Mi
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seeding Waters
ave Mud Over
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Yw
ba City Homes
Yuba City, Calif . (U.R) The
receding waters of the Feather
river left a slimy blanket of
mud today over hundreds of
stores and homes in this stricken
and deserted city of 10,000.
Authorities begged Yuba City
residents to stay away from their
homes for several days longer.
They wanted to repair the dam
aged sewer plant and to ensure
a safe water supply before let
ting them return.
Guards Prevent Looting
Armed guards, deputized by
police and the sheriff's office, pa
trolled the streets to prevent
looting. o
The northwestern part of the
city was drying out, but those
sections nearest the broken
levee were under six to eight
feet of water.
Six bodies were recovered in
Yuba City. Civil defense author
ities said the eventual toll might
go as high as 30 persons.
Many residents began return
ing to Yuba City yesterday
morning, but later in the day
they were ordered to leave
again. The order came from City
Councilman oe Sanderson, the
civil defense coordinator of the
flood stricken area.
Water Could Rise
Sanderson explained that a
djlood "backlash" could send
water rising again, although not
to the highs of Saturday. He
said such a backlash would re
sult from a leveling out of wa
ters in the upper Sacramento
Valley river system.
Across the river in Marysville,
80 per cent of the 10,000 resi
dents of that town had returned
to the' homes they evacuated last
Friday.
Many Marysville residents had
to flee twice. The first time was
Friday, when they fled to Yuba
City. The second time was early
Saturday, when they had to flee
Yuba City after a levee broke.
Utilities Restored
The National Guard was still
posted around Marysville for the
protection of families who had
not returned, rill utilities were
restored except long distance tel
ephone service.
(TKity officials hoped they could
get heavy equipment immediate
ly to rebuild a section oi levee
that broke. They3 said another
heavy rain would result in flood'
ing of the whole city.
Eureka, Calif. U.R) Resi
dents of Northwestern Califor
nia, numbed by a week of rain
and iloods, stirred themselves
todajrto restore their homes,
farms and businesses.
At least six persons were dead
and an undetermined number
missing in Humboldt, Mendo
cino, Del Norte and Trinity
.counties.
The damage was incalculable.
No one knew how many houses
were washed into the sea. Many
lumber firms reported their en
tire wi&r tock of logs was
swept awy. Farmers lost their
homes, irns, livestock and
croDs.
DJUty Sheriff W. L. Linier
reported U.S. Highway 101, the
main artery througle the coast
counties, was cut at Garberville
on the south an(iKlamath on the
north, a distance of more than
100 miles.
Other roads into the area, in
cluding U.S. 299 from Redding,
were cut by dozens of slides and
washouts, Linier said.
Telephone and telegraph lines
were still out. The Pacific Tele
phone and Telegraph Company
dropped men and equipment
throughout Humboldt county
from five helicopters to begin re
storing the circuits.
Linier said there were nc
shortages of food, water or medi
cal supplies in the area, though
Soviet Union
Budget Slash
W HF.NHY SHAPIRO
United Press Correspondent
Moscow (U.R) The Soviet
Union today announced 1956
"peace budget" that slashes de
fense spending by nearly ten per
cent.
The appropriations bill, deliv
ered at the opening of a special
session of the Supreme Soviet
(Parliament), switched emphasis
Qto housing, consumer goods and
industry.
Moderate Speech
Finance Minister Arseni E.
Zverev announced the budget in
a speech which for the first time
in many yegrs failed to denounce
anyWestern power or accuse the
West ofea ggressive designs
against the Soviet Union.
It was one of the most mod
he said there "are a few cases of
bronchial pneumonia and colds."
However, he added there were
doctors available to treat the ill
and "everybody's all right."
Meanwhile, a new storm
brought more rain to California
early today. The weather man,
predicting the rainfall would be
"occasional," said it would
spread as far south as Salinas
on the coast and Stockton in
the Central Valley.
Aided by a brief and merciful
Christmas Day dry spell, the
streams and rivers that spread
devastation over hundreds of
square miles began receding.
Most Troublesome
The most troublesome river
early today appeared to be the
San Joaquin, which was report
ed breaking through levees in
rural areas at the southern and
northern end of San Joaquin
county.
