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Explosion Lights
1 1 - - I Tl a. - P U
IViEDFORDfflk M RIBUNE
United Cress full Learned wue
49th Year 14 Pages
Pearson Proposes
Income Tax Bill To
Raise $55,1
Tax Credits Would
Replace Exemptions
Salem (U.R) Rep. Walter
Pearson (D-Portland) today in
troduced a Tiniversal ' income
tax proposal designed to raise
about $55,000,000. '
Pearson said last, week, he
would introduce such a measure.
The ,f House Tax Committee's
program calls for a personal tax
increase but the committee did
not specify what form it would
take. ' ,- --. .
Tax Credits Substituted
Under the so-called universal
tax, exemptions a r e removed
with certain tax credits sub
stituted. Pearson said that al
most everyone, under his pro
posal,' would pay a tax with the
biggest"increase coming to those
in the income bracket between
$6,000 and $20,000.
Pearson's bill calls for a net
income tax of two per cent on
the first $3,000; four per cent
on the second $3,000 and six per
cent on all income over $6,000
The bill provides, as a substitute
for exemptions, a $10 credit
against the tax itself for . each
dependent.
The House Tax Committee
provided for only about $39,000,
000 of the- $55,000,000 it said
was needed to come from in
creased income tax.
(Sea Story on Pag 7)
Pension, Vet Bills
To Receive Study
A sub-committee willbeap-'
pointed to keep tabs on propos
ed changes in veterans and pen
sion legislation, it was decided
by the legislative committee of
the Jackson County Chamber of
Commerce at a breakfast meet
ing this morning.
Frank J. Van Dyke, chairman
of the group, will name the sub
committee. It will be asked to
make a study of the present
veterans' pension situation, and
proposed changes. A " Hoover
commission task group recently
was named to conduct a similar
study.
It has been pointed out by
President Eisenhower that there
are now some 21,000,000 veter
ans in the United States, and
that the number is increasing.
Pension costs now total some
$2,800,000,000 annually. It - is
new developments in this situa
tion which the committee will
study.
The legislative group discuss
ed other legislative matters, but
'took no positive action on any
single measure.
Ike Previews Speech
Scheduled by Dulles
; Washington (U.R) Secretary
of State John Foster Dulles pre
viewed, for President Eisenhow
er today the report he will make
to the nation tomorrow night on
his recent Far East trip.
Dulles hurried from the White
House, declining to discuss with
reporters his speech or the
two-week Asian trip from which
he returned yesterday. He mere
ly noted that he had conferred
with Mr. Eisenhower for more
than an hour yesterday about
his radio-television report to the
nation and went over the speech
again today in another hour-long
aoeeting.
13-YearOld Admits
Part in Thefts
A 13-year-old Medford youth
has admitted participation in
several local cases of petty lar
ceny, according to city police.
Part of the thefts involved
two other boys and included
about $15 taken from the coin
box in the photo - machine at
Newberry's store and about 10
boxes of candy and eight car
tons of cigarettes from both Med
ford Safeway stores, the Gro
ceteria Super Food market and
Western Thrift Drug store:
The youth told police that
they had sold most of the candy
to junior high students and the
cigarettes to high school stu
dents. " ". '
Salem U.R) Robert H. Fo
ley, Bend, has taken over as a
member of the Upper Columbia
River Basins commission of Ore
goo. ,.: .. -
IV. " ..-
MEDFORD, OREGON, MONDAY, MARCH 7-1955
: HAWAIIAN VILLAGE DOOMED Mother,: : is daylight view , of the doomed village of
Nature puts pn a fiery show as-'fm''and''j;'V;jpoh6:(3)as lava flows all around, it (arrow.)
molten lava light up the. night sky (top) in ' Smoke rises from tne; Puulena rift (1) and
this aerial view of the erupting fissure - of from a new fissure near Kapoho (2). The sea
. the Puulena cinder cone,' a remote first rift is off to the left of the photo.
