MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE THREE
Humphrey Urges Caution in investigation of Stock Market Boom
Sandpaper was patented by
Isaac Fischer, Jr., in Vermont
in 1834.
Tuesday, March 13, 1955
Some Experts Put
Blame for Price
Break on Probe
Washington (U.PJ Sec
retary of the Treasury George
M. Humphrey today urged the
Senate Banking committee to
observe caution in its investiga
tion of the stock market boom.
Humphrey testified in the
wake of the worst market break
since 1929. Some experts have
blamed the investigation for the
$10,000,000,000 drop in stock
values in the last 10 days. The
market rallied today with de
fense shares leading the recovery-
The secretary warned that
there is danger of destroying
confidence in both the stock
market and the future of the
nation's economy.
Negaliv Testimony
Committee Chairman J. Wil
liam Fulbright (D-Ark.), replied
that he sees no reason why the
investigation should have an ad
i verse effect on the market if
the market is sound and the in
quiry is conducted in an orderly
and reasonable manner.
Sen. Homer E. Capehart (R
Ind.), went even further than
Humphrey. He said committee
questions put to witnesses had
"all tended to be on the negative
side." He added there has been
little testimony of the sort that
would show the economy is
healthy.
I don t tninK anyone can
deny that the Democratic con-
trolled-committee set out to
prove the stock market is too
high and just a few steps behind
a crash like 1929," Capehart
said.
Says Liltl People Hurt
"It has had a tendency, in my
opinion, to push down the prices
of stocks.
Capehart said it is "the little
people" primarily who have
been hurt by the drop in stock
prices.
Fulbright retorted that the
main purpose of the Senate in
quiry is not to find out whether
stock prices' are too high. He
said it is to determine whether
the stock market is functioning
in the best manner for the na
tional economy and "especially
whether it is threatening to
throw the economy" into a de
pression. Margin Requirements '
Asked for specific criticism of
the investigation, Humphrey
earn xesximony arjout tne pos
sibility of margin requirements
being raised appears 'to have
had the most effect on the con
fidence of investors. . -
But the overall tone of his
statement to the committee was
that the sharp rise in stock pric
es in the past 18 months had
been generally healthy. The
committee is conducting a
"friendly" investigation of the
market boom.
'Si ''
INSTRUCTOR Sgt. Myron
Warren, above, of the safe bur
glary detail of the Portland po
lice, will instruct the third class
in the advanced police training
school being conducted here. He
will speak tomorrow at the Med
ford city hall, giving instruction
in interrogation and safe bur-
lary investigations.
New Lava Flow
From Kilauea
Heads for Sea
Pahoa, Hawaii U.R) A flow
of molten lava from a violent
new eruption in the Kilauea vol
cano field pushed its way toward
the sea today, devouring cane-
fields and forests lying in its
fiery path.
The new eruption broke out
suddenly last night, sending a
huge fountain of lava spurting
800 feet into the air. Then a
massive lava flow bubbled from
the ground and fanned out into
the lush tropical forest.
Plantation Bypassed
The flow bypassed a small
plantation as it headed toward
the sea, two miles distant. Resi
dents south of the flow were
evacuated several days ago, and
no lives were in danger.
Earlier last night, another
eruption two miles distant' from
the 800-foot mountain destroyed
a farm house which had been
miraculously spared in another
eruption Sunday.
During the day, four 30-foot
cones had played lava in the
middle of the Pahoa - Kalapana
road. Suddenly a fountain broke
out above the road and sprayed
red hot lava on the farmhouse
of Katusuto Hayushi, burning it
to the ground in less than 20
minutes.
1 V I
Market Experts Fear Tighter FederaD Controls
New York U.R) Stock mar
ket experts expressed fears to
day of tighter government stock
restrictions on the heels of Mon
day's sharp market break the
greatest since late 1929.
Prices tumbled.as much as S12
Monday in the kingsized selling
wave. The total value of stocks
Emergency Funds
Sought for Dust,
Grasshopper Fight
Washington OJ.'p.) Dust
bowls and grasshoppers are a
growing menace to farms and
rangelands in the drought strick
en southwest, Congress learned
today .
