Am
o
Conservatives Win
Majority of Seats
London U.R) Sir Anthony Eden's Conservative party offi
cially won the British election today when its number of seats
reached 315, the number needed to command a majority of the
House of Commons.
At 3:15 p.m. London time the Conservatives had 335 seats to
Labor's 271, a net gain of 14. The Liberals won four seats. The
popular vote was Conservatives 13,024,089, Labor 12,139,668.
The pro-American Eden's party triumph over Labor was an
almost complete rout.
It t smashed an attempted comeback by former Prime Minster
Clement Attlee's Labor party and swept the Conservatives back
into firm power in a sharp swing to the right.
Today, a windup tally of votes cast in yesterday's general elec
tions sent the Conservative majority in the House of Commons
rocketing high above the slim 18-seat margin they held in the
Equalization Board
s' 4 I
;riansioLompieie
'55 Job Next Week
a
The Jackson county board of
'equalization, meeting today for
the fourth time this week, ex
pects to wind up its work for
the year sometime next week.
At the present time, the board
is considering more than 200 re
quests for changes in assessed
valuation which were presented
to it earlier this month by coun
ty taxpayers.
Two state assessment" men
have been checking property on
vhich requests for change have
been made.
Opinions Involved
County Assessor R. G. Fowler
noted this morning that most
requests for change involved
differences of opinion concern
ing the amount of valuation,
rather than methods of assess
ment. Employees in the assessor's
office are working on the of
ficial assessed valuation of the
county, and expect to have it
completed by the June 15 dead
line. Fowler said.
The deadline for submitting
budgets to the assessor's office
is July 15. More than 50 taxing
bodies will be submitting
budgets this year, Fowler said.
The millage rates for the var
ious taxing bodies will not be
completed until all budgets are
In
Truck Runs Wild;
v
Seven Persons Die
San Francisco (U.R) A ful
ly loaded furniture van, careen
ing wildly out of control at 100
miles per hour down Nob Hill,
slammed into nine cars today and
exploded into a rolling ball of
flame, killing at least seven per
sons. Dozens of police, including
homicide inspectors, rushed to
the scene, located less than
three blocks from the police
station at the foot of fashionable
Nob Hill at the fringe of San
, Francisco's Chinatown and near
the well known North Beach
restaurant section.
Some 15 emergency ambulan
ces as well as 10 pieces of fire
fighting equipment responded to
a three - alarm call.
The truck roared down Clay
st., across the busy intersections
of Mason and Grant, the latter
the main thoroughfare of China
town. An undetermined number of
injured were treated at emergen
cy hospitals.
44 Polio Cases Listed
In Oregon This Year
Portland (U.R) The State
Board of Health said today it
has received reports of 44 polio
cases in Oregon this year com
pared to 31 at the same period
last year. The average for a six
year period is 29 cases.
Memorial Day Plans Listed;
Most Businesses To Close
Plans have been completed for
the Memorial Day observances,
it was anonunced today by of
ficials of the sponsoring organi
zations. ' - '
Starting time for the parade
will be 10 a.m. Monday at the
library park. The parade route
will be down Main st. to the
Bear Creek bridge, where a
brief ceremony is planned, and
then to Hawthorne park.
Bridge Ceremony
The bridge ceremony will
honor veterans who have died
in the service of their country
while serving on ships. The in
vocation will be given by the
Rev. G. Herbert Hillerman, pas
tor of Zion Lutheran church.
Flowers will be strewn on the
water by members of veterans
organization auxiliaries, and an
Oregon National guard squad
will fire a salute.
Ray Huson will be the master
of4 ceremonies at Hawthorne
park, where the flag will be
raised by Boy Scouts, and a
former Parliament.
Labor Party Dealt
Heaviest Damage
The trend indicated it might
reach, or pass a majority of 75
seats over the Socialists.
The victory for the Conserva
tives led by Eden crushed the
Socialists and dealt its heaviest
damage to the Labor party left
wing led by America-baiting
Aneurin Bevan.
It lifted the handsome, 57-year-old
Eden triumphantly out
of the shadow of Sir Winston
Churchill, whom he succeeded
as Prime Minister only 52 days
ago.
It was a general tory sweep,
the first solid mandate to be giv
en to either party by the British
voters since 1945, when they
gave a similar mandate to
Attlee's Socialists.
Friend of America
Domestically, the Conserva
tive victory meant that Eden
could go ahead with plans to
give greater play to free enter
prise. Internationally, it left
him in a stronger position to pro
ceed with his generally pro-
The Conservatives nad more
than a 1,000,000 vote popular
lead in the current election,
whereas in 1951 they trailed by
125,000 in the popular vote even
though they won a majority of
seats in the House of Commons.
