jrz O
MEDF0B
United Press Full Leased Wire
50th Year
yTRIBUNE
' . ' . United Press Full Leased Wire '
28 Pages Mw JN, THURSDAY; SEPTEMBER 8, 1955 Price 5c No. 144
MBS FAB 08E60H FIBES
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FOREST FIRES HIT CALIFORNIA At least a dozen major fires hit California's timber and grasslands consuming
more than 126,000 acres. At left a mushroom-like column of smoke rises above forest fire near Eureka in north
33 western part of state where 400 men battled on the fire lints. At right firefighters drag a water hose in the General
Grant Grove area in Sequoia National Forest in central part of state. Fire here threatened stands of huge redwood,
including the world's oldest tree, the General Grant Redw ood, known as the nation's Christmas Tree. Some 1700
firefighters staged an all out fight to save the redwoods.
Fprest Fire Heads Up
Most California Fires
Back Fire Lifts
Threat To Yreka;
14 Homes Burned
. Yreka Fire fighters today
had a line around the major por
tion of the disastrous Haystack
forest fire, but the blaze is still
uncontrolled. It has burned
ovfr some 75,200 acres.
etlmath National forest offi
iK1 said this morning that the
north zone of the fire has
jumped the Klamath river, and
is burning in Beaver creek
north of the Klamath A hot fire
was burning to the' northeast.
Back Fir Successful
A back fire set yesterday in
ihe Yreka area was termed "100
per cent successful," and na
tional forest officials repeated
that the town "is in absolutely
no danger" from the main fire.
However, Yreka residents are
till on the alert to stop any
pot fires which might result
from burning embers. National
forest officials said the city has
built up a sufficient water sup
ply to. handle any spot fires
which might develop and 10
pumpers are standing , by.
Throughout Siskiyou county,
a total of six major fires are
burning and damige is being
estimated at $3,500,000. Four
teen families have been burned
out, and are being cared for by
the Red Cross.
Soldiers Give Aid 8
Weary fire fighters got some
unexpected help yesterday when
900 soldiers en route from Ft.
Ord, Calif., to Ft. Lewis, Wash.,
were sent in to battle the flames,
Fire fighters, some of whom
have been on the job since
Monday, are reported working
"with impaired effectiveness,''
andrare being replaced with
fresh men as rapidly as possible.
,-The situation on other Siski
you fires looked like this:
i Sterling mountain Expected
to te under control early this
afternoon.
Kidder Creek-Hays Creek in
Scott valley About 8,500 acres
with no control. Some 470 men
on the line. .
Taylor creek in Salmon area
1,000 acres burning into flat
ter country where . bulldozers
can aid in thejbattle.
Six Mile in Salmon area
4,000 acres (reported at 800 yes
terday burning into flatter
country.
U.S. Acknowledges
Complaint on S. P.
State Sen. Philip Lowry has
received acknowledgement of
his complaint against - Southern
Pacific railroad from an assist
ant to the U. S. attorney general.
The assistant said the depart
ment would make a review and
study of the complaint and in
form Lowry of its .decision.
The senator wrote Attorney
General Herbert Brownell last
month protesting the discontinu
ance of Southern Pacific pas
senger service in southern Ore
gon. He based his protest on the
possible violation of a congres
sional railroad act of 1866.
Logging Ban Still
Effective in Jackson
Salem (U.R) Generally
improved weather conditions ov
er Oregon prompted State For
ester George Spaur to lift the
logging ban in several counties.
The closure was recinded in
the Tillamook burn and in
Clackamas, Marion, Linn, Doug
las and Lane counties. However,
the ban Still is in force in Jose
phine and Jackson comities.
C rews Mopping U p All
Major County Fires;
Reseeding
Sterling . mountain forest
fire in northern California is
burning into the edge of
Rogue National forest in lh
-Miller Glade area,' Rogue for
est headquarters here was in
formed early this afternoon.
