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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 26, 1955)
o Medfor RIBXJNE United Press I-ull Ledsed Wire United Pres Full Leased Wire 50th Year 22 Pages , OREGON, FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 1955 Price 5c No. 134 If i , mi sp r 9 ? & ' , r ,' ' r ,1' Z)f SEEKING $500 PER MONTH, Irving Greenwald, 48, asks Los Angeles superior court to grant him alimony from wife, QAlice, 54. They were married last January. (International) o Vhite-Masked 'Shoot on Sight' Order For Police in Iowa Town Davenport, la. tUP.) A (yei&i band of young men wear ing white masks and with crosses taDed on their Dare chests 0prowled city streets Thursday night in defiance 01 a uolice hoot on sight" warning Twelve members of the (Strange bancf drove up to a home CSthere a party was in progress. They honked their horns and then, in parade fashion, circled he block three times in tnei fiirpp rars. The procession was witnessed bv two baby sitters next aoor They said one of the group jumped from his car and made A mai n. un 1 - Ghe caravan drove off. Danced in Silence OB two previous nights this week, about 10 members of the white mask" band surrounded grourjs of young women or girls anddanced around them in si (lfcnce. The women were not molfeted. Police arrived on the seen" too Ote Thursday night to carry out tfceir warning that they would rout the night prowlers with gttnfire if necessary. . Pressed in the same manner as the young men who have previ ously appeared on Davenport streets. White masks covered theirGfaces and they had white adhesive tape In the form of a crossn their chests. Their only Traction Appeal Being Prepared Safim (U.P.) State Public Utilities Commissioner Charles Heltil today said an appeal to the State Supreme Court from a recent Circuit Court ruling which limited the authority of the PUC wou be completed in about a week. Heltzel yesterday, upon receipt of tl9 Circuit Court ruling from the alaintiff, Portland Traction Company, ordered PUC Attorney JohrOMcCullough to prepare the appeal. The ruling, by Marion County Circuit Judge Val D. Sloper, held that ,the commissioner had no au trreri$y to suspend a cut in serv ice proposed by the traction com panyuntil a hearing on the mat ter had been held. Heltzel said his appeal would have a bearing on the scope of his authority over railroads oper ating in Oregon. The Southern Pacific Railroad recently sus pended its Rogue River line be tween Portland and Ashland in defiance of a PUC order to con tinue. The commission has filed a mandamus proceeding with the supreme court asking it to com pel the traction company to re store he services it cut from its interurban line between Port land and Oregon City. Jjtzel said he is also consid ering a hearing involving the Southern Pacific case. Television Crime Curtailment Urged . O Washington (U.R) The Sen ate Juvenile Delinquency Sub committee reported today that television crime programs are tang a "calculated risk" of teaching American boys and girls "ruthless, unethical forms of behavior." The subcommittee urged broadcasters to cut down se venty on the violence they pre sent on TV screens. . The subcommittee, headed by Sen.oEstes Kefauve? (D-Tenn.), reconj$mended several measures to correct the trnd towards crimeDand violence in TV. Weather FORECAST: Continued fair ttfough Sunday with warm ing tr"nd. Low tonight 48. High Friday 90. Temp. Highest Yesterday 81 Lowest this Morning 46 Group Brings other clothing was white shorts. Police Chief Harvey Smith said the men might be prank sters. I that's the case, he said they are "not aware of the dan ger of their actions." Police may shoot them on sight, he said. The "white maskers", first ap peared before a group of nurses from St. Luke's hospital as they picnicked in a local park. The nurses took pictures of them. Girls Approached On another night the masked men approached two girls sit ting on a front lawn. The girls called police and the men fled. Police sought to discover whether the "white maskers" are members of a "cult." They also made plan to contact offi cials at Iowa City, la., site of the state university where a si milar incident took place some time ago. Police Sgt. Hub Fitzsimmons said "We don't know what it's all about. Maybe it's just an act they're putting on, but we don't know." Home in 401 Area Destroyed by Fire A new five-room house,' oc cupied by a Mr. and Mrs. Mat thews at route 2, box 