In testimony made public by
a House appropriations subcom
mittee last night, agriculture of
ficials asked for emergency
funds, $730,000 to" fight grass
hoppers and $7,147,000 to fight
wind erosion.
The officials said the govern
ment this year may have to ex
tend its fight against dust bowl
conditions into a seventh state,
Wyoming.
Grasshopper Buildup
They warned that "severe
wind blow and erosion are ex
pected" in the southwest.
The subcommittee was told
there has been a "severe build
up of grasshoppers on e.uuu.uuu
acres of rangeland in 15 west
ern states. Agriculture officials
said about 2,600,000 acres will
"require treatment to avert ser
ious damage or extensive migra
tion."
They said the infested area
includes 750,000 acres in Texas,
900,000 in Colorado, 565,000 in
New Mexico, 500,000 in the Ok
lahoma panhandle and 93,000 in
southwestern Kansas.
4-H Club News
Coffee Exporter Sees
End of Price Changes
San Francisco (U.R) The
frenzied price changes that took
place on the coffee market a
year ago are now a thing of the
past, according to Abraham Ja-
bour, the largest single coffee
exporter in Brazil.
He said the coffee famine of
the 1953-54 crop was caused by
a heavy frost in one of the lar
gest coffee producing states in
Brazil. 1 ,
"Coffee went up to 93 cents a
bag for the green bean," Jabour
said. "But now the price has sta
bilized itself at about 50 to 54
cents a bag."
He said that Brazil produces
16.000,000 bags of green coffee
beans a year and expects to in
crease its production by 1,000,
000 bags this year.
"It is not generally known,
but the consumption of coffee
today is not so great as it was
before the war," Jabour said.
"But it is increasing all the
time, with the United States tak-
ing 70 per cent of our harvest
annually."
Bonneville Signs
Idaho Power Interfie
, Portland, Ore (U.R) Bon
neville Power Administrator
William A. Pearl" yesterday an
nounced signing of a 20-year
exchange agreement with the
Idaho Power company providing
for a high voltage intertie 'at
La Grande, Ore., by May, 1956.
The connection has been
sought both by the BPA and
the Federal Power commission
for some time to help integrate
Utah and Idaho systems with
Oregon and Washington utili
ties of the northwest power pool.
The La Grande intertie will
complete a five state loop of
high voltage transmission lines
linking all major generating fa
cilities of Oregon, Washington.
Idaho, Western Montana and
Utah.
Five Airlines
Settle Dispute
-Washington (U.R) The White
House has announced that five
of six maior airlines have settled
their wage dispute with the Af L
Machinists union.
The dispute involved more
than 14,000 mechanical and
ground service employees of the
five airlines. The settlement
means a $2,597,000 payroll in
crease for these workers, plus
$1,500,000 of payments retroac
tive to last July 1.
A union spokesman said' it
was a voluntary settlement and
it represented a "substantial vic
tory" for the workers.
The five airlines reaching an
agreement were Capital, Nation
al, Northwest, Trans-World and
United Air Lines. The case in
volving Eastern Airlines i6 still
to be settled.
The machinists originally had
scheduled a strike for Nov. 16.
President Eisenhower forestalled
it by creating an emergency
board to investigate the dispute.
The new contract gives the
employees a general basic wage
increase of 5 to 7 cents an hour.
It also makes adjustments which
will result in a basic increase of
18 cents for some workers. 1
Antelope Club
Friday, March 11 at the An
telope school house the Ante
lope Dairy club conducted the
meeting with Judy Bradshaw,
president, and Marjo Murray,
secretary. Koil call was answ
ered with steer weights by those
taking beef projects. Lucy Gard
ner reported on the window dis
plays put in various stores dur
ing 4-H week. John Bohnert told
the Swine club members to start
looking for their weaner pigs
and they might get some from
one of the club members.