The Conservative victory also
presented the Soviet Union with
a stronger right wing bloc in
any future egotiations with the
West.
It squashed any chance of
British neutralism in the next
few years and ended the Labor
party's immediate dream of fur
ther nationalization of the econ
omy. In terms of men, the Conserva
tive victory meant these things:
1: Eden: Pulled him out from
under Churchill's shadow. In
stead of Prime Minister by ap
pointment, he is now Prime Min
ister by virtue ,oi the people's
vote and may maneuver more,
freely.
2. Attlee: May mark the end
of his reign as Labor party
leader. Deputy Leader Herbert
Morrison is second in line, but
the Labor defeat is almost cer
tain to provoke a bitter fight be
tween Aneurin Bevan on the
left and Hugh Gaitskell on the
right.
3. Bevan: His prestige has
been drastically lowered. Two
of his strongest supporters in the
old Parliament were defeated,
while other Bevanites, including
Jennie Lee, his wife, were re
turned with reduced votes.
4. Churchill: Reelected for
the 15th time to a seat in the
House of Commons, this time to
the quiet back bench he desired
where he can act as elder states
man and adviser to Eden. Prob
ably will remain as a dominating
figure in the chamber as long as
he lives.
PLEADS INNOCENT
Clifford Quentin Gee, 29, Har
lan, Ore., appeared in circuit
court yesterday and pleaded in
nocent to charges of receiving
and concealing stolen property,
according to District Attorney
Walter Nunley. The charge in
volves items taken last year
from the home of Hartford
Smith in Rogue River.
wreath will be placed by mem
bers of the Veterans of Foreign
Wars. The Star Spangled Ban
ner will be played by the Med
ford High school band.
Lincoln's Gettysburg Address
will be given by Nathan Dou
thit, a student at Crater High
school, and a member of Daugh
ters of Union Veterans will pre
sent Gen. Logan's Memorial day
order. Principal speaker will be
Carlos Morris.
Closures Planned
All public offices and most
business places will be closed
during the day. All city, county,
state and federal offices will be
closed, and no mail deliveries
will be made during the day.
State liquor stores and agen
cies will be closed, but licensees
of the Oregon liquor control
commission, including those sell
ing liquor by the drink, need not
close, -
All schools will be closed
Monday. The Mail Tribune will
publish aa early edition.
MedfordwSTribune
United Press Full Leased Wir
ANTHONY EDEN
In Triumph Over Labor
Baccalaureate For
Medford Graduates
Scheduled Sunday
Baccalaureate services for the
Medford High school graduating
class will be held Sunday at 8
p.m. in the high school auditor
ium, it was announced today by
school officials.
The sermon will be presented
by Dr. Raymond E. Balcomb,
pastor of the First Methodist
church.
The service will open with the
processional, by the high school
orchestra under the direction of
John Drysdale. The invocation
will be given by the Rev. Ray
mond W. Hurn, pastor of the
Church of the Nazarene.
Musical Numbers '
Musical numbers by the high
school choir will be followed by
the sermon, and the- service will
close with music by the choir,
the benediction by the Rev. Mr.
Hurn, and the recessional by the
orchestra.
Graduation exercises will be
held Thursday, June 2, at 8 p.m.
in the senior high school sta
dium, weather permitting. Speak
er will be Dr. O. Meredith Wil
son, president of the University
of Oregon.
Medford public schools will
be closed Monday. Students will
go to school Tuesday to check in
their books, and no classes are
planned for Wednesday or
Thursday. Report cards will be
given out Friday at 1 p.m.
Kremlin Launches Bid
To Woo Yugoslavia
Belgrade (U.R) Soviet boss
N i k i t a Khrushchev today
launched the Kremlin's bid to
woo Yugoslavia back into the
Soviet fold through personal
talks with Marshal Tito.
Tito and the top level Soviet
delegation faced each other
across a conference table and
began discussion on Moscow's
new "friendship" policy.
In addition to Khrushchev, the
Soviet delegation included Pre
mier Wikolai Bulganin, JJirst
Deputy Premier Anastas Miko-
yan, Hirst Deputy foreign Min
ister Andrei Gromyko and Dep
uty Foreign' Trade Minister T.
N. Kumykin. It was probably the
strongest top level delegation
ever to leave the Kremlin and
one of the most unusual missions
ever undertaken by the Soviets.
Three Men Transported
To Begin Prison Terms
Three men were taken to Sa
lem today by Sheriff Howard
Gault to start terms in Oregon
state prison.