.of famed Kilauea volcano. In bottom photo V' ,
1,340 Return Stack Heaters
Installed at Hill Orchard
A total of 1,340 "return
stack" smokeless orchard heat
ers have been installed in Hill
orchard, south of Stewart ave.
at the end of Oakdale ave., ac
cording to David Holmes Jr.,
of Bear Creek Orchards. '
The heaters, 20 to the acre,
have been set up on the 67acre
tract on an experimental basis,
Holmes said, adding that opinion
as to the adequacy of the return
stack heaters is still divided. ,
"The fact that these heaters
work well in California does not
necessarily mean they will work
here," Holmes stated, noting
that various weather conditions,
including lack of high ceilings,
makes heating easier in that
area. -
Installaton of the new' type
heaters is very costly, accord
ing to Holmes. He pointed out
that 'it '-would be impossible for
Hawaii Residents
Warned of Eruption
' Pahoa, Hawaii U.R) An
eruption of lava from the angry
Puukii fountain subsided today,
but a volcano expert warned jittery-inhabitants
of Hawaii
Island, fwe're : not out of the
woods yet." -
The warning came from vol
canologist Gordon MacDonald,
who has gone with practically
no sleep since the Kilauea Vol
cano field began spewing lava
and endangering villages in the
Puna District a week ago.
"I think the pressure is off,"
he said, "but it may break out
again " -
McKay Sees Time Near for National Park Improvements
By A. ROBERT SMITH
Mail Tribune Correspondent
' Washington The Interior De
partment has decided the cli
mate of opinion is becoming in
creasingly favorable for a big
national parks improvement pro
gram, to satisfy 'mounting , criti
cism about the declining con
dition of the parks.
Director Conrad Wirth of the
National Park Service an
nounced that such a program
would be advanced next year.
His boss, Secretary of Interior
Douglas McKay, has found out
from personal experience' on
Capitol Hill just how severe the
criticism has ; become ; on this
jssua. - - .--.
tinited
111
even the largest orchardists to
convert to them all at one time.
The old type open heaters
have, been - installed in Hill
orchard along with the new re
turn stacks. However, they will
not be used unless temperatures
drop to the danger point and
the new , heaters are not ade
quately protecting the orchard,
Holmes said. ' t -
Youngster Injured
When Struck by Car
'" An 11-year-old - cyclist was
struck by a car yesterday at the
intersection of South Riverside
ave. 'and East 12th st., but 're
ceived only minor injuries, city
police said.
William Lee Smelser, 826 East
Main st., was given, first aid
treatment by. police and re
leased. He suffered an abrasion
on the right elbow. '
The boy was operating a bi
cycle when struck by a 1947
sedan driven by Edward Alfred
Evensen, 2847 Biddfferd., police'
said. Evensen was cited for. fail
ure to yield the right of way and
failure to stop at a red light, po
lice said. i
Ambulances Mjjst Stop
At Lights, House. Vote?
. Salem (U.R) The House tcv
day passed a bill prohibiting am
bulances from ignoring red traf
fic lights and .other, control de
vices. . ' -
McKay went up to testify be
fore the. Senate Appropriations
Committee on his department's
annual budget requests. What
he encountered was a squad of
senators from both parties who
evinced more intense interest in
the conditions of the parks than
any " other single controversial
subject, including power.
-.Chairman .Carl Hayden .(D
Ariz.) in whose state is Grand
Canyon National Park, told Mc
Kay mahytourists have been dis
appointed upon arrival at the
park to find the gates closed. He
said he looked into it and found
that with the limited number of
attendants -on duty to sell ad
missioa tickaU -to- at Grand
L - '
fress Full Leased Wire
Price 5c
No. 300
Liquor Dispensing
Licenses Refused
Three liquor dispensing li
cense applications for Medford
outlets have been turned down
by the Oregon Liquor Control
commission.
In all three cases, the' refusal
to grant the applications ' was
based on sufficient licensed
premises in the area, according
to local sources.
Included were applications by
the Holland hotel for the Wood
en Shoe room, Hollywood club,
414 East Main st. (old Legion
club)" and Bohemian club. The
Hollywood club and Bohemian
club applications were turned
down after reconsideration.
. The other two applications had
received local council approval
on Jan. 4 by a 4 to 3 vote. The
hotel's application was for a
Class "B" outlet, which would
also allow entertainment and
dancing. , 1
The action by the OLCC fol
lowed its recent action of deny
ing any more outlets for Med
ford at the present time. An ap
plication by a Front st. tavern
also was turned .down recently
on the same basis.
