum, Delta Waters rd., and to Donald von Buskirk, Crater High, son of Mr. and Mrs. Carl von Bus kirk, Central Point, $10 eachi . The contest is separate from the leadership and activities awards, winners of which also were announced by the Elks bHI MM WM. MM - il o) Four county departmental es timates have ben received so far, they said. The first meeting of the county budget committee probably will be held sometime before April 1. Among the problems facing the county budget committee this year will be allocation of more than $815,000, which was Jackson county's share of im pounded O&C timber land re ceipts released recently. City's All In Budget estimates for all city of Medford departments have been completed, City Manager Robert Duff said this morning. The city hopes to have all pre liminary work on the budget completed in time for presenta tion to the budget committee by March 15, Duff said. Department estimates for the city school system are now in the process of presentation, ac cording to E. H. Hedrick, city superintendent of schools. A meeting date for the school dis trict budget committee has not been set, Hedrick said, but it is hcped that the first meeting of the group can be held sometime ; late this month. "' Churchill Sees US In Counter-Attack London U.R) Prime Min ister Winston Churchill said to day that in event of a hydrogen bomb attack on Britain "I sup pose" the United States "might possibly" counter attack the ag gressor without prior consulta tion with Britain. Churchill carefully avoided saying whether he figured the United States would use its British-based planes to launch such a counter attack, however, The Churchill statement de veloped almost incidentally dur ing a session of parliamentary scarring between the Prime Minister and Socialist M. P, Kenneth Robinson. Robinson wanted assurances that the United States will not get its Britain-based planes en gaged in any fighting without first consulting Britain. Springfield- Market Loses Money Bag, Cash Springfield (U.R) Spring field police today were looking for the person who stole a money bag containing $3017 in curren cy- and check's from Offley"s Supermarket here this morning. Sylvester D. Offley, manager and part-owner of the market, told police he had placed the money in a bank money bag to take it to the bank. He said he laid the bag in a tray under some papers beside the cash register while he turned away for a mo ment to speak to a workman re pairing a refrigeration unit. When he returned the bag was gone. lodge this week. Judging in the ''most valuable student" contest is based on scholarship, 50 per cent; and extra curricular and out-of-school activities, personal ity and leadership, perseverance and resourcefulness, general worthiness and citizenship, and need, 10 per cent each. Last year Richard Johnson, then a senior at Medford high school, went on to win the sixth place award in the nation. He is now a premedical student at the University of Oregon. State award winners will re ceive $600 scholarships each for the top boy and girl, with $1,200 to the over-all state winner. Nationally, $28,000 in prizes will be awarded. No. 297 v J) Ul ITU Security Council Representative Probes Gaza Clash Both Sides Will Give Accounts of Incident Gaza, . Egyptian-Israeli Fron tier (U.R) Canadian Maj. Gen, E. L. M. Burns completed an in vestigation today of the shoot ing incident that touched off the Egyptian-Israeli crisis and pre pared to file his report to the U.N. Security Council in New York. Burns, chief U.N. truce super visor for Palestine, spent 25 minutes inspecting the scene of the biggest Gaza clash Monday night, and 10 minutes at two other areas where smaller clashes occurred, and returned to the Israeli side of the truce demarcation line. To Hear Both Sides He said the Mixed Armistice Commission would meet later today in Jerusalem to hear ac counts from both sides. So far, he said, each side has given con flicting reports of casualties they suffered Monday night and "I don't know what the exact cas ualties were." "I came to have a look at the scenes of the incidents as I have been requested by the Security Council to'submit a report," he said. "I feel it would be inap propriate for me to express any opinion now or before the Mixed Armistice Commission has met and disclosed its find ings." Gees With Escort Burns arrived at the truce de marcation line from Israel. He was accompanied by an Israeli military escort up to a point five miles from the line, but con tinued without escort across the dangerous no man's land. An Egyptian military escort awaited him to escort the Ca nadian general to this riot-torn desert town where Arabs have rioted for two days in a demand for arms to avenge the Israeli attack of Monday night. Churchill Discloses Nearness To Death London U.R) Prime minis ter Winston Churchill disclosed in Commons for the first time last night