203AA, burned to the ground last night, Central Point rural district fire men reported. They said that the Matthews, who were not at home at the time lost also their furniture and personal possessions. The house was located, on Sticky lane north of the 401 rd. Fire Chief Richard Krupp was still investigating the blaze to day. The cause had not been de termined but the fire appeared to have started in the rear of the residence, Krupp stated. The rural firemen received the alarm about 9:20 p.m. and four trucks were sent to the scene. Four calls reporting the blaze were received by the depart ment. Potato Subsidy Payments Slated Washington U.P.) Secretary of Agriculture Ezra T. Benson said today the government will start paying subsidies to potato growers to divert part of their prospective record crop to starch, feed and flour. Benson also told a news con ference the administration prob ably will allow private traders to sell perishable commodities to Russia and other Iron Curtain countries. He said the government will start paying subsidies on di verted potatoes "late in Sep temper, probably Sept. 26." The subsidy payments, he said, will be 50 cents a 100 weight for 1955 crop potatoes until Dec. 1; 40 cents through March 31, 1956; and 30 cents during the re mainder of the season but not later than June 30, 1956. Any potatoes used for feed must be cut, chopped, or sliced in order to qualify. Payments will be made only for potatoes which are a minimum of two inches in diameter and are of U.S. No. 2 or better quality. Attorneys Seek To Free Turncoat Otho Bell San Francisco CU.R) Attor neys for turncoat Otho G- Bell, of Hillsboro, Miss., are seeking to free the ex-soldier on grounds that he is being "illegally re Strained" by the Army. Bell is one of three former pris oners of war in Korea who chose to go over to the Communist side and later changed their minds and asked to come home. He and his companions, William Cowart, 22, Dalton, Ga., and Lewis Griggs, Jacksonville, Tex., are currently being held in a Sixth Army stockade pending court martiaL County Millage Rate ioran 1 3.3; City's Levy Out The average millage rate for Jackson county during fiscal year 1955-56 will be 63.3 mills, according to figures released to day by Jackson County Assess or Robert Fowler. The average rate is 13.3 mills below last year's average 76.6 millage rate. The millage rate is figured on an assessed valuation of $80, 658,894.05 this year, an increase of S18,904,778.73 over last year's total assessed valuation of $61, 754,115.32. Millage rates vary in 90 different tax levying dis tricts throughout the county. Tax Total Increase Despite lower millage aver ages this fiscal year, the total amount of taxes to be collected is more than $1,000,000 more than last year, according to Fow ler. Some $5,110,890.47 will be collected during laos-ob, com pared to $4,385,155.69 last year. The county levy this year is 8.7 mills compared to last year's 5.7 mills. Total tax for the coun ty this year is $699,636.21. Rural school levies this year dropped 1.2 mills, but because of an increased valuation the levy is considerably lower than it would have been under last year's valuation, Fowler said. This year's levy of 50.2 mills compares with 51.4 last year, and with a levy of about 67 mills had valuations been on last year's level. Medford Levy Lower Medford's city levy is lower than last year by 3.9 mills. The levy will be 18.9 mills compared to 22.8 last year. The total levy, including school district 49 and county levies, will be 67.4 mills compared to 68.2 last year. Spec ial school levy in district 49 is 32.8 mills this year, compared to 39.5 last year. Various tax levying districts include cities, towns, school dis tricts, special school levies, water, sanitary and " rural fire protection districts. The assessed valuation of Eisenhower Wades Colorado Stream Pine, Colo. (U.R) President Eisenhower waded knee deep into one of his favorite trout streams today and fished briskly in a determined effort to catch enough to feed his party at lunch. The President, giving himself a complete day off, drove here from Denver, 40 miles to the northeast, early this morning and planned to return this eve ning. He came to the mountain ranch of Bal Swan on the North Fork of the South Platte river where the cold, crystal-clear stream races through the tiny mountain valley beneath the towering Rockies. He quickly changed to fishing clothes, and was over his knees in