Portland State College ,
Gets First President
' Portland (U.R) Dr. J. F.
Cramer, 55, today was named as
the first president of Portland
State College. -
Dr. Cramer is dean of the gen
eral extension division of the
state system of higher education.
Canyon, there were periods dur
ing the day when no one was
available to sell tickets so to
avoid letting the public in free,
the gates had to be closed. ,
Sen. Earl , Clements (D-Ky.)
was unhappy about the rundown
condition of the hotel accomo
dations at Mammouth Cave in
his state. Looked to him, he
badgered McKay, like nothing
had been done there since the
war between the states.
McKay pointed out that Amer
ica's national parks have been
tremendously popular in recent
years,- with attendance figures
ciimbing every year.
"We are making a determined
e&ort-to reduce a backlog of
(4ijj! '
- J1
Weather
FORECAST: Fair through Tuei
day. Low tonight 28-30. High
Tuesday 65-68.
Temp."
Highest yesterday . 66
Lowest this morning .. ..28
Ellsworth Proposes
Partnership Plan
For Oregon Dams
Cougar, Green Peter
Projects rn Measure
Washington -4U.R) Rep. Har
ris Ellsworth (R-Ore.) today in
troduced a "straightforward pro
posal" to' authorize partnership
construction of two dams in Ore
gon. The bill would authorize the
construction of Cougar Dam on
the McKenzie river and Green
Peter Dam on the Middle San
tiam river. It was similar to a
measure which passed the House
last year but which failed to be
acted on in the Senate.
Ellsworth told the House his
"straightforward proposal would
give the state urgently needed
power and flood control. He said
the two projects would have a
total capacity of 135,000 kilo
watts, producing 436,000,000 kil
owatt hours annually. Flood 'con
trol benefits would total $2,000,
000 yearly. r
The city of Eugene, would be
empowered to participate in the
construction of Cougar Dam, ac
cording to the terms of the meas
ure," contributing $11,000,000 to
wards the total cost of $37,
000,000. PP&L Would Participate
Pacific Power & Light Com
pany of Portland would parti
cipate in the Green Peter proj
ect. , The company would pay
$29,000,000 toward the total cost
of an estimated $58,000,000.
Both projects would have
flood control features as well as
the power-generating ones,
t Ellsworth said the proposal
represented "a forward step in
the thinking of the people of my
state" in that a public and a pri
vate agency had joined ina com
mon endeavor.''. "- :
Matsu Garrison
Being Reinforced
Taipeh, Formosa '(U.R) Na
tionalist naval headquarters said
today the 13,000 man garrison
on Matsu island is being rein
forced "two or three times'- its
present strength in a determined
Nationalist effort to hold it from
Communist invasion.
f The naval sources said" the
troops were, being ferried to
Matsu, some 110 miles west of
Formosa in Nationalist ships and
under Nationalist air cover and
that no American ships or air
craft were involved in the oper
ation. The troop' movements were
disclosed when a Navy spokes
man told newsmen a trip to
Matsu tentatively arranged for
Tuesday was. postponed because
the troops are being transferred
there "night and day." .
Condemnation Eyed
In Israel Aggression
Cairo-'. U.R) Egypt, Saudi
Arabia and Syria counted today
on the condemnation of Israel
for "brutal aggression" to help
swing still hesitant Jordan and
Lebanon into their pact against
the Jewish nation. '
The U.N. Mixed Armistice
commission blamed Israel in a
stormy session yesterday for last
Monday!s "pre-arranged 'and
planned attack" against an
Hgyptian outpost which cost 42
Egyptian and eight Israeli lives.
At about the same time Egypt,
Saudi Arabia and Syria an
nounced in a joint communique
that they had agreed to form a
unified command for their arm
ed forces to repel any attack pn
anyone of them. They also an
nounced they would sign no
other pact as the one between
Iraq and Turkey.
maintenance and rehabilitation
of physical facilities," McKay
told the senators. "Once this is
done, we plan to make every ef
fort tp keep our facilities at a
high-operatmg level. The budget
provides for increases in both
management and protection and
maintenance and rehabilitation."