: Crews were mopping up all
major fires in Jackson county
today, arid favorable winds and
higher humidities this morning
indicated the worst of the local
forest fire problem is over.
With increased visibility re
sulting from a north wind, which
blew most of the smoke out of
this area, some small fires still
were being discovered.
However, crews were being
sent out to them, and no unusual
trouble was expected from any
of them.
Planning to Reseed
The Bureau of Land Manage
ment already is planning to re
seed burned . out areas with
ponderosa pine, douglas fir, and
grass. Planting will be done in
areas where seeds fail to take
hold.
E. K. Peterson, district for
ester for the bureau, said this
morning that all merchantable
fire-killed timber will be salv
aged. He estimated that it would
be the early part of 1956 before
appreciable volume of salvage
timber could be placed on sale.
Acreage of BLM land hit by
the various fires is 440 acres on
Timber mountain, west of Jack
sonville; 1,700 acres on Sykes
creek, north of Rogue River; 650
acres on Blackwell hill; and up
wards' of 500 acres on Sterling
mountain and Dough peak in
southern Jackson county. '
Revise Estimates
Estimates of total acreage
burned on the various fires are
still being revised. The figures
do not, in generalT reflect new
acreage burned, but rather ad
ditional reports and more ac
curate estimates.
; The fire figures are: Black
well hill, 3,000 to 3,500 acres,
including both Central Point
Rural Fire district and state
forest patrol lands. Sykes creek,
5,000 to 6,000 acres. Timber
mountain,. .2,500 to4,000 acres.
Nugget butte, 100 acres. Middle
. fork of Rogue river, 160 acres,
Gardner peak, 100 acres. Dough
peak, about 100 acres. .Sulphur
gulch, 60 acres. Sterling moun
tain, Oregon section, no accurate
figures.' All these fires are con
trolled and are being mopped
up.'
In Crater Lake National park,
all known fires are "under con
trol. Crews were sent out to two
newly reported fires this morn
ing, and one fire was discovered
during 'the night.
In the park, as in other por
tions of this area, the increased
visibility has resulted in discov
ery of the new fires and new
Adenauer in Moscow
For Round of Talks
Moscow (U.R) West German
Chancellor Konrad Adenauer ar
rived by plane today - for five
days of talks with Soviet leaders
aimed at German unity and the
release of 200,000 German
prisoners. ';" '
Adenauer was met by Soviet
Premier Nikolai Bulganin and
foreign minister V. M. Molotov.
He shook hands with the Rus
sion leaders and chatted with
them a few minutes in. the
clear, cold afternoon air. " ;
Beaver Creek;
Under Control
Scheduled
possibles" are still being picked
up. '
Four Medford area amateur
radio mobile station operators
were sent to the Mt. Shasta,
Calif., area late this morning
after an appeal from- Klamath
National forest officials in .Yre
ka for help in radio communi
cations. They were Vic Milnes, Darby
Cunningham, Dwain Franklin
and Wayne Clymer, according to
Dwight Albright, Jackson coun
ty Civil Defense communica
tions chief. ".-.--.
(See Story on Page 5) .
Upper Applegate
Grange Hall Burns;
Loss Near $18,000
Fire destroyed the Upper Ap
plegate Grange hall at McKee
bridge, in the Applegate valley,
at about 8 p.m., yesterday.
Loss was estimated at from
$18,000 to $20,000. It was partly
covered by insurance.
Cause of the fire : was not
known. Forest service personnel
and residents of the -area stood
by, but the fire roared through
the building so rapidly'that they
could only protect other ' build
ings and work to keep the fire
from spreading.
Plan To Rebuild .
Grange officials said this
morning that a meeting will be
held as soon as possible in an
attempt to decide on future ac
tion. They added, however, that
they definitely will rebuild.
All equipment owned by Up
per Applegate Grange was in the
building. There also were sev
eral stoves, and an electric range.
Grange members had just f in
ishe rebuilding the stage, a new
curtain had been hung, and new
covering had been placed on the
kitchen floor.
