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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (June 8, 1955)
t lFirdl Aslkedl TF Up Skodl Work ? : ' .Jul omiutatioe. job Contract to Repay U.S. for Irrigation Project is Asked $1,712,000 Proposal Needs Local Approval Elections for approval of a $1,712,000 water system rehabili tation project in the Medford and Rogue River Valley Irriga tion districts will be held July 15, it was announced this morn tng. The question to be passed on Is whether or not the districts shall enter into a contract with the United States government for the work, and for repayment to the government of the interest-free money made available for the project. - The rehabilitation project is designed to increase water sup plies to the two districts through elimination of wastage, and will lower operating and maintenance costs. Savings Cited Officials of the district believe that the savings will be great enough to permit the repayments to be made without increasing water assessments. Repayment . is calculated on a 40-year basis. Those who are eligible to vote in the elections are those 21 years old or more who own two or more acres within the district, provided the deed has been re corded six or more months, or who have a recorded contract of sale. Of the total cost of $1,712, 000, the Medford district will be responsible for repayment of the major portion, because it has a larger share in the works shared jointly in the upper part of the system, and because its canal system is larger. Here k how the division breaks down: Breakdown Given " ' Medford district: Total, $1, 475,466; share of joint works, $334,886; work on its own sys tem, $1,140,580. Rogue River Valley district: Total, $236,534; share of joint works, $164,934; work on its own system, $71,600. The work on the jointly-owned system (which starts above Bradshaw drop on the main ca nal, and extends up to Fish and Fourmile lakes, the reservoirs shared by the districts) will cost a total of $499,800, and includes reconstruction of spillway con struction of parapet wall and at Fourmile lake; completion of spillway at Fish lake; and re placement of flumes and siphons, lining of the canal with concrete. and other work on the main canal. A contract for- repayment of these costs has been worked out, nd has received the preliminary approval of the boards of direc tors of the two districts ana tne Bureau of Reclamation. Project Gains Support The money for the work still has to be appropriated by cong ress, but recent advices from Washington indicate that the project is gaining support and is expected to go through without difficulty. The question on which voters g the two districts will be asked to pass is: "Shall the board of directors of the Medford (or Rogue River Valley) Irrigation District, Jack son County Oregon, be author ized to negotiate and enter into a repayment contract with the United States of America, in conformity with the proposals specified in the notice of this election, under the provisions of the Federal Reclamation Laws "and the laws of the State of Oregon, authorizing the District to enter into such contracts. r Polls will be open at 8 a.m. and close at 5 p.m. - Polling places in the Medford district will be at Hillcrest or chard: Phoenix grade school gymnasium, and Oak Grove school. In the Rogue River dis trict it will be at the office of the district on the old Central Point highway past the junction with Table Rock rd. Baseball NATIONAL . (10 innings) Milwaukee 4 7 1 New York 5 14 3 Burdette, Johnson (7), Jolly : (9), Vargas (9), Crone (10) and Crandall; Gomez, Grissom (8), McCall (9) and Kali. AMERICAN Baltimore .. 3 4 0 Chicago i 2 8 2 Byrd. Johnson (3) and Smith. Haxshman and Lollu S ELEOTlltJ DATE Officials Declare Orchard Tax Order Is Impossible Job County officials declared here yesterday that it is virtually im possible for the county assessor to obtain a true cash value on orchard trees within the 11-day deadline set by the state tax commission. The statement was made at a meeting of the board of equaliz ation, representatives of the Friut Growers league,, and County Assessor R. G. Fowler. Commiition Issues Order The meeting was called after the- board received an order from the state tax commission directing it to "assess the value of orchard trees at the same percentage of true cash value as other real property and in clude same in the assessment of real property upon which said trees are located." The order, dated May 31, was received Monday, June 6, by registered mail. It further ordered that the board of equalization "remain in session from day to day until there has been substantial com pliance with this order, but in no event later than June 16, 1955." Deadline Troubles It was this latter phase of the order around which most of the discussion centered at Tuesday's meeting. In answer to questions by County Judge Rodney Keating, a member of the board of equal- A. C. Fries Named Ashland Bank Head Ashland Archie C. Fries, Jr., assistant