Medford mail tribune., April 01, 1955, Image 1

Medfgrd
United rti
ull Leased wire
50th Year
20 Pages
Senators Demand
Ike State Position
On Isles' Defense
Conflicting Views
Add to Confusion
Washington (U.R) A number
of Democratic senators today
demanded that President Eisen
hower make clear that the Uni
ted States will not defend the
Quemoy and Matsu Islands.
Led by Sen. Wayne L. Morse
(D-Ore.) who proposed evacua
tion of Chinese Nationalist forces
from the off-shore islands, they
asked for a public declaration
by President Eisenhower.
Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy (R-
,Wis.), on the other hand, urged
'lr. Eisenhower to make it crys
tal clear to the Red Chinese tnat
the islands will be defended. Mc
Carthy was confident that the
Reds would not attack in face
of such a warning.
President Silent
The Democratic demand was
counter to the stand taken by
Sen. Walter F. George (D-Ga
chairman of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee. He has said
he is satisfied with Mr. Eisen
hower's tactics in the Far East
crisis.
The President has not said
whether he will order U. S.
forces to the defense of the small
islands off the China coast
The demands by the Demo
crats and McCarthy came in the
wake of more confusion over
the President's intent:ons and
fresh debate between Demo-rats
and Republicans over whether
either represents a "war party"
or an "appeasement party."
The confusion over the islands
was further compounded by Sen.
H. Alexander Smith (R-N.J.). He
repudiated today a statement he
made last night that Mr. Eisen
hower does not think Russia will
support a Red Chinese attack on
the islands.
His Own Opinion
Smith said he was wrong in
representing Mr. Eisenhower as
TiaVing" -said "'that at "4 White j
House conference yesterday.
Smith said it was an expression
of his own feeling.
Shortly before Smith repudiat
ed his impressions of Mr. Eisen
hower's remarks yesterday, an
other senator disputed them.
This senator, who asked that
he not be identified, said - Mr.
Eisenhower gave ,the impression
that the administration does not
know whether Russia would
back up Red China in a Matsu
venture.
San Francisco (U.R) Re
tired Maj. Gen. Claire L. Chen
nault believes the Communists
will be able to launch an attack
on Quemoy and the Matsu with
in, a month.
The one thing holding them
back from an advance on the off
shore islands is their lack of air
fields in Fukien province cap
able of handling jet aircraft,
Chennault said here yesterday.
John Harr Name
RR School Chief
Rogue River John B. Harr,
40, superintendent of schools at
Prospect for the past three years,
has been named superintendent
of schools and high school prin
cipal at Rogue River, it was an
nounced today by Robert C. Gail,
of the Rogue River school board.
. Harr succeeds Leonard Walsh
as superintendent, and James
Hayden as high school principal.
Walsh, who has been with the
Rogue River schools for three
years, also served as grade
school principal. His successor
in this post will be named at a
school board meeting set for
April 7.
' Harr, a native of Jackson coun
ts', is an Air Force veteran of
World War II. Prior to serving
at Prospect, Harr taught in east
ern Oregon and at Jacksonville
for five years.
His contract, which becomes
effective July 1, is for one year.
Elderly Woman Hurt
When Struck by Auio
Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Bailey,
71, of 525 North Riverside ave.,
was injured at about 10 a.m. to
day when she was struck by a
pickup truck operated by Louis
Lee Porter, 209 Chestnut st., ac
cording to city police. The acci
dent happened at the intersec
tion of Jackson st. and Riverside
ave.
Mrs. Bailey was taken by pri
vate car to Osteopafhic hospital,
where attendants said she was
suffering from facial and knee
lacerations and shock.
' Porter was cited by police for
failure to yield right of way to
a pedestrian in a crosswalk.
-V
MEDFORD, OREGON,
Big 'Quaker
Manila, P.I. (U.R) A series of er
jolted Mindanao island with destructi
day, crumbling thousands of buildi;
square mile lake dropped six feet and ai.
fort settled four feet into the trembling eartn.