Work had been done in prep
aration for a Grange visitation
program - scheduled for ' Friday
night.
" Mrs. Pearl Burns is master of
the Grange.
WANTS CRACKDOWN Rep.
Joe Holt, (R-Calif.) above, today
urged that . the -United States
crack down on Russians' visiting
this country unless , the Soviet
government satisfactorily ex
plains why he was detained at
gunpoint in Moscow, on Aug. 31.
Holt said a Russian army offic
er held a cocked pistol at his
head for more than an hour after
he tried unsuccessfully to obtain
permission to take a picture of
a Russian school.
(See story on Page 1, Sec. 2)
600-Acre Blaze
Out of Control
North of Etna
, . San Francisco U.R) The
California Division of Forestry
Fire Control announced today
the scattered fires that have
blackened more than .170 square
miles of forest areas ' in Cali-
iornia during tne week were
virtually all under control.
"Most of them are now 90
per cent under control and we
expect complete control by to
night," said Fred Herbert, a fire
dispatcher. "The only danger is
from wind. We believe we can
hold most of the fires in check
if we' don't get a big blow."
Etna Fire Blows Up
- There was one exception. A
600-acre fire 10 miles north of
Etna in Siskiyou county blew
up last night and fanned over
8,500 acres and still remained
out of control today. The fire in
the Klamath National Forest is
many miles from the fire that
threatened to destroy Yreka yes
terday. Ten men were injured when
seared ' by heat ' on their arms,
faces and necks while fighting a
big . burn near Santa Barbara,
100 miles north of Los Angeles,
yesterday. Nine of them were
Mexican nationals pressed into
forest duty and the 10th man
was a Forest Service foreman.
None was burned critically, al
though nine remained in the hos
pital today.. v
The men were licked by
flames when a fire line got out
of control in Glenn, Annie Can
yon late yesterday afternoon,
and billowed across nearly 50,
000 acres of brush lands. Trains
and highway traffic through the
area, which had been brought to
a halt was resumed today, al
though precautions were taken
against another outbreak that
might close Highway 101, Cali
fornia's important coast road.
Complete Fire Lines
. A 17.000-acre timber and
brush fire in the Sierra east of
Fresno was , surrounded with
safety lines, except for a half
mile gap in the Converse Basin
area. Sequoia National Forest
Supervisor Eldon Ball said heli
copters were flying in men and
equipment in an effort to plug
the last hole in the fire line
near Sampson creek. The men,
he said, were forced to rely
mainly on hand operations be
cause of the rugged terrain. The
line probably will be completed
later today.
Rome (U.R) Secretary of
Agriculture Ezra T. Benson ar
rived here, today for an interna
tional farm conference destined
to affect - dinner tables 'around
the world. "
Gallant Black Panther Fights To Death
With Five Lions To Protect Mate in Zoo
Chicago (U.R) A gallant
black panther, aging but still
full of jungle courage, fought to
the death with five lions to save
his mate at the Brookfield. Zoo.
Spring at Lions.
Visitors, watched in horror on
Wednesday as Snowball, a 12
year old panther from Sumatra,
sprang at five lions who had
been let into his cage by mis
take.; ' ' ,
' Snowball never had a chance.
A single blow from a huge
lion's paw broke his back and
he was dead within moments.
But his mate, spitting fury from
a ledge in the cage, was unharmed.
Airliner Crashes
At Burbank Field;
Three Persons Die
Attempted Return
To Airport Fails
Burbank, Calif. (U.R) A
DC3 Currey Air Transort pas
senger plane, believed carrying
30 persons, crashed shortly after
take-off at Lockheed Air Ter
minal today when it encountered
engine trouble and tried to re
turn to the field.
At least three persons were
killed and 24 injured, police re
ported. The plane was identified by
the control tower as a non
scheduled airliner which took
off for Oakland at 8:40 a.m. Air
port control authorities said the
plane's pilot radioed him seven
minutes after takeoff that . the
plane was having "a little trou
ble and am turning back."