manager of the U. S. National bank in Med ford since 1946 and a member of the city budget committee has been appointed manager of the new Ashland branch of the bank, according to E. C. Sam mons, president of the bank in Portland. The branch bank will open in temporary quarters in the Knox building, 45 East Main St., on June 1,3. Sammons said a new building would be erected by the bank on a lot between Second and Third sts. Construction will be gin within 60 days. fin Medford Fries has been a member of the Medford Realty board, past president of the Med ford Lions, Jackson county trea surer for the Oregon Society of Cripplied Children, and vice president of the Southern Ore gon Bankers association. He plans to take up residence in Ashland as soon as possible. Record Temperature Expected for Today Medford, with a 97-degree temperature yesterday, missed a record high lor June 7 by one degree. The mercury was expected to rise easily to a record maximum today. The Medford station of the weather bureau anticipated a near 100-degree temperature today. A 93-degree reading in 1918 was the previous high for June 8. The 97 yesterday was second highest in the state. Grants Pass recorded 98. Weather is expected to be "cooler" on Thursday with a 96 maximum forecast. Power-Making Surrendered by McKay Washington (U.R) Rep. Earl Chadoff (D-Pa.), said to day that Secretary of Interior Douglas McKay and his aides appear to have surrendered their power - making policy to a private West Coast utility. Chudoff, chairman of a gov ernment operation subcommit tee, said in a formal statement the "shocking and sordid situa tion" was uncovered in his group's investigation of power policies. Evidence to date, he said, in dicates that McKay, undersecre tary Clarence Davis and former undersecretary Ralph Tudor ization, Fowler brought forth these facts: There are 12,000 acres of orchard trees in Jack son county. Formal plantings vary from 48 to 110 trees per acre. Some trees are on good soil, some on bad, and some are on irrigated land, and some on dry land. Fowler noted that his office has from 8 to 10 men available to conduct assessment work on orchard trees, but added that "none of them are orchard ex perts" When asked how many "orchard experts" the state tax commission has available to aid the county in assessment work, Fowler said that a state tax of ficial "admitted to me that they didn't have any." Would Take Time "How long would it take to get a true appraisal (of orchard trees) for assessments?" Keat ing asked Fowler. The assesor replied that it wouldl take "two men who knew what they were doing at least six months." Not ing that the attorney general's opinion on the definition of "trees' also included shade trees, Fowler declared that to cover those for assessment pur poses would take more than three years. Arnold Bohnert, Central Point, a member of the board of equalization, noted that the only way the problem could be handled this year would be to put a blanket valuation on all property. And this, he said, would not conform with the com mission order direction assess ment of orchard trees "at the same percentage of true cash value as other real property." Too Late This Year Bohnert added that "it is too late in the year to do anything. We should wait until next year when we would have time to do a fair job." Raymond Reter, Medford packing plant opera tor and a member of the Fruit Growers league, proposed that the board of equalization ask the state tax commission to va cate its order this year and re issue it at a later date. No action was taken at Tues day's meeting, because of the absence of board member Ralph Cook. The meeting was recessed until 1:30 p.m. Friday That time originally had been set as the final meeting of the board of equalization, but Keating indi cated yesterday that the commis sion's order may cause a change in this schedule. Council OKs Parking Tax Cost Estimates City Manager Robert Duff was authorized by the city council last night to prepare tax esti mates for proposed off-street parking assessment districts in downtown Medford. The action followed a request from the Retail Merchants asso ciation, who believe that cost fig ures will be needed before signa tures on petitions to organize such a district could be obtained. The petitions would be submit ted' to the council, and a public hearing held. A citizens' off-street parking committee recently recommend ed a 10-year program to cope with downtown parking prob lems. The program is estimated to cost about $600,000 over the 10. year period, and half the amount would come from prop erty assessments, based on ben- Policy Said "coldly and deliberately handed the power policy-making func tion of the department to Mr. Tudor's home town private util ity, the Pacific Gas and Electric Co." Wondering "how close are we to more Teapot Domes," Chud off pledged a further investiga tion to disclose "how many oth er sordid situations like that re vealed here exist." He cited testimony by James