Sen." Ed Thye (R-Minn.)
wanted to know whether the
government couldn't help finance
improvements by increasing the
admission fees. McKay replied
that ' some fees had been in
creased since he , took office.
But he said "the parks are for
Joe Doakes of Main street, not
for. the rich people,, and you
Nevada Explosion
Plainly Visible
Throughout Valley
Orange Glow Covers
Southern Horizon
The explosion of a "city
buster" atomic device at -' 5:20
a. m. today in the southern Ne
vada desert, more than 600 miles
away, .was. plainly .' visible
throughout the. Rogue valley;
Dozens of people in. this area
reported that the blast lit up
the horizon with a coral-colored
and white glow. Most of those
who saw the blast from this area
were - people whose "work got
them up early, but many others
made a special effort to see the
explosion. ' ' . ' .
Sky Lighted Up
Mr. and Mrs. Ralph E. Merritt,
2685 Crater Lake highway, were
among those who, were watching
for the explosion. They reported
that the sky lighted up with a
definite orange glow over the
mountains south of Ashland, v
Lou Kusel, Pioneer rd., said
the ,' blast lookecf . much like a
huge flashbulb explosion,. which
almost blinded him for a mo
ment. Kusel regularly gets up
at about" 5 a. m. and just hap
pened to be looking put the door
in the right direction when the
atomic blast went off at exactly
5:20 a. m. , '
Mr. and Mrs. Kenn Knack
stedt, 940 Whitman ave., said
the glow from, the blast was a
pinkish coral color in the center,
and rather white at . the edges.
Knackstedt also compared . the
light from the blast to that of a
huge, flashbulb. "Believe me, it
was a whopper," he said. ' v
Couldn't Miss It
Charlie Milam, 517 Dakota
ave., who has been trying to see
an atomic blast for the past two
years of tests in Nevada, said
"This was really a lulu. I don't
see how- anyone could have
missed it."
! Monte Morris, of Winchester
st.,-who like Milam is a. radio
station KYJC employee, said the
glow from the blast Vpretty well
covered the southern horizon."
He added that "I .reaUy didn't
expect to ;see it." . " i ' . '; ' , '
' Others "in i this areai who ''-te-ported
seing.1he. explosion were
uuney ( Anderson, Midland rd.,
who was on his way to work, at
radio station KMED when - he
saw the" blast; Robert Morse, a
route supervisor ' for ' Shider's
Dairy,' who was at work; Ronnie
Moore, and Gus and Jim Golden
penny. Welker Collapses
In Senate Dining Room
' Washington ; (U.R) Sen.
Herman Welker (R-Ida.) col
lapsed today in the Senate pri
vate dining ; room. ... Dr. . George
W. Calver, Capitol physician,
said his condition is not serious.
Welker was taken by stretcher
to Calver's office. CalveV said
he r had not determined cause of
the collapse. ;
"I think it was just some little
flareup," Calver said. "It might
be the early stages of flu,"
Welker appeared later at the
Senate Internal Security Sup
committee's hearing on ; turri
about witness Harvey M. Matu
sow. ,He told reporters then he
felt "fine." He said he had got
"just a little tired" after attend
ing two committee meetings this
morning.
New Judge Assigned
To Circuit Court
A new circuit court judge has
been assigned to serve here start
ing March 10 for nine days, ac
cording to court officials.
'"Judge Pro Tern James Albert
Powers, Portland, will assume
local,, duties for that period.
Judge Pro Tem Louis Starr, who
arrived last week, will ' be here
for the remainder of this week.
; The state supreme court is as
signing temporary judges for
Jackson county to take, care of
the business in 1 the , absence ,of
Judge H. K. Hanna, who is re
cuperating from an illness.
can't help makinr them too
high." ;
Sen. Holland (D-Fla.) grumbled
about the bad roads in Ever
glades National park. McKay
said the federal highway aid act
of the last Congress authorized
new park roads and that "sub
stantial progress is being made
in this program."
It was suggested to McKay
that a long range , improvement
program ought to be mapped
cut that would"' bring the parks
up to par. That was Monday. On
Friday the park director went
before the same group of sen
ators and said such a program
waa now in the work.