how close he was to death in 1953. "I was struck down by a very sudden illness which paralyzed me completely physically,'' he said. Churchill made the statement in explaining why he could not meet with Soviet Premier Georgi Malenkov and President Eisenhower soon after Malen kov took power. His illness was one reason, . the opposition of Mr. Eisenhower the other. His statement confirmed spec ulation at the time he may have suffered a stroke, but the na ture of the illness which forced postponement of the Bermuda conference was kept secret. Rogue River Girls Take Boys' Obligations Rogue River The girls at Rogue River High school this week are boys and the boys are girls. At least that's the way Prin cipal James Hayden describ ed an annual event, "twirp week," in which the girls do all the polite things boys do and the boys just enjoy it. Girls are allowed to carry boys' books, open doors, pay for dates and generally pur sue the men of their choice without the usual reserve ac corded by - standard good manners for the weaker sex. The week will be topped off by a dance Friday night, which is sponsored by the stu dent council. Some authorities on the sub ject state that "twirp" means "The Woman Is Requested To Pay." China Reds Warned Not To Assume Attack Immunity Dulles Says U. S. To Defend Islands Taipeh, Formosa (U.R) Secretary of State John Foster Dulles warned Communist China today at the opening of his cru cial conference with Chiang Kai- shek not to assume they were immune from American attack if they assaulted Quemoy or Matsu islands. Dulles conferred with Chians for four hours and then took off for Washington after warning the Peiping regime to "oractice what they preach" about peace and cease their threats against Formosa. "It is the ardent hope of the United States that the Chinese Communists will not insist on war as an instrument of its pol icy," he said. "The United States and the Republic of China have no al ternative but to stand firm.1 Signs Defense Pact He made the statement with in hours after he and the Na tionalist Foreign Minister George Yeh signed the ratifica tion papers putting the U. S.- Nationalist China defense treaty formally into effect. Dulles said President Eisen hower himself would make the decision what to do if the Com munists attack the Nationalists two main offshore islands. "Formosa is the area today where the Chinese Communists most actively press their aggres sive designs," Dulles said. "They openly threatened an armed at tack against an area which the United States is committed to help to defend. Protects Against Attack "It is not possible at this time to state explicitly how that de fense will be conducted. The treaty area regards the Republic of China, covers Formosa and the Pescadores and an armed at tack directed against those is lands. "The United States continues to evaluate the words and deeds of . the Chinese Communist re gime to ascertain whether their military " aetions, pf eparatibns and concentrations in the For mosa area constitute, in' fact, the first phase of an attack direct ed against Formosa and wheth er the United States must pro ceed on this assumption. Defense Not Sialic "If so, it cannot be assumed that the defense would be stat ic and confined to Formosa it self, or that the aggressor would enjoy immunity with respect to the areas from which he stages his offensive." "Since, however, the Matsu and Quemoy islands, now in friendly hands, have relation ship to the defense of Formosa such that the President may judge their protection to be ap propriate in assuring the de fense of Formosa and the Pes cadores, our consultation cover ed also these coastal positions of the Republic of China." Injunction Prevents Railroad Rate Cuts Portland U.R) A three- judge Federal Court panel today overruled the Interstate Com merce Commission and issued a permanent injunction against six railroads . lowering their freight rates on petroleum prod ucts. The decision reverses an ICC ruling which would have put the new, reduced rates into effect last Dec. 9. The court order affects rail shipments of petroleum products between Washington, Oregon, Idaho and parts of Montana and Wyoming. The ICC-approved lower rail rates were protested by truckers and water carriers who claimed they would be put out of busi ness if the railroads were al lowed to reduce freight rates. BREAKS BOTH ARMS - Janice Johnson, 9-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wil liam J. Johnson, 1737 Biddle road, broke both arms this morning when she fell down a stairway' at Lincoln school, Community hospital attendants reported today. She was treated and released. ' , Eugene U.R) Jane Bergstrom of Portland has been elected president of the Associated Women Students at the Univer sity of Oregon. Weather FORECAST: Clear and colder tonight. Partly cloudy ' and continued cool Friday. Possi bility of occasional light snow Friday night. Low to night 24. High Friday 40-46. Temp. Highest Yesterday 42 Lowest this Morning . 