They are Lewis Fredrick Da
vies, 30, Central Point Market
rd.; Edwin James Babcock, 27,
of 716 Cedar st., and Allen Rob
ert Rogers, 30, Tacoma, Wash.
Davies was sentenced to a
three-year term on a charge of
receiving stolen property. Rog
ers received a three-year sen
tence on a charge of burglary
not in a dwelling. Babcock was
sent to prison on a parole vio
lation charge.
H. Struve Hensel
Quits Defense Post
Washington (U.R) H. Struve
Hensel, who figured in last
year's Army-McCarthy investiga
tion, quit today as assistant sec
retary of defense.
Hensel said he was resigning
because he does not have "suffi
cient individual capital resour
ces to continue longer as a pub
lic servant."
50th Year " 26 Pages
MEDFORD, OREGON,
Anti-Polio Vaccine
Series Completed
In 1st, 2nd Grades
Makeup Clinic Set;
Plan Second Series
The first round of Salk anti-
polio shots for Jackson county
first and second graders came to
an end this morning with only
about 50 per cent of those eligi
ble receiving the inoculations.
A makeup clinic for those pre
viously having parental consent
slips but who were unable to at
tend regularly scheduled clinics
will be held all day Wednesday,
June 8, at the health department
offices in the courthouse.
Dr. A. E. Merkel, county
health officer, requested that
those planning to attend the June
8 makeup clinic notify his of
fice by telephoning Medford
2-7159.
Inoculations were given this
morning at Roosevelt grade
school in Medford, and health
department officials noted that
the turnout there was among the
best for the week.
However, it still was only
"more than 50 per cent," com
pared with "50 per cent or less"
at other schools, Dr. Merkel said.
Although figures have not
been completed on the number
of inoculations given and the
amount of vaccine remaining,
Dr. Merkel said this morning
that it looks as though the coun
ty already has close to enough
vaccine for the second round of
inoculations. No date has yet
been set for the second series of
shots.
Fund Lack Bars
New Cascade Route
' Portland (U.R) Lack of
funds will prevent Immediate
consideration of a new highway
route between Medford and
Klamath Falls by way of Lake
O' Woods, the state highway
commission said yesterday.
This view was in response to
an appeal for consideration of
the proposed new all-weather
route across the Cascades made
by a delegation of southern Ore
gon men, representing the cham
bers of commerce in Klamath,
Jackson, Josephine and Lake
counties.
The proposal tops the list of
way priorities set up by the
southern Oregon chambers. It
would replace the Green Springs
highway priorities set up by the
route across the Cascades in the
southern part of the state, and
would have relatively mild
grades.
A similar response was given
to a delegation from Albany and
Corvallis which was seeking an
all-weather route between the
cities.
Four Persons Perish
In Canada Hotel Fire
Nelson, B. C (U.R) Fire de
stroyed the Strathcona Hotel, be
fore dawn today, lulling at least
four persons.
Four ther persons were un
accounted for, Fire Chief E. S.
Owens said.
An estimated 52 persons es
caped from the blazing frame
structure.
The hotel, one of the oldest in
this interior community of 10,
000 persons, had been converted
recently into a residential apart
ment building. '
Sixty persons were believed
living in the 45-year-old struc
ture when flames broke out
about 1 a.m. and destroyed the
building within minutes.
Portland Anti-Pi nbal I
Law Upheld by Court
Portland -(U.R) The State
Supreme Court today notified
City Attorney Alexander Brown
that it had received official no
tice from the U.S. Supreme Court
kuphoiding Portland's anti-pinball
ordinance. -
As a result, the machines
probably will be illegal here by
the end of next week.
Weather
FORECAST: Fair tonight and
Saturday. Increasing cloudi
ness Saturday night. Cooler
tonight with low 38. High
Saturday 73.
Temp.
Highest Yesterday 62
Lowest this Morning , 43
FRIDAY, MAY 27, 1955
VICTOR L. WOLF
Admits Smith Slaying
Wolf Confesses
Portland Murder
In 'Unusual Move'
Portland (U.R) Victor Lau
rence Wolf, 45, in what was de
scribed as "a most unusual
legal procedure,"' yesterday con
fessed the bomb-slaying of Oli
ver Kermit Smith and threw
himself on the mercy of the
court.
Wolf, a railroad electrician,
made his confession in Circuit
Court.
Wolf told the stunned court
room he committed the murder
in an attempt to win the affec
tions of Smith's wife, Marjorie,
who earlier had been implicated
by him and was similarly
charged with the slaying,
vantage of Law
The confession was an at
tempt to take advantage of an
obscure 1864 Oregon law, which
permits a confession in open
court and enables the court to
hear evidence end determine
the degree of murder. The law
has rarely been used.