the stream within less than half an hour after arrival. Reporters got only one glimpse of the President after he entered the stream and they were barred by state police from a conven ient road that runs directly above the fishing spot. Matson Has News For Seasick Victims San Francisco (U.R) Mat son Navigation Co. had good news today for people who have the enthusiasm, but not the stomach, for ocean travel. .The company said it has signed an $800,000 contract for the purchase of two "fin type" stabilizers designed to take- the seasickness out of life aboard ship. The stabilizers, built to offset the rolling effect of waves, were invented by Sperry Gyroscope Co. Matson said it will-take two for installation on ships being readied for passenger service to Hawaii and the South Pacific. Land Speed Record Holder Gets Award Washington (U.PJ Lt. Col. John P. Stapp who rocketed to a record land speed of 632 miles an hour and then came to a dead stop in less than a second and a half today received the Air Force's annual Cheney award. Gen. Nathan F. Twining, Air chief of staff, presented the cer tificate, bronze plaque and $500 check to Stapp for "valor and self sacrafice in a humanitarian interest." Jackson county includes re assessments of personal and real property totaling $68,552,392, a valuation of $11,476,460.05 on public .utility corporations in Jackson county, and $679,520 on orchard trees. Hurricane Edith Scanned for Size By PlaneSpotters Miami (U.R) An Air Force plane scouted tiny Hurricane Edith in the Atlantic early to day for first signs of expected growth into a tempest of danger ous size. The still-young storm already packed winds of hurricane strength of 75 miles per hour near the center and was. feared likely to grow into a monster with a 125-mile-per-hour punch. The Air Force ordered a vigil Thursday night after the first reconnaissance plane to pene trate the storm found Edith was still "immature," without full circulation around an "eye" as in fullblown hurricanes. Increase in Size Expected But Chief Forecaster Gordon Dunn of the Miami Weather Bu reau said the storm probably will develop top winds of 125 miles per hour and increase enormously in size by Saturday. The 'Weather Bureau at mid night (EDT) estimated Edith was centered about 520 miles north east of San Juan, P.R., or about 1,300 miles - east-southea.:4 of Miami. ' Although little movement was indicated by earlier reports Edith had appeared bound on a generally west - northwestern course at about 15 miles per hour. Suspicious Area Eyed A hurricane hunter plane from the Jacksonville, Fla , Naval Air Station was ordered early today to investigate an other area of suspicion off the northwest tip of Cuba, about 200 miles west-southwest of Key West, Fla. Navy reconnaisance Thursday found no -evidence of a hurri cane developing'in the turbulent Gulf area but should it grow into a major tropical storm it will bear the name Flora, sixth of the year. Board Approves Fund For Hillcresf School ' Salem (U.R) A sum of $32, 000 for alterations to provide greater security at Hillcrest School for Girls here was ap proved today by the State Emer gency Board. Numerous escapes have oc curred at the ' school recently and extensive damage has been done to the buildings by inmates, particularly " those confined to the security section where re calcitrant girls are. temporarily placed until "they cool off." Miss Marjorie McBride, super intendent, told the board that the admittance of Indian girls caused most of the recent trou ble. Before, these girls, mostly from the Klamath Indian Reser vation, were taken care of by the federal government. But now it is the state's responsibil ity. At present there are 13 Indian girls at Hillcrest. In the past there were only one or two. Salem (U.R) A new section of Oregon's coastal highway that took three years and $1,600,000 to build will be opened for travel Sept. 2, the State Highway Com mission said. Special Event Planned To Raise Funds To Aid Victims of Northeastern Flood "Tag Day" to raise funds for flood victims in the Northeast is planned for Wednesday, Aug. 31, by the local chapter, American Red Cross. Local officials report each county in the state has a quota for the emergency fund drive, Jackson county's being $1,650. Both Medford and Ashland will participate in the Tag Day. The chapter hopes the idea will become county-wide. The tags will be sold on the streets from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. for