There was a possibility that
the river would flood the delta
islands of Bethel, Jersey, Brad
ford, Webb Tract and Holland
Tract. The 1,700 persbns on
Bethel Tract were not evacu
ated, but the handful of resi
dents on the other four islands
were ordered to leave as a pre
caution. Stockton Safe
Sheriff Carl Souza said there
was no danger to Stockton, the
county seat and a city of 85,000.
The city reported some flooding
of its southern districts. About
400 families left their homes.
"A lot of homes have been
cleared out but there is no dan
ger to life at all," Souza said.
Twenty miles north of Stock
ton, a levee broke on the Moke
lume river at . Thornton. Na
tional Guardsmen and sheriff's
deputies evacuated 50 homes in
the town without incident.
Oregon Holiday :
Traffic Claims
Lives of Four
By UNITED PRESS
Oregon counted at least four
traffic fatalities going into the
final day of the long Christmas
holiday week end.
Latest death reported was that
of Paul Louise, whose car left
Highway 99 and crashed into the
front of the Sam Veatch resi
dence in Cottage Grove about 7
p.m. Sunday. Louise, who was
alone in the vehicle, was pro
nounced dead on arrival at Cot
tage Grove hospital.
McMinnville Sailor Killed
A 20-year-old McMinnville
sailor died about 4 p.m. Sunday
when he lost control of his auto
mobile on the Carlton-Newberg
highway about two miles east of
Carlton. "
Police said the victim, Donald
Hugh Wilkison, was killed when
his car left the road and trav
eled 150 feet, shearing off a tele
phone pole. The car bounced
almost as high as the telephone
wires before coming to rest, of
ficers said.
Wilkison was visiting Yamhill
county relatives while on leave
from a Navy base in California.
Bakery Truck Flips
William C. Hiscoe, 47, Beaver-ton,-
died in an earlier accident
when he was flipped out of his
bakery truck on a Portland hill.
The truck had hit a depression
in the shoulder of the road. It
turned over and pinned Hiscoe
underneath.
Charles J. McCall, 53, Ger
vais, died when his car left High
way 99 about' two miles south
of Gervais junction.
Announces 10
in Spending
erate speeches that this corres
pondent has heard in 20 years
here.
Zverev said the Soviet defense
bill for 1956 will be 102,500,000
rubles compared with last year's
112,000,000. The cut, in effect,
wipes out last year's 12 per cent
military increase.
There is no official exchange
rate for the ruble. It is usually
quoted at the diplomatic rate of
25 cents.
Calculation Impossible
Wholesale price cuts that
boosted the internal value of
the ruble during 1955 will make
up for some of the paper de
crease. It is impossible to calcu
late how much.
But one statistic indicated that
Qiefense spending will be cut in
fact. Next year's announced al
Noon
Edition
Christmas Traffic
Fatalities Near
All-Time Record
460 Reported Dead
Since 6 p.m. Friday
By UNITED PRESS
The nation was in danger to
day of winding up the Christ
mas holiday with an all-time,
all-holiday record for traffic fa
talities. Safety experts pleaded with
homeward-bound motorists to
put on the brakes and keep the
death count below the previous
record of 588, set during the
Christmas holiday of 1952.
But a United Press count
showed that 460 persons bad
died in traffic accidents across
the nation since 6 p.m. Friday.
Fires killed 51, a plane crash
one, and miscellaneous accidents
73 for an overall holiday toll of
584.
Forecast May Be Passed
This year's three-day Christ
mas holiday ends at midnight
tonight and it appeared certain
that the National Safety Coun
cil's advance forecast of 560
holiday traffic deaths would be
reached or surpassed.
Council President Ned H.,
Dearborn said early today that
"the only way now to avert an
all-time record for any holiday
is for every driver to redouble
his care on the way home."
By nearly midday Monday,
Texas had the highest state traf
fic toll with 41. Illinois was
next with 37, Michigan third
with 36. Other states included
California and Ohio, 30 each,
and Missouri, 23.
At Gaylord, Mich., a fire at a
farm home killed the wife of
Warren Soper and all five of
their children, ranging in ages
from 13 to two years. -Eight
Deaths an Hour
Reports of fatal highway
smashups began rolling in al
most as soon as the holiday start
ed. At first, the death rate was
about six an hour. Then it
jumped to seven and even hit
eight at times.
Safety experts had only faint
hopes that the death rate would
slacken today, when highways
are crammed with motorists
hurrying home "after holiday
visits.