Hits Other Planes
The two - engine plane at
tempted its landing but fell short
of the runway by about 200
yards. It crashed into two Air
Force C54s and then smashed
into a maintenance hangar oper
ated by the Lockheed Aircraft
Service Co.
One ; of the victims was an
employee of the service com
pany. He tentatively was identi
fied as Willie Malone. One other
victim was identified as the
plane's co-pilot, Keith Dutson.
The third body was identified
as Joseph A. Dradsher, 31, the
plane's pilot, Chula Vista, Calif.
Crash investigator M. H. Mar
tin said he believed there were
about 30 persons on the plane,
including eight to 10 servicemen.
The injured servicemen were
taken to the Air Force Base Hos
pital in Long Beach.
Hit Telephone Wires
Malone was working on the
wing of a military plane when
the non - scheduled airliner
smashed into it.
The plane, while circling for
its emergency landing, hit some
telephone wires, witnesses re
ported. It then catapulted into
the first C54, killing Malone, and
pushed that plane into another
C54. .The, transport skidded
across the yard in front of the
hangars and wound up with its
battered front end just inside a
hangar.
Ashland Firm Gets
Contract With City
E. C. Dodson, Ashland,
awarded the contract for
was
con-
struction of a water-intake con
trol structure at Big Butte
spring yesterday at a regular
water board meeting according
to Robert L. Lee, asistant city
water supperintendent.
Dodson's bid of $2,263 was
$376.20 less than another bid
received from Myron Corcoran,
Medford, Lee said. Dodson must
begin the construction work
within 10 days. :
The contract calls for the fill
ing in of approximately 21 cubic
yards of concrete, reinforcement
with 1,940 pounds of reinforcing
steel and the installation of con
trol valves and access opening
covers. The work will be done
on the north intake of Big Butte
springs.
Rumson, N.J. (U.R) Movie
star Conrad Nagel and his pretty
Canadian bride, Michael Smith,
were honeymooning today after
a quiet and simple marriage cer
emony here eight days ago.
Weather
FORECAST: Continued fair
through Friday. Low tonight
SO. High Friday 85-88.
Temp.
Highest Yesterday 85
Lowest this Morning 49
. The lions were in the' pan
thers' cage for only eight min
utes before zoo attendants, using
bars, . poles, and streams of
water, -forced them from Snow
ball's mangled body. .
Fought for Mate
Zoo Director Robert Bean said
Snowball apparently sprang
into battle to save the life of
his mate and himself.
A fluke of chance led to
Snowball's death. He and his
mate had been moved from
their regular cage while it was
being cleaned. Ten minutes be
fore feeding time, keeper Cecil
Aldridge, 37, let the five hungry
liozu into the cage.
wight
In Forest
Salem U.R) Dwight L.
Phipps, deputy; state forester
for the past six years, has been
named state forester to succeed
George Spaur, who is resigning
Oct. 1, Gov. Paul Patterson said
today.
Spaur has accepted a posi
tion with the International Co
operative Association in Pakis
tan. ' '
30 Years Experience , .
Phipps has had 30 years ex
perience in various phases of
state " forestry. He started as a
patrolman in the old Jackson
Local Employment
At High Level in
Month of August
Employment in Jackson coun
ty continued at a high level
through August, according to
John J. Patton, manager of the
local office of the Oregon State
Employment service.
Demand for workers increas
ed considerably during the lat
ter part of last month, and is
expected to remain good through
September. There was no major
increase, however, outside the
fruit harvest and packing in
dustry. Higher Than 1954 .
Employment throughout the
county is higher than at this
time last year, Patton said. More
than 100 business firms contact
ed during August indicated em
ployment as high or higher than
was the case one year ago.
' In addition, seasonal work in
creased near the end of the
month with the start of fruit
harvest. Packing houses were op
erating at full capacity. ,
Non-agricultural job place
ments during the month were
the highest for any August since
1951, and higher than any month
since Sept.. 1952. despite the
fact that packing houses opened
some two weeks later than usual.