Tribesmen Lay Down Arms In French Revolt New Disturbances Feared in Morocco Casablanca, Morocco (U.R) Rebellious Berber tribesmen came down from their mountain hideouts today in "sizeable num bers" to lay down their arms after one of the worst uprisings against French rule in North Africa in 20 years. The first large scale surrenders came six days after the start of the uprisings which caused an estimated total of 1800 deaths in Morocco and Algeria. The fierce tribesmen bowed to French power after being encir cled in the middle Atlas Moun tains of Central Morocco, 75 miles southeast of Casablanca, by a powerful punitive expedition of tank-led French troops. News of the surrenders reach ed here as French Resident Gen eral Gilbert Grandval prepared to leave for France on what prob ably will be his last official trip. But Grandval, in his brief ten ure, has won the confidence of many sections of Moroccan opin ion and it was feared his depar ture may signal . new disturb ances. French officials warned they will not relax their iron grip on the Smaala tribesmen until as sured of the allegiance of all the 4000 armed men and 25,000 popu lation of the warlike tribe. Led by their chieftains, the nomads rode down the arid hills in small groups to pledge their allegiance and to ask French par don. Nine Drivers Cited On Failure To Stop Nine logging truck operators were cited to appear in district cotr' 'by- Jackgon. county sher iff's officers yesterday morning for failure to stop at a stop sign at Ruch. The citations were made after sheriff's office received several complaints from Ruch residents that logging truck operators were speeding ' and failing to stop at a sign. One of the nine William Ralph Morgan, 33, of post ofice box 413, Central Point pleaded guilty to failure to stop at a stop sign charges in district court to day, and was fined $10. The other eight, all stopped between 8:30 a.m. and 12 noon yesterday, were: Fred Phelps Jr., 25, of 4204 Washburn Way, Medford; Robert Louis Miller, 29, of 1784 Ashland st., Ashland; Robert Lee Wobbe, 27, of 1407 Ridgeway dr., Medford; Ronald Charles Kinard, 26, of 252 Straw berry Lane, Ashland; George Irwin Snow, 25, of 1912 Marsh lane, Medford; Clyde Norman Caton, 57, of 756 Norman ave., Ashland; Richard Lee Mayberry, 20 of 843 West Jackson st., Med ford; and Robert Gregg, 37, of route 1, box 378N, Medford. Northeast Struggles Back To Normalcy By UNITED PRESS The flood ravaged Northeast struggled steadily back toward normalcy today aided by the determination of flood victims and the support of the nation. The flood areas concentrated on restoring industry to produc tion providing jobs for thous ands whose incomes had been cut off by the tragedy of one week ago. Industry ' and business re cuperation provided many with the means to make homes from which they had been forced by high waters livable again. Army Engineers said damage estimated at $1,600,000,000 did not include losses caused by fac tory shutdowns and loss of busi ness production in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. 25 cents. Larger donations will be highly appreciated, officials said. Direct lo Relief Area All money raised will be sent directly to American Red Cross headquarters for Eastern flood relief. Officials explained that fed eral funds are not overlapped by Red Cross aid. The government money goes to businesses and in dustry. Red Cross aid is for care and rehabilitation of private Juror's Relationship Witness Halts OLCC Senator Morse Predicts Victory For Self in 1956 Democrat To Assess Sentiment on Issues Portland (U.R) Sen. Wayne Morse, onetime Republican who will seek reelection next year as a Democrat, today predicted his own victory at the polls, regardless of who his opponent might be. The former University of Ore gon law professor was back in his home state for some advance campaigning and to assess public sentiment on current issues. He said he himself would be the principal issue in next year's senatorial campaign in Oregon. "In 1956 the issue will be more for or against me than for or against my opDonent, who ever he may be," Morse said. . Expects Ike To Run He is due to share the speak er's platform with Rep. Edith Green at Sunday's Democratic picnic at Jantzen Beach Park. Morse said he expected that President Eisenhower would seek reelection, that Adlai Ste venson would be the Democratic candidate and that Stevenson would win. He discounted Eisenhower's standings