30 Prec. to 4:30 a.m. Today 02 f V- fh ;? :' $tt I iji k I GIVES SCIENTISTS JITTERS Molten lava and rocks spurt from a fiery fissure of the Puulena cinder cone, a remote rift of famed Kilauea Volcano 25 miles away on the island of Hawaii. The temblor was strong enough to "dismantle" the seismograph at the volcano observatory "and give scientists the jitters." Three hundred families evacuated the village of Kapoho. No casualties were reported. Flaming Lava Hears Hawaiian Village as Volcano Erupts Anew Hilo, Hawaii (U.R) Flaming lava surged to within one mile of the village of Kapoho today when the east rift of famed Kilauea Volcano on the island of Hawaii erupted with new fury after a 24-hour rest. Police reported they had re ceived an : unconfirmed report that three houses on the out skirts of the village were crush ed this morning under the flam ing lava flow moving on the town. ' Explosion Reported Police also reported that one of the officers in the field re ported two big explosions rock ed the eruption area before dawn. He said that the explo sions were believed to be "right in the line of flow" but he was not able to tell for sure. Early today a group of 30 Kapoho- residents commandeered 14 trucks in Pahba village and drove through a police blockade to salvage belongings from their homes. ........... They had to drive over nar row, bumpy roads through the cane fields because the main road into Kapoho was cut off by fissures, some as much as eight feet wide and apparently bottomless. At one point, the convoy passed within 200 feet of the lava flow. Villagers Help Each Other Once at their homes, the vil lagers helped each other remove their belongings, passing beds, chairs, pots and pans from hand to hand in bucket brigade fashion, The 335 residents of Kapoho were evacuated to safer areas again on Wednesday when the volcano exploded in a far more dangerous eruption than Mon day. It was the first time the volcano had been active in 115 years. A gaping fissure one mile long and as much as 500 feet wide spouted lava 30 to 50 feet in the air along the entire length, and poured forth red hot mat ter at the rate of 350 feet an hour directly toward Kapoho and the ocean. A new outburst late Wednes day .night blasted apart an old cinder cone and stretched the DOW-JONES AVERAGES New York (U.R) Dow-Jones final stock averages: 30 indus trials 418.33 up 1.15; 20 rail roads 153.56 up 0.24; 15 utilities 65.36 up 0.68, and 65 stocks 156.59 up 0 59. Sales today were about 3.300,000 shares compared with 3,370,000 shares traded yes terday. Salem (U.R) The Senate State and Federal Affairs Com mittee has voted 3 to 2 to recom mend passage of a bill which proposes a constitutional conven tion for Oregon in 1959. v Builder Unaware of Fire In 60-Y ear-Old Home A 60-year-old house, (till occupied by its builder, was damaged by fire early yester day afternoon. ? v t Fireman said that' the blaze, starting from an overheated flue, did considerable damage to an upstairs room, lo the attic and . to one . side of the roof of the Simon Hawk resi dence, 701 West 11th street. When the fire broke out, the Hawks were unaware of it, according to firemen. They said that a neighbor turned in the alarm about 1:55 p.m. Pumpers from the west side and main fire stations were dispatched to the blaze. Hawks, now 93, construct ed the house. fissure by another 300 yards. It threatened to pour even more lava into the flow. Another smaller finger of fiery lava pouring out from the side of the fissure missed two farmhouses by 30 feet and over ran a sugar cane field. Gov. Samuel Wilder King pre pared to declare a limited state of emergency for the volcano area today. - - Carpenters Agree On New Wage Scale A new working agreement has been signed between the local carpenters union and con tractors here, it was announced today. -.. 7: r- The agreement, which became effective March. 1 and will be in effect through 1955, calls for a 6 per cent hour increase in the basic wage scale for all journey men carpenters, bringing it to $2.71 per hour, plus time and a half for Saturdays and for work over eight hours daily, with double time on Sundays and seven holidays. The agreement was signed by representatives of Carpenters Local Union 2067, Medford and vicinity, and the Contractors As sociation of Southern Oregon, according to George Potucek, fi nancial secretary and business representative of the union. Premium pay is established for millwrights, power saw operators, saw filers and fire work. Indentured carpenter ap prentices are to be employed in accordance with apprenticeship standards as established by state law and the state appren ticeship plan, he said. Senate Expected To Defeat Tax Cut Washington - (U.R) Prelimi nary nose counting by Senate leaders indicated today the Sen ate