359 Said Jobless
At the end of August, unem
ployment was estimated at 359
in Jackson county, including
200 women. This is 35 per cent
below July, 1955, and 51 per
cent less than a year ago. Indi
viduals claimed unemployment
benefits for 1,355 weeks, almost
the identical number of weeks
claimed during July of this year.
However, the total was 30 per
cent less than in Aug., 1954. .
1 Pear harvest is expected to
reach its peak about Sept. 15.
Return of many students to high
school and college will increase
the demands for labor, Patton
said.
He noted that harvest needs,
plus an increase in industrial
openings, may result in a severe
labor shortage before the season
ends. . ' . :
Phoenix Man Waives
Preliminary Hearing .
Robert (Bobby) Lee Whise
nant, 23, of 276 Hoyte lane,
Phoenix, waived preliminary
hearing on rape charges in dis
trict court yesterday and was
bound over on $2,500 bond. The
case involves a 15-year-old girl.
Also in district' court, Harold
Ray Hudson, 34, of Springfield,
waived counsel and preliminary
hearing on charges of non-support
and was bound over under
$1,500 bond.
Snowball and his mate were
lying on a ledge when the big
cats stalked in.
The panther tensed, his
muscles standing out under his
sleek black coat. His long tail
twitched. -
Then in a single, graceful
lunge of split-second fury, Snow
ball leaped at the advancing
lions. ' ;-
Dead Within Seconds
Snowball went down under
two of the lions. Then the others
sprang on him with vengeful
claws. The panther was prob
ably dead within seconds, wit
nesses said. '
f hipps
Spur
''Post
1
DWIGHT PHIPPS
Forester Elevated
county unit in 1925, which at
that time comprised 700,000
acres of forest land. Three years
later he was advanced to the
position of district warden and
shortly thereafter . Josephine
county was added to his protec
tive area, increasing it to 1,250,
000 acres.
, He continued with the con
solidated district until 1942
when he was transferred to the
Salem office as assistant state
forester in charge of protection.
Early in 1950 he was appointed
deputy state forester upon the
elevation of Spaur to the office
of state forester.
Phils' war'acting state for
ester while Spaur . was serving
in the Armed Forces in Korea.
Phipps is a veteran of World
War I.
(See story on Page 1, Sec. 2)
New Citizens To Be
Honored at Banquet
Several new citizens, who re
ceived final papers in naturaliza
tion ceremonies before Circuit
Court Judge H. K. Hanna early
this afternoon, will be honored
at a banquet at 7 p.m. today at
Medford hotel.
Speaker at the banquet, which
is open to the public, - will be
Frank Van 'Dyke, a member of
the local .Americanism commit
tee of the American Legion. The
banquet is being sponsored by
the local Legion post and the
Elks. ; - ;
. Those who participated in
ceremonies this afternoon have
completed ' examinations and
qualifications.' " for. : citizenship
following classes ; conducted by
Mrs.' G. Q. D'Albini recently.
WCTU Delegates
Reeled Officers
All five officers of Oregon
Woman's Christian Temperance
union were reelected this morn
ing by delegates attending the
72nd annual convention 1 here.
Sessions are being held at First
Methodist church and will close
tomorrow noon. -
Holding ' office for another
year will be Mrs. Fred J. Tooze
president; Mrs. William I. Har
gis, vice-president; Mrs. M. G.
Weatherby, corresponding sec
retary; Miss Jennie M. Smith,
treasurer and Mrs. C. C. Fa nr.
recording secretary. Mrs. Farr
is f om Coos Bay and the remain
ing four are from Portland.
Mrs. Tooze has served as presi
dent for the past several years.
Baseball
AMERICAN
Chicago
8
10
Washington
Trucks, Martin (7), and Lol
lar; Stobbs, " Abernathy (6),
Ramos (8) and Courtney. '
Kansas City
New York
0
13
CeccarellL Herbert (4). Har
rington (4), Boyer (8) and W.