Steve Garen joined the dairy
club. Our annual box social will
be held Friday, April 15, at
Eagle Point Grange hall at 7:30
p.m. All interested are invited
to attend. Mr. and Mrs. Earl
Jossy and Mr. and Mrs. A.' E,
Mallory are on the entertain
ment committee.
We judged pictures of a class
of Hereford heifers and then
gave reasons. John Noble then
showed motion pictures of a trip
that Vern Matthews took to Il
linois. A comedy was also shown
Bob Hayes, .
Reporter.
Boy Scouts
Troop 15, Phoenix
' For the next five weeks the
troop will meet on Wednesday
evenings at the Presbyterian
church from 7 to 9 p.m.
Johnny Klassen will instruct
fly tying classes and also will
give pointers on fishing.
Our Scout leaders are now
taking the leadership training
sessions on Thursdays.
We are to make plans for the
Camporee which is in April, and
urge all Patrols to participate.
Roger Kelsoe,
Scribe
typical rates from Medford
Portland $ .90
Salem .80
Eugene .70
Klamath Falls ..... .40
Station to station rates, not including tax, for 3
minutes after 6 p.m. weekdays and all day Sunday
Save time call by number
Pacific Telephone works to make your telephone a bigger value every day
listed on the New York Stock
Exchange dipped 53,000,000,000.
The loss in values was added
to a 57.000,0110,000 decline of
last week, the greatest for any
week-long period in 15 years.
Nearly every stock market
analyst attributed the stock
break directly or indirectly to
the market study being conduct
ed by Sen. L. William Ful
bright's Banking Committee.
Fear Stiffer Restrictions
They said Monday's break
especially reflected fears that
the investigation would lead to
stiffer restrictions on the trad
ing of securities.
Some expressed fear the stock
market study would lead to in
vestigations of the profits of in
dustries selling defense items,
such as aircraft and shipbuild
ing firms. They especially fear
ed the possibility of renegotia
tion of contracts or new tax pro
posals which would affect pro
fits. The general price decline
which began March 7 was in it
self disconcerting to most invest
ors. But the experts refused to
concede that today's market re
flected conditions prevalent in
1929.
Tickers Run La'te
At the market close Monday
declines in the industrial aver
age amounted to 28.32 points
since March 7, about 6.75 per
cent. The railroad average dip
ped 11 points or 7.17 per cent
and the utilities 3.25 points or
5.11 per cent.
A 10 per cent decline is not
excessive during a period of ris
ing prices, the experts insisted.
However, the selling during
some periods Monday assumed
proportions of actual dumping
to avoid losses.
Solon Opposes Drink on Planes
Albert Thomas (D-Tex.),' wants
the Civil Aeronautics board to
stop the sale of alcoholic drinks
aboard airliners.
This was brought out in hear
ings before the House Approp
riations committee which were
made public last night.
Chan Gurney, acting CAB
chairman, said the agency is
keeping its eye on the whisky
sales to make sure safety is not
impaired.
"Are you going to wait until
a plane crashes or until you
have to hit somebody over the
head or have a fight and let wo
men and children get hurt be
fore you do something about it?"
Thomas asked. "I think the
board is sound asleep and you
had better do something before
something happens."
Gurney said "he would "call
the matter to the attention of
the board."
American Telephone and Tele
graph, Bethlehem Steel, U. S.
Steel, General Motors, Texas
Company, United Aircraft, and
DuPont all fell several points.
International Business Ma
chines dipped 12 points, Du
Pont dropped seven points and
ten recovered all but four of the
total loss.
Tickers ran as much as nine
minutes late during the hectic
selling. More than 4,200,000
shares of stock changed hands.
It was the fourth time this year
that sales have passed the 4,000,
000 mark. .
Canby Schools Closed
By Numerous Flu Cases
Canby, Ore. (U.R) Hun
dreds of cases of the flu in the
local area resulted today in the
closure of grade and high schools
here for the rest of the week.
Principal Leslie Rood said 296
youngsters were absent from
schools yesterday.
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