in national popularity polls with the comment, "If I had depended on popularity polls, I wouldn't have got far." Morse, who said he considers congressmen overpaid, was criti cal of Congress for adjourning without disposing of important legislation. Members should stay on the job 11 months out of the year, he said. . Job Placements Found Difficult Salem (U.R) New openings increasing both in number and in quality almost daily are mak ing it difficult for the Oregon Employment Service offices to fill many jobs, the Unemploy ment Compensation Commission said today. Unfilled opportunities in most areas are establishing new high marks for the past three years and some offices report employ ment around 99 per cent during the busy summer period. Engi neers, skilled craftsmen and professionally trained persons particularly are in demand. Non - agricultural placements reported by local offices reached 9100 in July, best for this period since 1951, and the total for Au gust is expected to be even higher. More than half of the number were in manufacturing plants with lumber and food pro cessing claiming the most appli cants. Construction got 492 workers while 334 went into utilities and communications. Wholesale and retail trade claimed 1363. $72.25 Paid By Every Person in State Taxes Washington (U.R) State taxes paid in fiscal 1955 amount to an average of $72.25 for every man, woman and child, the Census Bureau re ported today. The total of state taxes col lected by the 48 states was a record $11,584,000,000. Most major types of tax col lection were higher than in the preceding year. Notable excep tions: Taxes on corporation in come and tobacco products. A breakdown of western state tax collections in fiscal 1955, in millions of dollars, the in crease (or decrease) from fiscal 1954, and 1955 per capita col lections, includes: Oregon: $130, 2.5, $79.21. families including those on farms. The United Medford Crusade has given the chapter special permission to hold the one-day drive. Organization Tested Organizations participating in Tag day include the Grey Ladies, Junior League, Medford Lions, Red Cross Motor Corps, and Red Cross staff and aides. The chapter said it is still ac: cepting contributions at the courthouse office. Investigation To Resume Next Month With New Jury Portland U.R) The Multnomah county grand jury investiga tion of the Oregon Liquor Control commission ended abruptly today almost before it got started when it developed one of the jurors was a niece of one of the persons under investigation. Presiding Circuit Judge James W. Crawford excused the grand jury from further investigation of the commission after one day of hearings when he learned that Mrs. Laura Wood of Portland was the niece of Floyd E. Burton, one of the individuals whose activities in commission business were being investigated. Mrs. Wood said she didn't know her relationship to Burton was important until she heard yesterday's testimony. She told her story to District Attorney William B. Langley and repeated it to Judge Crawford. Oregon law provides that a grand juror may be excused if he is a relative within the third degree of an individual under investigation. Housewife Angry Oyer Strike Hurls Bottle of Milk Chicago (U.R) Mrs. Esther Quigley, who turned her hus band out because he went on strike against a steel company, tangled with a union official on a picket line today and was hauled off to a police station. She threw a bottle of milk on her opponent. Capt. George Barnes of the Chicago police labor detail, said he planned to file charges of dis orderly conduct against her and her opponent, Nick Prete, pres ident of Local 1214 of the CIO United Auto Workers. Local 1214 is on strike against the Harrison Sheet Steel Com pany. Her husband, Andrew, is a shop steward of the union, and the couple began to scrap when he ignored her., pleas to refrain from extra union activity and to try to avoid a strike. He has not commented. Exchanges with Pickets When Mrs. Quigley went to the picket line, she had said it was merely to let the pickets read the letters she had received supporting her stand. But after tart exchanges with the pickets, and a verbal battle with a picket, Mrs. Quigley met Prete. He walked up to her with a bottle of milk and said "You wanted milk to feed the babies, didn't you? Here's some." Mrs. Quigley turned, grabbed the milk and pitched it in his face. Between them Prete emerged with scratches on the neck and a badly