MEDrORD (OREGOIf) MAIL TRIBUNE NINE
Method of Disposing of Objectionable Comic Books Discussed at Hearing
Friday March II, 1953
Book Distributors,
Public Heard by
Senate Committee
Salem (U.R) There Is noth
ing comic about a lot of comic
books on the market that blue
print crime or sex. and distrib
utors are agreed with the public
that they should go.
But distributors and some sec
tions of the public disagree as to
the method of control, a Senate
judiciary subcommittee headed
by Sen. Warren McMinimee (R
Tillamook) learned at a hearing
that lasted nearly four hours
here late yesterday.
The hearing was on two bills
by Sen. John C. F. Merrifield
(R-Portland). One would author
jze a county court or board of
county commissioners to estab
lish an advisory committee to
check on whether comic books
obviously put out for the young
er set are harmful to minors,
Criteria Listed
The criteria would be wheth
er or not these so-called comics
are "of an indecent nature, or
use obscene language, or be
cause they tend to stir the sex
impulses and lead to sexually
impure and lustful thoughts, or
because they contain accounts
of stories of crime or deeds of
bloodshed in such a way as to
induce imitation and weaken re
spect or law and justice . . ."
Sen. Merrifeld told the com
mittee he had received hundreds
of communications endorsing
the two measures, the second of
which would put a ban on block
books, which means a dealer
must accept one magazine in
order to get another.
Sen. Merrifield said he had
received petitions with 201
names from Jackson county and
one from the Kenwood Kings
town Parent Teachers Associa
. tion of Bend with 300 signatures
endorsing the measures.
Mrs. Walter Harvey of Mo-
lalla, chairman of the legislative
committee of the Oregon Farm
Bureau, and Elmer McClure,
master of the Oregon State
Grange, both spoke in favor of
the measure.
McClure got a double-take
look from the committee when
he said "maybe we should do
some book burning to focus pub
lic attention on these objection
able so-called comics for young
sters." He added he was not in
favor of book burning, but used
that expression as a means of
pointing up the objectionable
nature of the comics under dis
cussion. Ray Martin of Roseburg,
chairman of the State Knights
of Columbus literature commit
tee, said he had found outright
filth in several comics. After he
had detailed example after ex
ample, Sen. Warren Gill (R
Lebanon) paid him the compli
ment of being "one of the best
witnesses ever to appear before
a legislative committee.'
Second Bill Unnecessary
Henry A. Buehner, Portland
attorney representing 16 distrib
utors, presented a brief saying
that the distributors he repre
sents are as one against objec
tionable comics and weed them
out as soon as they find them.
But he objected to the measure
which would enable each of
Oregon's 36 counties to set up a
comic book advisory committee
on two grounds first, that it
might lead to an infringement
on freedom of speech and sec
ond, considering the hundreds
of magazines on the market, it
would be too cumbersome to be
practical.
Fred N. Bay Jr., whose Port
land firm distributes 500 differ
ent magazines including 2300
comics, and 1000 book titles,
and Robert Weinberg of the
Publishers Distributors Corp.,
both testified under oath that
the second bill concerning
block booking was unnecessary
because there is no tie-in book
ing in Oregon.
Telegraph Hill in San Fran
cisco takes its name from a man
ual semaphore telegraph used to
signal the arrival of ships
through the Golden Gate dur
ing the Gold Rush.
Sears Pension Fund Director
Says Stock Market Now Too High
Washington U.P.) Gen. Rob
ert E. Wood said today he is not
buying stocks with $90,000,000
in a Sears, Roebuck employee
pension fund because of fears
the market may be too high.
Wood, chairman of the com
pany's multi-million dollar em
ployee pension fund, formerly
headed the big merchandising
company.
He told the Senate Banking
committee investigating the mar
ket boom that he is "uncertain"
about the present level of stock
prices.
For this reason, he said, heis
holding $90,000,000 in cash in
the pension fund instead of in
vesting in stocks.
Won't Risk Money
"It (the stock market) may
not be too high," he said. "On
the other hand I don't want to
risk my employees' money at
the present level."