Mrs. Smith, 35, had not yet
entered her plea. She has con
tinued to deny implication in
the murder.
Smith, a prominent attorney,
was killed April .21 by a home
made dynamite bomb that ex
ploded as he stepped on the
starter of his car.
Rail Strike Threat
Averted by Pay Hike
Chicago (U.R) A strike
threatened by the nation's rail
road freight conductors and
brakemen has been averted by
an agreement for a graduated
pay increase, a railroad spokes
man announced today.
Members of the railway con
ductors and brakeman's unioh
will get ' pay increases ranging
from 20 cents to more than $1.30
a day, effective June 16.
They will go to members of
the Order of Railway Conductors
and Brakemen's Union, which
represents 81 per, cent of the na
tion's conductors and brakemen.
The average basic daily rate
for freight conductors now is
$15.17 an for brakemen $13.17.
Passenger train conductors
and brakemen will receive a 20
cent daily pay hike.
McKenzie Highway
To Coast Ruled Out
Portland (U.R) State High
way Engineer R. H. Baldock
yesterday told a delegation from
the Eugene-Springfield area and
the Redmond-Prineville area
that the American Association
of ' state Highway Officials
would not approve extension of
the McKenzie river highway to
the coast.
Population of United States Reaches
165,000,000-Mark; Continues Growing
Washington U.R) Uncle
Sam's family hit the 165,000,
000 mark at 4:51 a.m. (PST) to
day. It kept right on growing, one
more member every 12 seconds.
Bigger Than Ever
In this record breaking day
and age, it is noteworthy that
the new population figure is
bigger than ever before. But the
great American family still lags
behind China, India and the So
viet Union in size.
The Census bureau, which
keeps track of this sort of thing,
gathered . come . officials and re
United Press Full Leased Wire
Price 5c
No. 58
Tornado Death
Toll Reaches 122;
Floods Threaten
Waters Nearly Cut Off
Wind-Shattered City
Blackwell, Okla. (U.R)
Flood waters all but isolated this
tornado devastated city today
and the death count from killer
tornadoes rose far past the 100
mark.
Tornadoes have killed at least
122 persons in Kansas, Okla
homa, Texas, and Missouri since
they began their rampage
through the nation's midsection
Wednesday night.
Town Total Wreck
Udall, Kan., across the state
line from Blackwell, was a total
wreck, wiped out by the worst
tornado in Kansas history.
At Blackwell flood waters
from the rainswollen Chikaskia
river had nearly cut off the tor
nado shattered city of 15,000
from the outside world.
Two highways leading into
the city were closed and more
were likely to become impass
able within a matter of hours.
City officials feared the water
would reach homes in the . city
which has escaped the tornado's
fury. .
Residents Evacuated
About 150 residents just east
of the city's tornado stricken
area were evacuated. Officials
said the rest of the city, including
blocks of wrecked homes, was
not in immediate danger from
the flood waters.
1 A state-by-state count of the
dead and injured showed:
Kansas: Udall destroyed and
76 dead. Eleven dead at the near
by village of Oxford, including
five children from one family,
for a statewide total of 87 dead
and at least 300 injured. State of
ficials feared more bodies would
be found in the Udall debris to
day. '
Oklahoma: Seventeen persons
dead, 500 injured, 500 homes in
72 blocks destroyed at Blackwell.
Two more dead at Cheyenne for
a state total of 19.
Texas: Fifteen airmen killed
when a B36 ran into a violent
storm over Sterling City and
crashed.
Missouri: One man killed by
a twister near Paris, Mo., farm
buildings wrecked and trees up
rooted. Udall Ghost Town
But the most shocking tale of
destruction was in this devastat
ed village and in flood-threatened
Blackwell.
Udall what little was left of
it was a ghost town nearly to
day. Only the hollow husks of
a few buildings were left of the
Kansas farm village.
The entire population was
evacuated and strict military
rule took over. National Guards
men patrolled the streets to pre
vent possible looting.
Udall's comeback chances
seemed close to hopeless. Noth
ing of value was left standing
and damage was estimated at
$2,065,000.
But the townspeople weren't
discouraged. v
Mayor Earl Rowe reported
that most of his fellow residents
wanted to come back to the
scene of ruin and start rebuild
ing. . .
Ashland Elks To Set Up
New Lodge in Yreka
Ashland (U.R) Ashland
Elks Lodge 944 will establish a
new lodge next month in Yreka,
Calif., for Siskiyou county Elks
who now are members of the
Ashland lodge.