Reports from Lanao province in the southern
Philippines said at least 164 persons were killed.
Sixteen were reported missing. The quake ap
parently centered in Minadnao, the southernmost
and second largest of the Philippine islands.
Strong shocks also were felt on Panay island, 200
miles to the north.
The report from Lanao was made by the
Fourth Military Area command. It said that 37
houses were destroyed in five districts around
Lake Lanao and that about 5,000 persons were
homeless.
There were no reports of casualties from the
other stricken province of Misamis Oriental,
Misamis Occidental and Surigao. ,
The Army did not mention the number of
injured, but the Philippine News Service said
"scores" were injured.
Indochinese Guerillas
Block Saigon Supplies
faaigon, Indochina U.R) Fa-
naucai reoex troops seized a
string of government outposts
today and began a blockade of
Saigon's main food supply
routes
Buddhist troops of guerrilla
General Ba Cut slipped in be
tween Saigon and the rice pro
Sanitary Authority
Bill Is Endorsed
Senate Bill 434, which would
provide legal machinery to aid
in 'the solution of sanitation
problems, was endorsed here
last night by members of the
sanitation study committee of
the County Public Health asso
ciation. The bill, introduced into the
Oregon legislature by Senator
Philip Lowry of Jackson coun
ty, is permissive legislation
which would leave establish
ment of sanitary authorities on
a local hasis. ...l4cr?J.;, ,...r
Committee members and oth
ers interested in the bill were
asked to write to Lowry, Repre
sentatives E. H. Mann and A. E.
Littrell, and members of the
legislative committee on local
government, who now have the
measure under consideration.
- Members of the committee are
Senators D. R. Husband, Truman
Chase, Phil Brady, Joseph K.
Carson Jr., J. O. Johnson, Lee
Ohmart, and Monroe Sweetland.
Husband and Johnson are co
sponsors of the bill. Letters
should be addressed in care of
the Senate Chambers, Salem,
Ore.
Official Fire Season
In Woods Starts ltday
The official fire season in
southern Oregon forests begins
today. District Forest Warden
Ted Maul reminded woods users.
From now on, permits will be
required for all burning in the
patrol district, as well as for
logging operations.
Permits can be obtained at the
district headquarters on Table
Rock road, or at guard stations
of the State Forestry department.
State Scraping Bottom of Money Barrel,
State Senator Tells Tax Forum Audience
The state of Oregon is 'scrap
ing the bottom of the barrel" for
enough money to continue op
eration on the. present level,
State Sen. Lee Ohmart, Salem,
said here last night.
Addressing a Jackson County
Chamber of Commerce tax forum
at the high school, Ohmart, who
is vice-chairman . of the senate
taxation committee, gave a some
what gloomy picture of the tax
situation.
He told the 70 or so people
who attended that there is little
or no chance that the legislature
will pass a sales tax this session,
and he declared that the tax
program which is shaping up is
a "patchwork" of laws governed
by "expediency." .
He himself is a sales tax ad
vocate, and has beer, one "since
the day when it was not politi;
cally smart to admit, it," Sen
ator Ohmart said. !He believes
that after all possible budget
cuts "have been made, the state's
deficit will be about $55,000,000.
The program which will fill this
gap, he said, will probably be a
combination of a number of
measures including:
An increase in income taxes ;
through; flowered exemptions
and raised rates with a 10 to
15 per cent surtax; a cigarette
tax; an increase in the rate of
the withholding tax from 1 to 2
per cent, and miscellaneous tax
increases on corporations, real
7
' o
"-J
FRIDAY,
overnor
nd eight
.e head of
quakes struck
during areas to the west, isolat-
mg the capital of South Viet
Nam from its main food supplies.
Another rebellious sect, with
Binh Xuyen, a gang of former
river pirates, blockaded the
capital's packing and slaughter
houses, threatening the city's
meat supplies.
Details Lacking
. The Hoa Hao troops of Ba Cut
seized a series , of isolated posts
held by Premier Ngo Dinh
Diem's National army, but first
reports did not mention fighting
or give further details.