D. Geissinger, regional solicitor at Denver, that regulations drafted by PG&E to govern pub lic power development were ad opted "practically verbatim" by the department. Union Requests Extra Five Ceiris To Quell Unrest Guaranteed Wage Plan Signed After Delay Detroit (U.R) Local leaders of the CIO United Auto Work ers asked Ford Motor Company today for an extra five-cent hourly pay hike for some skilled workers to calm down a rebel lion by some workers over the new union contract with Ford. The new demand, by leaders of the big Ford Local 600 at the giant Rogue plant in suburban Dearborn, threatened for a while to snag final signing of the new three-year contract giv ing workers a guaranteed wage plan. New Agreement Signed But after a , delay of nearly four hours, in which some con tract language had to be re worded also, the new agreement was signed by Union President Walter Reuther and Ford Vice President John Bugas. Reuther said the demand for the xtra five-cent increase had been thrown back as "a local matter." The agreement of skilled workers at the Rouge plant to return to their jobs "this after noon or tomorrow" apparently cleared the way for Ford Motor Company operations to get back to normal finally after the strike Monday in which more than 80,000 workers left their jobs. 12 Plants Shut Down Meanwhile, General Motors workers, apparently impatient at the delay in GM and the union in reaching a new con tract agreement, shut down operations in 12 plants. The number of General Motors workers who were idled totaled 38,894. It was reported that Carl Stellato, president of the big Local 600 which means the Rouge plant, had asked Ford for an extra five-cent hourly pay boost for the skilled workers who rebelled at the new con tract. The ' Skilled workers, who rarely face the layoffs which other workers in the automobile industry doVhaI rebelled at the guaranteed pay contract, claim ing it did them little good. They needed 30-cents hourly to keep abreast with scales for similar work in other industry. Employees Impatient The "impatience" strikes of General Motors' workers kept growing despite the . scolding which John Livingston, UAW vice-president and head of the General Motors' department, gave local delegates at a meet ing of the General Motors' Council yesterday. He told them that the only reason for extending the Gen eral Motors' contract until Sun day was to give General Motors a chance to study the Ford pay plan. He said he had "every hope" a peaceful settlement would be reached before the Sunday midnight deadline, and the walkouts were proving an "embarrassing hinderance" to negotiators. efits received. The rest would come from parking meter reve nue. The council recommended that a chamber of commerce commit tee circulate petitions' to deter mine the location of an off-street parking lot. The petitions would indicate where such a program would receive the greatest sup port. Howard Boyd, president of the Retail Merchants group, pointed out that unless the committee has estimated expense figures, sig natures would be hard to obtain. He said the committee would like to have "millage figures based on present assessment val uations." He stressed that the Retail group is in accord with the off started as soon as possible.' John G. Crawford, chairman of the off-street parking commit tee which submitted the initial recommendation1, said "the neef is great and it is important that the program get started." The program, as recommend ed, includes a "more equitable basis" for business licenses, which would offset funds taken from the parking meter fund. Boyd pointed out, however, that a graduated business tax would have to be based on all aspects of business. If such a tax were based solely on gross business or employment, some businesses would object, he said. The council authorized the fi nance committee to work with the off-street parking group to study adjustments in the busi ness tax, and authorized City At torney Frank Farrell to assist in drawing up necessary docu ments to get the program started. (5m sutry om Pas ') . ased Wire 50t! Western . ny Welcomes Kremlin Bid for Relations Diplomatic Ties Would Be Established Bonn, Germany (U.R) The West German government today "welcomed" the Kremlin's note calling for normal diplomatic re lations with Russia and said it hoped the Soviet move will lead to a conference between West German Chancellor Konrad Ade nauer and Soviet statesmen. The first official reaction of the West German government was made public in a three para graph statement. It said. "The federal government wel comes the proposals to establish diplomatic, trade and cultural re lations between the Soviet Union and the Federal Republic made by the USSR in its note of June 7, 1955. "The note took up different questions which make a prelimi nary examination necessary. Hope for Meeting "It is to be hoped that this (ex amination of the note) leads to the results that a conference be tween the federal Chancellor and the statesmen of the Soviet Un ion