Another witness testified that
stock market trading should be
put on an all-cash basis if stock
prices continue to rise.
Benjamin Graham, head of an
investment fund and part-time
finance professor at Columbia
university, made the recommen
dation to the Senate Banking
committee. It is conducting a
"friendly" investigation of .the
upsurge of stock prices in the
past 18 months.
"I am inclined to favor strict
controls for margin trading and
a fairly rapid advance to the
100 per cent margin limit no
borrowing at all as the Federal
Reserve board becomes increas
inly concerned about the extent
of speculation," Graham said in
a statement.
Margins up 10 Per Cent
The Federal Reserve board re
cently raised margin require
ments from 50 to 60 per cent.
This means that buyers must put
up cash for at least 60 per cent
of the cost of a stock. They can
handle the remainder on credit.
Previous witnesses have been
divided on the issue. Exchange
officials and brokers have op
posed putting stock trading on
an all-cash basis. Marriner S.
Eccles, former chairman of the
Federal Reserve board, and John
K. Galbraith, Harvard econom
ics professor, favored it
The market reaction to Eccles
testimony indicated traders were
heeding the advance of Sen. J.
William Fulbright (D.-Ark.) com
mittee chairman, to ignore day-by-day
developments in the in
vestigation. Market Recorery Noted
The market staged a small re
covery despite Eccles' recom
mendation that margin require
ments be hiked to at least 75
per cent and to 100 per cent, if
necessary, to check speculation.
Meanwhile, Fulbright rejected
a strong plea by a committee
member, Sen. Homer E. Cape
hart (R.-Ind.) that columnist
Walter Winchell be called as a
witness today.
Fulbright said that he might
call Winchell about the middle
of April but he gave no definite
commitment.
Fulbright and witnesses have
discussed plugs of certain stocks
by Winchell. Capehart said the
columnist should be given an
early opportunity to give his
side.
British Public Believed Being Readied
For Marriage of Princess To Townsend
London (U.R) Two British
newspapers have hinted that
news of a romance between
Princess Margaret and Group
Capt. Peter Townsend had been
"leaked" to prepare the public
for the shock of her marriage
to a divorced man.
The Labor Party newspaper
Daily Herald and the Daily
Sketch reprinted reports in Am
erican newspapers there might
be an early wedding and sug
gested that this was a trial bal
loon to see what the British
public thought about it. '
Most British newspapers were
silent on the reported romance,
news of which was revived last
week end and has filled the
press ever since. The Daily Mir
ror printed three letters from
readers, two of which discussed
whether the royal romance
should be publicized.
"When the Duke of Windsor
chose between duty and love,
Hornbrook
Hornbrook, Calif. Mrs.
Thomas McHenry received no
tice last week of the death of
her mother, Mrs. Alois Duen
chede of Heidelberg, Germany
Mr. and Mrs. Henley Clawson
have purchased the Will Rader
property and will take posses
sion soon.
The Contract Bridge club met
March 8 at the home of Mrs
Lester Nye who served dessert
luncheon before the game. Guest
players were Mrs. Emory Par
shall and Mrs. Laura Swinner-
ton. Members playing were Mrs.
Marshall Horn, Mrs. J. W.
Hodge, Mrs. Bertha Bradley,
Mrs. Charles Quigley, Mrs.
Dwain Hamner, Mrs. L. E. Jeter
and the hostess. High score was
won by Mrs. Parshall, second
by Mrs. Bradley and third by
Mrs. Jeter.
Mrs. Bertha Bradley returned
this week from a trip to South
America. On Jan. 25 the tour
"Wings Around South America'
left San Francisco for Miami,
Fla., via Pan America. From
there the tour included sight
seeing stops at San Juan, Puerto
Rico, Rio DeJaniero and Sao
Paulo; Brazil, Montevideo, Uru
guay, Buenos Aires, Argentina,
Santiago and Valparaiso, Chili,
Lima, Peru and Panama City,
Panama. Returning to Los An
geles she visited relatives before
returning home.