Armored patrols rumbled
through the streets of the capital
as the American-backed Premier
struggled to retain control of his
shaky government.
The twin blockades by the
Hoa Hao and the Binh Xuyen
sects caused food prices to rise
sharply. Hoarding had started
earlier when the blockade
threats were first voiced by the
rebels.
Absentee Emperor Bao Dai ap
peared to be swinging against
Diem in the Premier's struggle
for power in Communist-threatened
tSouth Viet. Nam with, the,
two rebel sects..
Mickey Jelke Guilty
After Second Trial
New York (U.R) A jury of
ten men and two women con
victed Minot F. (Mickey) Jelke,
25-year-old heir to a $3,000,000
oleo fortune, today of two
charges of compulsory prostitu
tion. ,
The former social registerite'
blanched as Jury Foreman Jesse
J. Berlin brought in the adverse
decisions. '
The climax to this second trial
for the pleo heir he was con
victed at his first trial one also
came in the early morning Lours
as reporters and a scattering of
spectators, the defendant's attor
neys, the prosecutor and his staff
lounged about the courtroom.
Jelke got a 3-to-6 year sen
tence at his first trial two years
ago.' He will remain at liberty
under $45,000 bond until his
sentencing on April 28. Jelke
faces up to 40 years' imprison
ment 20 years on each count.
estate holding companies, and
other businesses. .'
Senator Ohmart said he thinks
it is a good idea that two sales
tax plans are now being con
Strong support for a sales
lax was shown by those at
tending last night's chamber
of commerce lax forum, it
was revealed this morning. .
In a poll of the audience
73 per cent of the 67 persons
Toling expressed, a preference
for the sales lax, and "13 per'
cent TOled against it on pre
pared poll forms supplied by
the chamber.
Various modifications of a
ales tax proposal received
smaller support. Those TOting,
when asked, if a sales lax were
acted, if should it affect all
sales, 19 percent said yes,"
25 per cent no. Sixty-four per .
cent said it should exempt
such things as food, medicine,
seeds, fertiliser, and so on.
Six per cent said there should
be no such exemptions. .
sidered so that a "good bill" can
be available if sales taxers de
cide to initiate a measure. .." .
The sales tax, he said, is a
"proper" tax for Oregon, and is
only one "leg of the stool of
tax proposals. . The others, he
added, are taxes on property
and on income, both of which
llBUNE
full leased Witt
Price 5c
No. 10
Philippines
of Misamis Occidental province
mao said Philippine military officals re
he surface of Lake Lanao dropped six
ring the quake. The lake is about 15 miles
miles wide.
the Red Cross at Lanao said the
between 2 a.m. and 9 a.m. shatter
ing houses in that area. A three-minute shock
rocked Ozamis Cjty, 50 miles across the Iligan
Bay from Lanao, causing wide destruction.
Great crevices opened in the earth at Ozamis
and the city's mayor reported old Fort Santiago
sank four feet into the earth. It was built by the
Spaniards in 1706. -
Portland U.R) Bill Geitz, Portland seis
mologist, today said he obtained readings for
almost two hours on yesterday's quake in the
Philippines.
Geitz said the first shock was recorded at
10:34.16 a.m., and the secondary at 10:44.18.
Readings continued until 12:16 p.m. No intensity
readings were available.
Robert McCormick,
Chicago Tribune
Publisher, Dies
- Chicago (U.R) Col. Robert
R. McCormick, editor and pub
lisher of the Chicago Tribune
and one of the nation's most
widely-known and controversial
journalists, died today. He was
74 years old. '
The vigorous publisher died
at his Cantigny farm home near
suburban Wheaton of heart fail
ure following complications. He
had been in ill health for some
time and underwent an opera
tion for abdominal adhesions
last January.
' His death came a little more
than 24 hours after the death of
another of the nation's great
journalists, Joseph Pulitzer, edi
tor and publisher of the St.