is necessary." Meanwhile, the three biggest parties in West Germany hailed the unexpected and bold Soviet diplomatic move. Party statements approving the Russian move to restore nor mal diplomatic relations were issued following a three - hour Cabinet session. , The unexpected Soviet ma neuver cast some doubts on the plans for a July 18 meeting at Geneva of the Western Big Three heads of government with Rus sia's top-most representative. May Revise Strategy French authorities said the Kremlin's1 new strategy would force France and the other Big Three Western powers to re vise their planned strategy for the top level Geneva conference. In Washington, political ob servers said the Soviet maneuver raised "some doubts" about the Geneva meeting. Fire District Sets New Vote on Budget Central Point (U.R) Direc tors of the Central Point Rural Fire Protection district last night called for a second election on a proposal to exceed the 6 per cent levy limitation in the 1955-1956 budget by $8,629. The election is scheduled for Thursday, June 23, at the rural station. Action by the directors followed a Monday meeting of the district budget committee. Residents of the. district re jected the tax measure at an elec tion on May 31 by a vote of 84 to 37. Directors have indicated the feeling that the proposal was not fully understood and that the vote was not representative of the district. The $8,629 would be part of a $30,370 budget plan ned for the new fiscal year. Mt. Shasta Forest Fire Under Control Ashland, Ore. (U.R) Two 100-man crews of firefighters worked through the night last night and succeeded in bringing a 500-acre forest fire on the slopes of Mt. Shasta under con trol early today. Foresters said the fire could probably be, extinguished pro vided high winds did not fan it out of control again this after noon. ' The fire spread through the Shasta-Trinity National Forest some 10 miles northeast of Weed in Northern . California's' Siskiyou ' county. Forest service crews and men from the Long-Bell Lumber Co. at Weed fought the blaze through the night. . Salem (U.R) Steven Custor, 19, who escaped from a city jail work gang last September, gave himself up at the city po lice station here because he wanted to' get square with the world, Salem police said. Weather FORECAST: Continued hot and dry. Chance of thunderstorms over Sisklyout Thursday afternoon. . Low tonight about St. High Thursday 6. .Temp. Highest Yesterday S7 Lowest this Morntaf SS MEDFORD, OREGON, HOT WEATHER BUSINESSMEN The wea ther today, and hot weather is the time for young entrepreneurs to go in to the lemonade business. Several such enterprises have sprung up around town since the temperature broke 90 a few days ago. One of the stands is shown Eisenhower Argues For Reserve Program In Armed Services Washington (U.R) President Eisenhower said today an armed force "ready reserve" is more essential to national security than ever before. He opposed as extraneous an anti - - segregation :. amendment which has stalled, and almost killed, the administration re serve bill in the House. He ex pressed hope the Senate can break the stalemate. Mr. Eisenhower argued strong ly for his proposed reserve pro gram at his news conference shortly after discussing with Re publican congressional leaders the strategy for trying to break the deadlock and get approval this year for creation of a 2,900,-000-man reserve force. Explaining the need for a trained reserve, 1 the President said that every city and hamlet these days is a likely front line. People must be trained on what to expect and what to do. It is Unemployed in Area 10 Per Cent Under '54 The number of unemployed in Jackson county on May 31 was estimated at 32 per cent below April 30 and 10 per -cent below the number for the same date in 1954, John J. Patton, manager of the Medford office of the state employment service, announced today. Patton estimated about 945, including 275 women, were un employed in Jackson county. Seasonable employment in creased at the usual rate, he said, but no labor shortage is antici pated prior to start of fruit har vest in August. 700 Youngsters Due At Polio Makeup Clink About 100 children who missed first Salk anti-polio vac cine inoculations were expected to receive them in a makeup clinic at the Jackson county health department office today. Their second series of shots will be July 12 at the same place. - The makeup clinic is for children with parental consent who missed the first shots the week of May 20. German, Wartime POW at Will Revisit Medford Friday, Saturday Werner Baecker, of Hamburg, Germany, who was a prisoner of war at Camp White in World War II, wtyl arrive in Medford by plane at 9:50 a.m. Friday. Under the sponsorship of the Governmental Affairs Institute of Washington, D.C., he is on a tour of the United States, and has indicated a great interest in seeing this area again as a free citizen. After his release as a prisoner of war, Baecker entered radio training school, and later be came editor in North