- r
Skies in 1
; Mt. Charleston, Nev. (U.R) The most powerful atomic weapon,
of, the 1955 test series was exploded in the Nevada desert today
with a roaring flash that shook houses some 370 miles away and
lit the skies over an 1800-mile diameter in 10 Western states.
i The nuclear device, which could have been the prototype of a
warhead for an intercontinental guided missile, was triggered on
schedule in the pre-dawn darkness of the Nevada Proving grounds.
i So potent was the explosion that it blinded temporarily the 25
observers atop this 8900-foot peak 45 miles distant.
Brilliant Flash Visible in Missoula, Mont.
i Its light flashed like a short-circuited bulb for 900 miles into
Missoula, Mont. It was also sighted in New Mexico, Colorado,
Idaho, Washington, Oregon Utah, Arizona, California and Nevada.
! ; Residents in Salt Lake City, 370 airline miles distant, com
plained the shock, wave rattled their houses and broke windows.
One family rushed out of their home when the shock hit because
they feared the house was collapsing.
' s With its cuktomary reticence the Atomic Energy commission
refused to disclose the exact yield of the device.
: ' All it -would reveal was. that the weapon, fired from a 500-foot
steel tower at. Yucca Flat, was not as powerful as some which
were touched off here two years ago. ,
Atomic Explosion
Reported Seen in
Northwest Cities
By UNITED PRESS 5
; The atomic device detonated
in the Nevada desert at 5:20
a. m. today "lit up the sky" in
southwest Oregon and was seen
as "a big flame" in Vancouver,
Wash., some -800 airline miles
tq the north. ' :
' Other witnesses to the (explos
ion were reported in Portland,
Salem, Eugene, Medford, On
tario, Klamath Falls and at Pay
ette, Ida. -
i Officers Donald Cowdrey and
Thomas Hewitt of the Vancouver
police department said they saw
the : blast ; from McLoughlin
Heights at 5:20 a. m.
Died Down Slowly .
"It was like a big flame that
suddenly shot up," they said,
and then it died down real
slow." '. ,i
; Mr. and Mrs. "Martin R. Kar
iictm, j-ortiana, saia it was as
if. an electric flash had gone off
in the distance."
. ; Mr, and Mrs. Edward J. Dyke
of .. "Salem - reported seeing - the
explosion from an ; airplane.
Dykels a' member of the Salem
Pilots Association. He said the
flash was clearly - visible from
their vantage point 13,000 feet
directly above Salem.
Seen at Roseburg
At Ontario and at nearby Pay
ette, Ida., several reports were
received that the flash was seen.
At Roseburg, RayLynes, a re
tired policeman,' said he saw the
blast at 5:20 a. m. and that it
was shaped like a larger quarter
of an orange ball. Lynes said at
5:30 a. m. the shape was like a
spinning cone with - the center
still orange.
- The Civil Aeronautics Admin
istration in Seattle said a north
bound .United Airlines plane saw
the flash while flying about 5000
feet 6 v e r - Toledo, Wash., 840
airline miles from Las Vegas.
Sky Lit at Klamath
Desk Sgt. Oscar Gerlede of
the Klamath Falls police depart
ment, who saw one of the prev
ious bombs from the southeast
Oregon city, said today's bomb
was a lot brighter. "It really lit
up the sky," he said.
At Eugene, Sgt. Harold Hock
ett and two other officers were
on Skinner's Butte overlooking
the city when they saw a dull
glow, in: the sky at 5:20 a. m.,
time of the blast. They said it
seemed to be directly overhead,
and thus might have been a re
flection. Hong Kong Freighters
Target of Nationals
Hong Kong (U.R) Nation
alist Chinese warships fired on
two Hong Kong registered
freighters today in the Formosa
Strait, the British Navy an
nounced. The two ships,, the British
owned SS Westway, and the
Taiseung Hong, both radioed they
suffered no damage or casualties.
: The Westway, a 3,538-tpn
freighter owned by the Western
Steamship Company, radioed it
was under attack off Amoy.
The British Navy said a war
ship was immediately dispatched
to aid the Westway.