Louis Post-Dispatch. "
The vigorous publisher's
health . first showed signs of
weakening in April, 1953, -when
he' returned from an air tour "of
Europe. He caught pneumonia
and was hospitalized for a while.
Colorful. Powerful Figure
His death marked the end to
one of the .most colorful and
powerful figures in American
journalism.
At the time of his death he
was also president of the Tribune
Company, which owns the New
York Daily News. Recently, he
purchased the Washington
Times-Herald in an attempt to
bring an "Americanism" view
point to the nation's capital.
However, he later sold the news
paper. - .
The "Colonel," as he was
known in Chicago, was one of
the city's most controversial fig
ures for decades.
He stirred up violent contro
versies with his vigorous cru
sades against prohibition, the
"New Deal," and such "global
internationalism" as the United
Nations.
Washington (U.R) President
Eisenhower paid tribute to Pub
lishers Joseph Pulitzer and Col.
R. McCormick today as "staunch
champions of a free press so es
sential to our own freedom." -
are now at high levels in Oregon,
, Senator Ohmart pointed out
that almost half of the state's
$200,000,000 . budget this year
consists of items which have
specifically been approved by
the voters of the state. The peo
pie, in effect, have said "we
want this service," and then
told the legislature, "you find
the money."-
-"This is perfectly all right,"
he said, "but in addition, the
people have reserved the right
to overturn the ' legislature's
work in finding revenue sources,
through referral." -
If the cigarette and income lax
proposals are referred to the
people, Ohmart believes, a spec
ial session of the legislature
will ; have to be called to . find
some way for the state to get by
financially.
If none of the proposals are
approved, he predicted the 1957
legislature will simply start
cutting away at basic services
probably first at basic school
support and at welfare, which
are among the two largest items
in the budget.
'. Attempts at "economy in gov
ernment" -are being and will
continue to be made, but are un
realistic as ' maj or money-savers
when it is realized that the bulk
of state funds go to programs
which have the support of the
people, Ohmart said.
State Income and
Cigarette Tax Bills
Passed by House
One-Vote Majority
OKs Income Measure
Saleni (U.R) A plan to raise
income taxes in Oregon by some
30 per cent was approved in the
House today by a vote of 31 to
29. Change of one vote to the mi
nority side would have defeated
the bill.
A 41 to 16 vote on a cigarette
tax bill cleared the House cal
endar of its most significant is
sues this session and sent them
to the Senate where speedy
action was predicted.
The two bills passed today
were the keystones of the tax
program built , to balance the
state's budget. The income tax
measure would bring in more
than $20,000,000 and the ciga
rette tax would raise an esti
mated $10,100,000 for the bi-
enmum.
Loss of the measures through
referendum would mean $30,
000,000 would have to be raised
by an estimated four mill state
property tax that is already on
the statute books but which has
not been collected since 1941.
The income tax plan which
squeaked through the . House
would call for an across-the-
board increase in the rates
charged each income bracket
plus a reduction in the personal
exemptions from $600 to $500.
The bill also calls for a 5 per
cent surtax on top of the new
tax rates but Rep. Loran Stew
art (R-Cottage Grove), chairman
of "the Taxation Committee, dis
closed today that he hoped to
eliminate that charge by
speeded up collections of corpor
ation excise taxes and possible
budget savings in the ways and
means committee.
Dial Phone Service
Begins Tomorrow
Dial telephone secvice for
Central Point will be inaugurat
ed at 11 p.m., Saturday, April 2,
it was announced today by J. H.
Creager, Pacific Telephone and
Telegraph company manager. A
telephone company news release
issued yesterday erroneously
gave March 31 as the inaugura
tion date.
A four-way conference call
between Mayor Don . Faber of
Central Point, Mayor Earl M.
Miller of Medford, the Central
Poiafc Fire-department, and, Ore
gon Congressman Harris Ells
worth, the latter speaking from
Las Vegas, Nev., will start the
service and will be part of a one
hour "cutover" program to be
telecast by KBES-TV, starting at
11 o'clock.