It will be the fourth lodge
founded by the Ashland organi
zation which is celebrating its
golden anniversary year. Ashland
Elks will host the Oregon Elks
convention here next week.
porters and photographers
around its "census clock" in the
Commerce department lobby to
mark the setting of today's
record.
Light Flashes
The clock, which looks like an
oversized automobile mileage
meter, sits atop a large colored
map of the United States and
ticks off one new American
every 12 seconds. A flashing
white light denotes each addi
tion, but the bell which used to
ring out the news is gone away.
Census Bureau Director Rob
ert W. Burgess greeted his 164,-
NIGHT OF HORROR An elderly woman, flashlight in!
hand, lies on a stretcher waiting for aid as rescue worker
behind her comforts a child in his arms at Udall, Kas. This
small town of about 500 persons was virtually wiped out
when a tornado ripped through it shortly after midnight.
'
FURY OF HELL National Guardsmen look at what once
was an automobile before the tornado that swept through
Udall, Kas., picked it up and slammed it against this tree.'
Phoenix May Fesf i va I
Pa rade J udges Told
Phoenix Four judges will
pick winners in the seventh an
nual Phoenix May Festival pa
ade, which will start at 11 a.m.
tomorrow.
Judges are Mrs. T. V. Wil
liams of Phoenix, Phoenix Muni
cipal Judge Frank DeSouza,
Marion Ady of Ashland and Bob
Kenny of Phoenix. They will
pick winners on the basis of or
ganization, art and workman
ship. Four Divisions
The parade theme is Disney
Land, and entries have been list
ed as children floats, individual
costumes and bicycles, commer
cial vehicles and floats and
marching groups: The parade is
divided into Fantasy land, Na
ture land,. Frontier land and
Space fiction.
The parade will follow crown-
Truck Strike End
Hoped by Monday
Los Angeles U.R) Represen
tatives of the AFL teamsters and
the strike-bound Western truck
ing industry meet again today in
hopes of reaching a "meeting of
the minds on the fundamental
issues" which may end the nine
day walkout by Monday.
Spokesmen for both teamsters
and the California Trucking As
sociation agreed after meeting
with U. S. Conciliator John L.
Fenton yesterday that "definite
progress" had been made.
A. J. Eyraud, head of the in
dustry's negotiating committee,
said "We may be able to have
something for union members to
vote on by Monday, which is a
holiday and a good time for a
vote."
999,999th compatriot with some
sober observations on how and
why the population is growing
as fast as it is, more than 2,800,
000 a year.
Burgess listed these outstand
ing factors: Continued reduction
of the death rate from infec
tious diseases: particularly child
hood diseases; the generally high
level of personal income; more
and earlier marriages and larg
er families with married couples
having three or four children
instead of the one or two which
was more standard in - decades
past -
J
ing.of -the 1955 May festival
queen by last year's queen, Miss
Betty Harris.
The queen, who will be
crowned about . 10:30 a.m., will
be selected from five candidates
on the basis of the number of
Festival tickets they. sold.
Five Candidates
' Candidates are . the Misses
Sharon James, Donna Gearirf,
Dorothy Good, Sheyla Thomp
son, and Barbara Hendrickson.
They were elected at a student
body election on basis of scholas
tic achievements, initiative, lead
ership, and community activi
ties. The girls are members of the
junior and senior classes at
Phoenix High school. .
Afternoon entertainment in
cludes pony rides and a merry-go-round
for children in addition
to booths and displays.
. Evening entertainment in
cludes a modern dance in the
Community club hall and a
square dance in the grade school
gymnasium. '
Oregon Automobile
Insurance Reduced
Portland U.R) reduction in
comprehensive, fire and ; theft,
and collision insurance on pas
senger automobiles in Oregon,
amounting to about 20 per cent,
was - announced today by ' the
National Automobile Underwrit
ers association.
The reduction is effective
June 1. Some 200 association
members are in Oregon. :
The reductions are not appli
cable to commercial vehicles.
No change was made in rates on
liability and property- damage
insurance.
Dentistry Jury Trial
Enters Second Day
The trial of Lee Poirier, Jack
sonville, went into is second day
in district Court this morning
with witnesses appearing for the
defense. Poirier is charged witb
practicing dentistry without a
license.
The state completed its direct
testimony yesterday. Witnesses
for the state included Dr. Floyd
Letter, executive secretary for
the state board of dental exam
iners, and Mr. and Mrs. Charles
Sargeant, Ashland.
Representing Poirier in the
jury trial is Medford Attorney
O. H. Bengtson. District Attor
ney Walter Nunley is represent
ing -the state.