Fair skies and clear roads
across much of the nation were
en encouraging factor, even
though they robbed most Ameri
cans of a white Christmas yes
terday. Denver posted an all
time Christmas heat record of
66 and snow stayed out of the
Midwest, even though tempera
tures plunged back as low as 16
below zero in the North.
Navy Plane Crashes,
Explodes on Azores
Angra Do Heroismo, Azores
(U.R) A U.S. Navy plane crashed
and exploded last night on Ter
ceira Island in the Azores, kill
ing two persons.
Two other persons aboard the
plane were rescued before an
explosion' destroyed the wreck
age, Portugal officials here said.
They were taken to a U.S.
Air Force hospital at the joint
Portuguese-American air base
near Angra Do Heroismo.
Rescue parties which returned
from the scene of the crash said
the plane bore the markings
"AJ2." Flames and exploding
fuel demolished the wreckage
so that the plane's exact type
could not be determined immed
iately. Per Cent
for Defense
location for arms amounts to 18
per cent of the entire budget.
This year's was 19.9 per cent.
The emphasis was on internal
development.
The government, following up
official criticism of housing, an
nounced an actual increase of
18 per cent in the amount of
housing built during the year.
Consumer Goods Up
Zverev also indicated a high
er rate of production of con
sumer goods although" it will not
be the "sharp upsurge" promised
in the 1953 speech by former
Premier Georgi Malenkov.
Culture, education and social
services also came in for in
creased allocations. But the top
priority remained in so-called
producer goods, heavy industry
and machinery.
Medfort
United Press Full Leased Wire
50th Year 14 Pages
CRESTING AT 39 FEET,
causing damage estimated
submerged to gabled roofs.
Civil Defense
Chief Inspects
Flooded Areas
San Francisco (U.R) Civil
Defense Chief Val Peterson,
acting on instructions from
President Eisenhower, inspect
ed flood-ravaged Nevada and
California today.
Peterson arrived last night in
Reno after a daylong flight
from Washington. He conferred
immediately with Nevada's Gov.
Charles Russell, the state's two
senators, Allen Bible and George
Malone, and Reno Mayor Len
Harris. 1 -
"I came out to take a good
look to see what has to be done,"
Peterson said. "The White
House is watching this situation
carefully."
Parts of Three States
The record floods inundated
parts of Oregon, California and
Nevada,': took the ' lives " of at
least 33 persons, wiped out more
than a dozen small towns and
caused not less than $50,000,000
damage.
Some 50 to 60 persons were
missing. Fifty thousand persons
had to flee their homes. Hun
dreds will have no homes to re
turn to. Their houses were car
ried off or otherwise destroyed
by the rampaging waters.
The Red Cross estimated it
served 15,000 Christm '-"iners
to flood victims yesterday.
"The President wants us to
utilize every facility the ie-..-ai
feovernment has at its dispos
al to aid these people," Peter
son said when he began his in
spection tour.
Eisenhower
Spends
Joyful Christmas
Washington (U.R) Christ
mas for President Eisenhower
was a day of reverence and
family joy.
Throughout the day his spec
ial delight was his grandchil
dren. Not only did he play Santa
Clause for the youngsters, but
he showed his grandfatherly
pride by having them sing 'a
carol for newsmen and photo
graphers. The President, accompanied
by Mrs. Eisenhower and then
son, also went to church. There
he joined in a Christmas prayer
that "peace on earth and good
will to men" will be realized in
our time.
He had the grandchildren
David, 7, Barbara Anne, 6, and
Susan, nearly 4 sing "Oh,
Come All Ye Faithful," in their
special caroling performance. He
removed his glasses and con
ducted them.
"Boy, they're really singing,"
he remarked proudly to report
ers. 'Golden Boy' Held
As Public Nuisance
Los Angeles :U.R)- Veteran
boxer Art Aragon, known as
California's "Golden "Boy," was
jailed early today as a "public
nuisance" after he was found
staggering along a downtown
street, police reported.
Aragon, who recently made a
comeback in California boxing
circles, was arrested by two of
ficers in East Los Angeles. They
said the fighter was drunk and
belligerent when questioned on
a street corner.
Officers R. F. McGrath and K.
R. Wilson hauled Aragon to the
county jail where he was booked
as a public nuisance and on plain
drunk charges.