damaged T shirt. Then both were taken to Fillmore Station. N Barnes had warned her against any disturbance. Appeal Board Upholds Bid Disqualification Salem (U.R) The Oregon State Board of Appeals yester day turned down an .attempt by the George Isackson Co., Portland, to set aside a disquali fication of its bid for construc tion of a new classroom build ing for Portland State College. Jackson was not allowed to bid on the $850,000 project by the State Board of Higher Educa tion and he appealed that rejec tion to the board consisting of Secretary of State Earl T. New bry, State Treasurer Sig Un ander and Labor Commissioner Norman Nilsen. Dr. J. F. Cramer, president of Portland State College, and H. A. Bork, comptroller for the State Board of Higher Educa tion, told the appeals board that Isackson was disqualified be cause he had failed to meet completion dates on some pre vious projects. Byrd Warns Against Reduction in Taxes Washington (U.R) Chair man Harry F. Byrd of the Senate Finance Committee said today he is sure the budget can be bal anced this year, but he warned against "premature" reduction in taxes. The Virginia Democrat's com mittee handles tax legislation in the Senate. His remarks on the outlook for tax reduction were not quite so rosy as a number of his congressional colleagues in both houses. Portland (U.R) The Oregon Fish Commission has reported it had released more than 6,000,- 000 salmon and steelhead finger lings from commission hatch eries during June and July. To Probe To Resume Next Month v Judge Crawford and Langley decided it would be best to ex cuse the grand jury and resume the investigation next month when a new grand jury will be selected. , The three witnesses who testi fied yesterday will have to re turn and repeat their testimony to the September grand jury. Gov. Paul L. Patterson; Robert F. Maguire,, Portland attorney who investigated complaints against the commission and its employees for the governor, and Howard Bobbitt, another' Port land attorney who assisted Ma guire were the witnesses at the opening of the investigation. Criminal Evidence Seen. . Maquire later told newsmen his investigation showed "loose administrative practices" and some evidence was uncovered that "might be considered crim inal in nature." He declined to comment more specifically. The attorney said that every thing important discovered by the investigation had been given to Gov. Patterson. Some of the findings, he admitted, had not. been disclosed because no corro borating evidence . could be found. District Attorney William Langley, who ordered the grand jury action, said the jury after today would have heard from both sides and would be ready to determine whether there was sufficient evidence to support criminal charges. Disarmament Specialists Meet TTnifpr? TJatinne TM V ftD Disarmament specialists of the Western Big Three and Canada began a round of informal meet ings today to form a united front for next week's arms reduction talks with Russia. British Minister of State An thony Nutting flew in from Lon don and Jules Moch arrived by ship from France Thursday. Harold E.' Stassen, President Eis enhower's special assistant on disarmament, came up from Washington Thursda3- night. Paul Martin, Canadian minis ter of health aid welfare, was expected here by plane from Ottawa to join them in their first informal meeting. The British, French and Amer ican representatives will get to gether several times between now and Monday, when the sub committee of the U.N. Disarma ment Commission resumes its work at U.N. headquarters. Two Men Injured in Motorcycle Accident Two young Gold Hill men, Thomas West, 21, and Louis Nich ols, 15, were injured early this afternoon when the motorcycle they were riding collided with a pick-up truck at Seven Oaks north of Central Point, according to hospital and ambulance serv ice reports. West suffered abrasions over his body and an ankle injury and was taken to Sacred" Heart hospital by Medford Ambulance service. Nichols received head and arm injuries and was taken to Community hospital by an other Medford Ambulance serv ice vehicle. H. L Bromley Taken To Community Hospital H. L. Bromley, former Med ford resident now "living in Salem, fainted in the prosecuting attorney's office about 10:30 a.m. today. He was taken by Medford ambulance to Community hos pital, where attendants said his condition was fair. Bromley is a public relationf representative of the American Legion. O O 0 o o