Mr. and Mrs. L. M. Lowary of
Canyon City, Ore., were over
night guests at the Lester Nye
home here March 8.
the public was not given a prop
er hearing," one letter .said.
"This folly must not be repeated
with another of our beloved
persons."
Another letter called the
black headlines "The Worst Pos
sible Taste."
The third letter, from a per
son who said she married an in
nocent person in a divorce case
like Townsend declared
she was "very, very happy . . .
with best luck to them both."
No London newspaper has
ventured to guess where the
truth lies, and even the tab
loids which revived talk of a
Townsend - Margaret romance
have avoided predicitions.
The reticence about royalty
which kept the Fleet Street
preSs muzzled for so long . on
King Edward VIII's romance
with Wallis Warfield Simpson
is not a factor. Almost every
London newspaper carried stor
ies in 1953 on the original re
ports of the Margaret-Townsend
love affair.
Buckingham palace still was
saying nothing. But the fact
that Townsend suddenly be-
of silence stirred the most ser
ious speculation since the Ed
ward abdication even if his
statements contained ambiguities.
Czech Film Actress
Victim of Suicide
Mexico City (U.R) Miroslava
Stern, beautiful Czechoslovak
movie star whose name had been
linked romantically with that of
Luis Miguel Dominguin, was
dead yesterday with a portrait of
the Spanish bullfighter clutched
in her hand. Police termed her
death a suicide.
Oscar Stern, father of the
blonde 25-year-old actress known
professionally as Miroslava, said
his daughter has been "sad and
nervous" since Dominguin's mar
riage last week to Italian actress
Lucia Bose in Las Vegas, Nev.
Police said Miss Stern killed
herself with an unknown poison.
Her body was found lying across
her white-covered bed in her
apartment yesterday afternoon.
Mushrooms are rich in pro
tein, have a high iron count,
contain various vitamins and are
one of the easiest foods to digest.
CONSTRUCTION
EQUIPMENT FOR RENT
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CONTACT
I. C. LINiriGER & SONS
MEDFORD, OREGON - PHONE 2-5336 or 2-5897
She apparently died Wednesday
came talkative after two years night.
Local Osteopathic
Physicians Hear of
Progress, Problems
The Southern Oregon Society
of Osteopathic Physicians and
Surgeons, at a meeting last night
at the Rogue Valley Country
club, heard Dr. Morris Thomp
son, president of the Kirksville
College of Osteopathy and Sur
gery, and Lewis F. Chapman, di
rector of the Osteopathic Prog
ress Fund and Osteopathic Foun
dation, review progress at six
osteopathic colleges and tell of
recognition the profession has
received in recent years on fed
eral and state levels, and in the
fields of higher education.
Dr. Thompson described gov
e r n mental acknowledgements,
from rationing and deferment
considerations during the war,
to current research and cancer
teaching grants to the osteo
pathic colleges.
He also told of the colleges'
problems in expanding their fa
cilities, maintaining high teach
ing standards and research pro
grams. He told of inspections
the colleges have successfully
undergone, principally from ac
crediting agencies and licensing
boards. In Missouri, he said, the
osteopathic and the allopathic
(MD) licensing boards have now
combined into one board, as in
Oregon. In Missouri, many of
the public hospitals are used
by both professions.
Chapman said the colleges and
their teaching hospitals cannot
be supported by the tuition in
come, but that research grant
money, income from teaching
clinics, and donations from the
osteopathic doctors in practice
must supplement the cost of
osteopathic education. Through
the Osteopathic Progress Fund,
an agency established to accept
and dispense donations to the
colleges, the doctors in practice
have donated $5,000,000 in the
past six years.
Double-Degree System
Chapman described the "double-degree"
system, established
12 years ago and now used in
many colleges, by which a stu
dent, having spent three years
in undergraduate college, is
granted his Bachelor of Science
degree by that school after his
first year in an osteopathic col
lege. He said that 70 per cent
of the entering freshmen already
have their Bachelor's degree or
higher.
Dr. W. W. Howard, Medford,
is the state head of the O.P.F.,
and Dr. J. S. Heatherington was
in charge of last night's meeting.
The doctors' wives were guests.
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