Shantz; Turley and Berra.
Detroit - : 5 8 1
Boston '. ... 4 7 2
Aber, Birrer (3) Gromek
(5) and House; Nixon, Kinder
(9) and White.
Bly Man's Body
found by Searchers
In Burned Area
Snow Mountain Blaze
Jumps Fire Line
By UNITED PRESS
Fire crews battling five ma
jor forest fires raging out of
control over some 16,000 acres
of brush and timber in southern
and central Oregon today were
plagued by treacherous changes
in wind.
The most serious fire in the
Round Butte area, 12 miles west
of Bly, had claimed the life of
one firefighter. The body of
Wesley Weston, about 40, of
Bly, was found by searchers this
morning in a smoldering section
of burned over land.
Companions Get Help
Weston, an employee of the
Ned Putnam Logging operation,
and three other men went-into
the fire area , by truck yester
day. His companions lost sight
of him in the dense Shoke and
returned to get help.
It was the second death to be
recorded in the series of forest
and brush fires rhich broke out
in scattered sections of the state
last week end. A fire near Sen
eca in northeastern Oregon last
Sunday claimed the life of. El
wood Jackson, 38, of Bak0.
The largest blaze was in the
Snow Mountain area in central
Oregon near Ochoco and Mal
heur National Forests. It
jumped a fire line yesterday
afternoon and by today had cov
ered more than" 7,000 acres.
Some 300 men were working
on the blaze," but one Forest
Service observer said the whole
area was "hot, muggy, windy
and ready to blow" and doubted
that the fire would be controlled
today.
Bly Threatened
Other large blazes "were in
southern Oregon. A fire at Whis-'
key Flat broke away yesterday
and burned to within one"-mile
of Bly, on the Klamath Indian
reservation, before a S?idden
shift of wind turned it around.
The fire, fought by 200 men,
had covered more than 2,200
acres and still was out of con
trol. -
The Klamath Forest Protective
association said a 300-acre fire
was ravaging valuable ponder
osa pine stands on the south
fork of the Sprague river. Some
150 fire fighters had ringed the
blaze yesterday, but 25-mile-an-
hour winds scattered flames over
the line.. . ,,
In Fremont National forest, a
2400-acre fire was burning on the
rim of Summer lake.
Cattle Lost
Another large fire in the for
est, at Dray Prairie south and
west of Bly, was contained after
reaching 1000 acres in size.
The Snow Mountain blaze, en
gulfed at least one large cattle
ranch. The Bureau of Land man
agement said the Officer ranch,
south sol. Izee, lost a band of
cattle An estimate of me numb
er of head lost or the extent of
further, ranch damage was not
available. .
Pair Being Detained
State forestry investigators to
day were holding William Clar
ence Scheligh, 53, and his son,
William Lester Scheligh, 26, in
connection with a series of small
blazes along Coyote Creek road
near Grants Pass.
The younger Scheligh was re
ported to have admitted tossing
lighted matches from a truck
as the pair drove along the road
in the Wolf Creek area. The
Schelighs live nearby in a trailer J
house.
Ashlander Fined $970
On Overload Charge,
James Waldo Akerill, 693
Roca,"st., Ashland, was fined
$970 on an overload charge in
district court yesterday.
The truck, owned by Joseph
Barnett of Ashland, which Ake
rill was driving had a legal ca
pacity of 75,200 pounds,- and
when weighed at the Table Rock
scales Aug. 26, the gross weight
was 94,500 pounds, some 19,300
overweight. There wre 19 logs
on the truck.
Of the total . fine, $500 was
paid, with the balance due later.
Denver (U.R) President
Eisenhower remained unmoved
today by the mounting chorus
of optimistic Republican predic
tions that he will run again. He
gave no indication that he will
abandon his original intention
not to reveal his plans until
next year.