Manager- Creager said assign
ment of 2-letter, 5-digit numbers
in Central Point (prefix NOr
mandy 4) is a step in the estab
lishment of a uniform nation
wide numbering plan which will
permit speedy long distance dial
ing by operators at first and
eventually by the customers
themselves. .
Medford phone subscribers
whose instruments do not have
dials with both letters and num
bers may obtain the up-to-date
dial, without charge, By calling
repair service (114).
More Malay Troops
Planned by Anzacs
Canberra, Australia (U.R)
Prime Minister Robert G. Men
zies, announced today Australia,
New Zealand and Britain will
send strong new military forces
to Malaya to halt Chinese Com
munist aggression."
He said a British Common
wealth "strategic reserve" ; of
Army, Air and Navy forces will
be established in the Southeast
Asian Peninsula "ready to fighf
because of the threat to the area
by Red China.
In the present state of Com
munist thinking, he said, Laos,
Cambodia. Thailand and Malaya
are constantly, exposed to at
tack either from without or with
in. -
VI call on all. Australians to
realize the truth that we cannot
defend Australia around our
shores, but if there is to be a war
for our existence it should be as
far from our own soil as pos
sible, Menzies said.
Upward Building Trend
Continues During March
The upward trend in the valu
ation of building permits granted
by the city of Medford contin
ued during March when they
amounted to $282,060, according
to Herbert Mackie, building su
perintendent. The March, 1955, total com
pared with permits amounting to
$154,008 granted during March,
1954.
DOW-JONES AVERAGES
New York (U.R) Dow
Jones final stock averages: 30
industrials 413.84 up 4,14- 20
railroads 151.07 up 0.75; 15 utili
ties 63.91 up 0.34, and 65 stocks
154.35 up 1.20. Sales today were
about 2,660.000 shares compar
ed with 2,680,000 sharss traded
yesterday.
FOUND MURDERED The bru
tally mutilated body of 7-year-old
Barbara Gaca was found
yesterday, after an eight-day
hunt for her had failed. The
Detroit," Mich.,' youngter had
been kidnapped and assaulted,
and her body wrapped in a blan
ket and dumped in a field. An
intensive police search for her
abductor is under way.
Little Girl's Body
Ravished, Stabbed,
Physician Reports
Detroit (U.R) The physician
who conducted the autopsy on
the ravished "body of Barbara
Gaca said today the seven-year-old
girl had been attacked by
"a sadistic sex fiend" before the
body was abandoned.
An eight-day search for the
girl ended Thursday . when a
group of railroad workers found
her mutilated body wrapped in
a . blanket in a dump near the
end of a lonely lovers lane, about
eight miles west - of the city
limits. . .. .
Dr. Richard E. Olsen, examin
ing pathologist, said the brown
haired girl was stabbed 15 times,
raped and strangled last, Thurs
day, the day she was reported
missing while enroute to school.
Rosary Near Body ;
Her body was still clad in a
snowsuit her grief - stricken
mother had helped her put on
last week when she started for
schoolrBut-mdst of her under'
clothing had been torn away.
Her books, crayons, ' papers
and rosary were scattered amid
a tangle of beer cans, old tires,
broken glass and rotting garbage
in the wooded section where she
was found.
Squads of police formed a
"human chain" and searched
"every square foot" of the area
as soon as the body was found.
Residents of the area were ques'
tipned immediately, "so loose
talk wouldn't confuse ILeir
stories."
19 Rubber Factories
Closed by Strikes
New York (U.R) CIO rubber
workers shut down 19 plants of
the U.S. Rubber Company across
the country today following ex
piration of their collective bar
gaining agreement at 'midnight,
Company and union officials
agreed there had been no break
down in negotiations. A union
spokesman said they had ad
journed "amiably" at midnight
and would resume on Monday
with what he expected would
be similar friendliness.
One Killed, One Hurt
In Highway Accident
Albany, Ore. (U.R) A one-
car accident resulted in fatal in
juries to an elderly woman and
critical injuries to her brother a
few miles north of Harrisburg
yesterday afternoon, state police
reported. .