Policeman Arrests
Brother for Burglary J
Newport, Ore. (U.R) A
state police officer ; yesterday
was forced to put his job ahead
of his heart, when he arrested
his youngest brother on a charge
of burglary. '
Everett Hockema, state police
officer stationed here, arrested
his . 17-year-old brother, Virgil,
of Alsea, for the burglary of a
service station at Alsea. .
The youth was turned over
to the officer by another brother,
Lloyd, who , discovered seven
new tires in an outbuilding on
the Hockema place following the
burglary. - i
0 States
Believed Equivalent To
40,000 Tons of TNT
But unofficial observers who
have witnessed all or most of the
blasts during the past five years
of testing here estimated it was
equivalent to approximately 40,-
uuu tons of TNT. comriared tn
the 25,000 ton rating accorded j
the Nagasaki and Hiroshima de- '
An explosion unofficially cal
culated at around 50.000 tons
two years ago in March, heftiest
known-of all tests, was sighted
luuo miles away m Montana.
35ih Atomic Blast
Today's blast was touched off '
right on schedule at 5:20 a.m.
(PST). It was the 35th detonation
in the five years of testing at
tne .Nevada site and the, 36th
inside the United States count
ing the first A-bomb of all time '
at Alamagordo, N.M. ,
Although troops and airmen
participated in today's test, get
ting their schooling in the aee ;
of nuclear warfare, the shot ap
parently was far too strong to
be of use.on a tactical-size weap
on in the close quarters of the '.
battlefield. . '
Guilded Missile Warheads ' ' .
The AEC is known to be test
ing warheads for guided-missiles,
including the entire ranee ud-
ward from "baby" tips for the
noses of air. to air, ground to air
and other smaller ( missiles
nil uuii 1,3 if nitypr nnps rnar ran
be hurled from , off-shore sub
marines, or even across oceans
when such missiles are per
fected. So strong was today's explo
sion that its shock- wavp "npr-
.. IT
- 1 t 1 ' . -
i-tpnuij. aiiuuA a uuuse ill oitib -
Lake City, 370 air line miles ,
away. Shock waves have erratic '
ways- of bouncing off atmos
pheric layers and hitting the
Earth. But this distance is one
of the greatest ever recorded un
officially from any Nevada test.
Soldiers Get Baptism ,
Some 600 soldiers and airmen ;
in 103 warplanes got a baptism
of nuclear warfare in this test.
The soldiers, from the Camp
Desert Rock "housekeeping"
unit that maintains and guards
the Nevada Proving Ground,
crouched in trenches; nearly
three miles away from -ground
zero beneath the tower.
When the fireball had rolled ;
itself into the mushroom cloud
and disappeared and the area :
was marked "safe" by radiolog
ical monitoring teams an hour
later, the troops moved into the
area in a simulated maneuver.
Planes in Battle Plans '
Overhead, fighters and bomb-'
ers from the Air Force, Navy :
and Marines, took part in var
ious battle plans or went to
work checking radiation in the
mushroom cloud and charting its ,
course.
The AEC announced that the
test was successful and that
there were 'no casualties.
Numerous small fires were ;
visiblfe'from the control point.
dotting the desert among the
various test equipment that was
subjected to the blast.
Dust Covers Area
A pall of dust and smoke ;
seven miles long and five miles ;
wide completely blanketed Yuc- '
ca Flat an hour after the ex
plosion, another indication of :
the power of this "granddaddy"
bomb.
The mushroom could hit an
officially calculated height of .
opposing upper strata winds and
torn apart, the lower part head
ing almost due west and the up
per portion east.
The lower section, at 20,000
feet, was expected to pass over
California and out into the Pa
cific Ocean between 5 p.m. and ,
8 p.m. (PT). The upper portion .
rolled across Southern Utah and
Colorado at 40,000 feet and was
expected to cross Southewestern
Kansas and the Oklahoma pan
handle within 24 hours.
DOW JONES AVERAGES
New York (U.R) Dow-
Jones final stock averages: 30
industrials 416.84 off 2.84 20
railroads 153.08 off 0.44; 15 util
ities 65.25 off 0.27, and 65 stocks
156.11 off 0.81. Sales today were
about 2,630,000 shares, compared
with ; 2,770,000 shares traded
Friday.