West Ger man Radio assigned to social United tn WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8, 1955 unfair, he said, to place protec tion of the country on the peo ple who already have done their stmt m war. Other news conference devel opments: Ruis-Garmany: He believed Russia's invitation to West Ger man Chancellor Konrad Ade nauer for talks to "normalize" their relations is a natural conse quence of recent developments in Europe. He mentioned the establish ment of West Germany as an in dependent nation. He expressed the utmost faith and confidence that Adenauer, if he accepts the invitation, will stand by his allies and friends. , Big Four: He . is willing for the proposed Big Four heads of government conference to . run more than three days, perhaps up to six days. But he would insist on a definite time limit so that when he did leave, there could be no charge that he pull ed out in a move to wreck the conference. Minimum Wage: He still fav ors a 90-cent an hour minimum wage despite a Senate commit tee vote yesterday to boost the law from the present 75 cents to $1. Vaccine: He believes that all polio vaccine manufacturers will observe the new safety stand ards set up by the government. But he thinks their licenses to manufacture could be revoked if they failed to do so. Prosper?: He is very gratified by recent figures showing that Employment in the month of May was up to 62,700,000 and unemployment had dropped 500,000 under April. Ford Contract: He wouldn't comment on the terms of the new Ford - United Automobile Workers contract which accept ed the principle of a guaranteed annual wage. He explained that he didn't want to interfert in labor negotiations unless a na tional emergency is involved and that similar contracts still are under negotiation , Dispersal: His idea of dispers ing industry: as protection against enemy attacks applies to expansion of existing plants and building of new plants, not mov ing existing facilities from con gested areas. welfare, POWs, and refuges from the east. ., In 1952 he. received a year's contract . with BBC in London and presented talks, features and plays on the European serv ice. He also served as German TV commentator, during the coronation of Elizabeth II. At present, Baecker, who is 37, prepares and delivers a daily news commentary. Echo des Tages Daily (Echoes) to an audi ence of nearly 8,000,000. Baecker's chief interests in the United States, his sponsors said, are in meeting editors of programs similar to his own, Tribune Full Leased Wire Price 5c No. 68 above with its youthful operators, Eric Ewald sen, 11, and his brother, Hans, 8, of 20 Rosa court. Hans appears to be well on the way to drinking up the profits, and Eric shows tempta tion. Brainerd photo.) Carpenters Picket Construction Jobs In Portland Area Portland (U.R) Striking AFL carpenters today placed picket lines around all Portland area construction jobs where contractors have not signed with the union. .. r;- -w .; - Clell Harris, secretary of the carpenters' union district coun cil, blamed "stalling" on part of management negotiators for the pickets. "We've got to bring this thing to a head and see if we can't hurry them up a little," he said.- He charged management has refused to negotiate before Fri day morning when a meeting un der auspices of the Federal Me diation Service has been sched uled. A management spokesman branded the "stalling" charges as "absolutely untrue. The carpenters are on strike against . the Portland Home Builders and two divisions of As sociated General Contractors. They seek a 10-cent hourly pay boost. Talent Irrigation Limitations Listed Talent Irrigation limitation! went into effect in Talent today to conserve water, which is in critically short supply this year. Irrigation of lawns and gar dens west of the Southern Paci fic tracks will be permitted only between 5 and 8 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, and east of the railroad tracks between the days. same hours Wednesdays and Frt- Violators of the watering hours will be subject to fine on conviction, Mrs. Nona McAbee, Talent city recorder, said. : Limited hours were necessary because the city well, southwest . of Talent, does ont refill enough during night Hours to permit un limited use of water during the day. Salem (U.R) This is the way a Salem city policeman summed up the reason for a minor acci dent between a woman driver and a truck here yesterday: "She backed cautiously from the . curb into a truck; she did not know where it came from. Camp White, and getting acquainted with American youth problems, medi cal research, (especially polio and cancer treatments), and drama. During his two-day stay in Medford, Baecker will stay at the Jackson hotel. Anyone who may have' had contact with him while he was a POW, or who is interested in ' seeing him may contact Mark Goldy, head of the World Affairs Council of South ern Oregon. The German visitor will leave for Portland on the 7:08 p.m. train Saturday to continue his tour. --