will reject the House ap proved income tax cut by five to 20 votes. The outlook could change if some new tax-cut formula is devised. As of now. however, the Sen ate Democratic leadership has only a faint hope of getting the Senate to go along with the House provision to reduce in come taxes $20 a year for each taxpayer and dependent. Presi dent Eisenhower is fighting the plan. . This appraisal applies whether the effective date of the tax cut is Jan. 1 as the House voted or July 1, 1956, as some Senate Democrats have . proposed. The Finance Committee rejected both proposals by a 9 to 6 vote Tuesday. Police Benefit By Officers of A Police . Benefit fund was established last night at a regu lar general meeting of officers of the Medford police force. Purpose of the fund will be to aid department members in event of serious illness, home fires, deaths in the family, and other similar difficulties. Officer Jack McMillan was named chairman of a committee which will be in charge of the fund. Others on the group are Officer Berle Stephens, secretary-treasurer; and Officers De- House Taxation Committee Views Possible Sources Liquor Price Boost, Phone Surtax Studied Salem (U.R) A tentative rev enue raising program including a boost in liquor prices, a 5 per cent surtax on phone bills and a 2M per cent tax on all insur ance policies, was, adopted by the House Taxation Committee today. Rep. Loran L. Stewart (R-Cot-tage Grove), chairman, said the program may be changed, but it was projected so that the com mittee could have something to work on in outlining its revenue raising program. The program is estimated to raise $16,000,000 a year in addi tion to an increase in personal income taxes, toward meeting an anticipated deficit of $55,000, 000 if the proposed state build ing program is adopted. In addition to an increase in personal income tax, the com mittee is considering a possible increase in corporate income taxes. Before the committee outlined this program, Cecil Posey, ex ecutive secretary of the Oregon Education Association, presented a program he said would raise $64,000,000 during the biennium. Would Lower Exemptions His proposals included lower ing the exemptions on personal income tax from $600 to $500: a 4-cent tax on cigarettes; re moval of the skyscraper clause which exempts office buildings; increase in liquor prices, and a 2 per cent withholding on sala ries for personal income tax in stead of the present 1 per cent. He estimated the added one per cent would raise $3,700,000. Rep. Walter J. Pearson (D- Portland), former state treas urer, retorted that such an in crease in withholding would net little, if any increase in income, but would merely result in more refunds to the taxpayers. Frills Said Unneeded Pearson asked of Posey, as representing . the OEA: "Why can't the schools live within their budgets and quit building palaces? We want good, ample, fireproof buildings, but we don't need all the frills. We should get back' to the three R's and cut out the fancy stuff." He added the observation that three administrators in the Port land school system draw higher salaries than the governor of Oregon. (See Stories on Page 8) Cincinnati Streets Covered by Water By UNITED PRESS Flood waters rolled through the Ohio River Valley today and covered some Cincinnati streets with as much as 10 inches of water. The swollen river was still rising in Ohio, closing parts of 15 highways in southern and southeastern counties, and flood waters from the White sec ondary roads in Indiana. Farther back up the valley the Alleghany and Monongahela rivers were falling at Pittsburgs after cresting at 22.1 feet, well below the 25-foot flood stage. However, temperatures varied as much as 71 degrees in differ ent parts of the nation and about 200 "marooned" skiers were having the time of their lives in snowbound Utah mountain lodges. Postponement Sought In Hank Death Trial Portland (U.R) A post ponement . of the trial of Wey Him Fong and his wife, Sherry, charged with first degree mur der in connection with the death last year of 16-year-old Diane Hank, was sought today by D fense Attorney Irvin Goodman. The trial is scheduled to start March 28. Goodman, in asking for the delay, said the Fongs were indicted last May for con tributing to the delinquency of a minor but that case has not been set down for triaL He pointed out the Fongs ware in dicted on the murder charge only in January. Arguments on the motion are scheduled next Tuesday. Fund Created Department laire Tusow, Roy Thompson, Orlo McGee, and Robert Ghey son. They will serve on the com mittee for a period of six months. Speakers at last night's meet ing weri Municipal Judge James Main, who discussed courtroom procedures, and Ken Berry, who spoke on public relations. Police department general meetings are held each month to better coordinate activities of the Medford police department. r-