Officers said Mrs. Corrine W.
Barber, about 80, died in a local
hospital two hours after the acci
dent. Her brother, John A. Wag
ner, 72, was in critical condition
in Albany general hospital.
Woman Dies in Flames
As Restaurant Burns
' Grants Pass (U.R) A 54-year-
old woman died early today
when fire destroyed a restaurant
building about 12 miles south
of here on the Redwood highway.
The coroner's office identified
the victim as Mrs. Mable Noble,
who lived in the building and
worked there as a waitress. Cor
oner Earl Hall said Mrs.' Noble
apparently had collapsed while
trying to escape.
Weather
FORECAST: Partly cloudy to
night and Saturday. Cooler :
tonight. A little 'warmer Sat
V urdajr. Low tonight 32. High :
Saturday 58.
Temp. '
Highest Yesterday 64 '
Lowest this Morning 41
Prec. to 10 a.m. Today. Trace v
TEMJ'; AUJ
mm
ST B
tru
Berlin U.R) The Western Al
lies charged today that the
Soviet-imposed economic block
ade of West Berlin was "politi
cally inspired." They demanded
that the "exorbitant" and "ab
normal" road tax on trucks
entering the city be lifted imme
diately. The Western demand was con
tained in separate but identically
worded notes from the high
commissioners of the United
States, Britain and France to
Soviet High Commissioner G." M.
Pushkin in Bonn.
'Cannot Justify
They asked that the Soviets
take steps to have the Commu
nists abolish the taxes on . the
Washinolon (U.R) The.
United Stales and the Allies
could quickly revive the Ber
lin airlift if lhe Communists
decide on another complete
land blockade of the German
city, American officials said
today.
However, they added that
they do not believe lhe Rus
sians will go all the way and
close off the city to land, barge
and rail traffic.
The officials said .Allied air
success in breaking the Ber
lin blockade of J948-49 prob
ably would curb any Russian
desire to try it again.
But they conceded the. new
taxes on trucks which carry
50 per cent of the traffic in
and out of Berlin would have
a "serious effect.'
vital truck traffic which sup
plies the free world outpost deep
in the Soviet zone, since it "can
not be justified purely on econo
mic grounds."
To rub it in, the Communists
invoked their old slow down tac
tics before the blockade began
at midnight. They held up great
lines of trucks at both ends of
the 110-mile lifeline until the
deadline, passed and they 'could
begin collecting their tribute.
The West protested vigorously
to the Soviets and vowed coun-
Convicts' Release
Set by Governor
Salem U.R) Gov. Paul Pat
terson said today he would re
lease as soon as possible 10 con
victs at Oregon state peniten
tiary who had been convicted
under the bad check law ruled
unconstitutional this week.
The Oregon Supreme , court
held that a 1949 law regarding
writing ,of insufficient fund
checks with intent to defraud
was unconstitutional because it
left up to grand juries or courts
to decide whether the crime was
a felony or a misdemeanor.
The 1955 Legislature is due to
consider a new law to fill the
gap in the criminal code left by
the court's decision.
The test case before the high
court affirmed a ruling by Cir
cuit Judge H. K. Hanna of Jack
son county in a case against
Walter Pirkey.
Hearing Conducted
On Burglary Charge
Preliminary hearing was held
in district court this morning
for Clifford Quentin Gee, 29,'
Harlow, Ore., who has been
charged with. a burglary com
mitted Sept. 8, 1954, at the home
of Hartford H. Smith, Rogue
River.
Gee has been arraigned on the
charge and District Judge
Rawles Moore has appointed At
torney Robert Boyer to represent
the defendant.
In another case, Sheriff
George Hodge, of Princeton, 111.,
arrived in Medford today to re
turn a 14-year-oJd Spring Val
ley, 111., girl to the midwest. The
girl has been held here on an
Illinois fugitive warrant charg
ing car theft., " .
A man picked up here with
the girl and held under a simi
lar Illinois warrant was released
this week after it was learned
that he was not the man for
whom the "John Doe" warrant
was intended.
April Bows in With Storms
df Dust, Snow, Cold, Rain
By UNITED PRESS
April bowed in today with
one of the worst dust storms on
record and a cold snap that
dropped temperatures as much
as 30 degrees.
The beginning of the first full
month of spring thus carried on
the violence and destruction
which have marked the young
season since, its start March 21.
Winds died somewhat today
over five: Southwestern states
where a "black blizzard" spread
a massive dust cloud 400 to 500
miles wide and 14,000 feet high.
But the red silt still clogged
the air and . may take several
days to clear. . .
mm
blockade
ter-measures but for the moment
at least they had no choice but
to ante up to keep the trucks
roiling, it was estimated the
taxes would run to $10,000,000
a year.
The Communists themselves
denied they were trying to
"blackmail" the Western cowers
but it was freely admitted this
was tne first of the retaliatory
measures the Soviets have
thought up to punish West Ger
many tor ratifying the Paris
arms treaties.
The Western Allied hieh com
missioners met in Bonn and
drafted a sharp protest to the
Soviets. The West German Par
liament pleaded for Allied inter
vention in the "cold blockade."
The West considered cutting off
East Germany's imports via the
Western Zone.
But the actions had no imme
diate effects. The blockade be
gan promptly at the stroke of
midnight on the seventh anniver
sary of the start of the great
land blockade of 1948 and the
Communist press hinted at new
measures.
Rearmament Treaty
For Germany Given
Overwhelming OK
Washington (U.R) The Sen
ate today overwhelmingly ap
proved the Paris agreements to
rearm West Germany and admit
V. - iu t ii-
"ci as a iuu yaxuiCL ill uie liorm
A tin..:- T...1.. : j
Senate ratification came after
only short debate on whether the
former enemy nation, destroyed
10 years ago by Allied might,
should be admitted to the West's
defense community of free na
tions. The United States is prepared
to rush arms and supplies to
West Germany when all the
NATO powers , have accepted
her. The major Western Euro
pean powers have.
George Leads Way
Chairman Walter. F. George
(D-Ga.) of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee led the way
toward Senate approval.
George said the, agreements
are a big step toward a possible
Big Four or Big Five meeting
and r "a method of controlling
armaments that may have possi
bilities of wider use." 'The Big
Five" meeting would include
Germany.
In one vote, the Senate ap
proved both an agreement for re
storing West German sover
eignty and a parallel accord to
admit West Germany to NATO.
Seventy-six senators voted for
ratification and only two, Sens.
William - Langer (R-N.D.) and
George W. Malone (R-Nev.)
against it
Complaints Dismissed
On RR Overcharging
Washington (U.R) The Inter-
state Commerce Commission to
day dismissed government com
plaints charging that railways
over-charged the government by
nearly three billion dollars dur
ing World War II.
The commission said it found
the defendants did not violate
the interstate commerce act
practices between 1941 and 1946.
through their rates, charges, or
the period covered by the com
plaints. . .
More than 700 railroads as
well as some electric lines, term
inal and switching railroads, and
stockyard companies named as
defendants in the 17 comp -Hints .
filed between June 20, 1946, and
October, 1948, while Tom C.
Clark, now a Supreme Court jus
tice, was attorney general.
April Fools Day OK
With Kids; OU Burns
Wilmington, Calif U.R) .
April Fool Day seemed more
like Christmas to youngsters
in this area today when they
learned 15,000 gallons of cas
tor oil had gone up in smoke.
The fire was started by an
electrical short.
. The big storm front also
touched off lashing thunder
storms, possible tornadoes, hail,
and dirty snow before it blew
itself out over most areas.
, In addition, Oklahoma pan
handle roads were covered with
from three to six inches of snow
and state patrolmen discouraged
travel. '
For some farmers, however,
the storm was a boon. Kansas
wheat fields got soaking rains
more .than an inch at Russell
during a six hour period. The
rains were also welcomed in the
Texas Panhandle, where the
wheat crop was deteriorating be
cause of lack of moisture.