MED'
-
10 feet above flood stage, Russian River spills over large area,
in millions of dollars. Cottages in Guerneville, Cal., area are
Picture was made from end of Guerneville bridge. International) :
Transportation From
Medford Limited;
H 99 North Is Open
Highway 99 north tf Medford
opened late this morning, but
water remained on the highway
near Myrtle Creek. Earlier to
day, regular airline travel and
re-routed vehicle traffic were
the only means of transportation
north.
State police said Highway 99
had about 12 inches of water
on it at 11 a.m. today, but traf
fic was moving. Slides also
closed Highway 199 west of
Grants. Pass, and Highway 38
between Drain and Reedsport.
Highway 42 east of Coquille
was closed because of high
water.
Siskiyou Line Closed
Southern Pacific trains will
be re-routed on the Cascade line
through Klamath Falls because
the Siskiyou line has been closed
by high water, according to R.
H. Holmes, district freight and
passenger agent.
The Siskiyou line is flooded
at Cow Creek canyon, Myrtle
Creek and Winston.
Railroad officials said they
hoped a slide which closed the
Cascade line, forcing re-routing
of passenger trains through
Medford on the Siskiyou line,
will be cleared early tonight.
Bus Service
Bus service is available to
Dunsmuir, Calif., to make con
nections with the Shasta Day
light passenger train. A north
bound passenger left San Fran
cisco at 7:45 a.m., today, and
a southbound passenger train
will leave Portland at 4 p.m.
tonight.
Bus service north, over High
way 99, has been discontinued.
Rogue River Area
Scanned for Fliers
The Medford airport control
tower was advised by a ham
radio operator at about 11
a.m. that Glenn Woolridge,
veteran Grants Pass river
guide, has reached the area
where a Grants Pass plane
was reported down, and that
both occupants are safe.
No further details were
immediately available.
Grants Pass (U.R) Ground
search along the banks of the
Rogue river between here and
Marial, was continuing today
for two fliers believed down in
a light plane.
Missing are Fred Hale, 43,
manager of the Grants Pass air
service, and William" Geer, Ma
rial, a passenger. The two men
left Grants Pass Saturday to
take pictures of Geer's flooded
cabin. .
. The search was spurred Sat
urday night when a Mercy plane
piloted by; George Milligan
Medford, " reported spotting a
fire along the south bank of the
river. .
Two search parties were hunt
ing along the river bank, anoth
er was en route overland from
Glendale and a boat on the
Rogue river has joined the hunt.
Air search was stalled by
overcast and poor visibility.
Weather
FORECAST: Mostly cloudy with
rain showers changing to
snow showers tonight and
partlv cloudy Tuesday. Low
tonight 32. High Tuesday
42-45.
Temp.
Highest vesterday , 54
Lowest this morning 42
Prec.
To 4:30 a.m. today OS
yNDAY, DECEMBER 26, 1955
All buses are being re-routed
over Highway 97, through Klam
ath Falls,
Vehicle traffic was normal
on Highway 66 over the Green
Springs to Klamath Falls, and
south of here, traffic was being
re-routed over Highway 99,
West, in California. Highway 99
East was closed because of high
water in the Yuba City-Marys-
ville area.
In this area, Dodge bridge
and the Highway 62 bridge over
Bear creek at the Big Y remain
ed closed. Highway 238 through
the Applegate area was open,
but traffic was detoured near
Ruch.
Santa Cruz Tackles
Mopping Up Chore
Santa Cruz, Calif. (U.R) City
Manager Robert N. Klein threw
the entire resources of this sea
side resort today into the gigan
tic task of cleaning up the de
struction left by the worst flood
in local history.
Klein, declaring that it will be
months before the city is restor
ed to normal, took personal
command of the work of rehabil
itation and ordered into action
all the city's equipment and
manpower to speed the process.
Business and home owners
spent a grim Christmas day yes
terday cleaning up the silt and
mud dumped on the town by the
rampaging San Lorenzo river.
Volunteer rescue workers prob
ed through the wreckage for
bodies of flood victims.
They already had found seven
bodies. Fourteen persons were
missing and 44 others were "un
accounted for" but may have
escaped to other areas.
There was little Christmas
cheer in the stricken city.
Churches called off Christmas
services and there were few
signs of the holiday. Stores had
been closed since Thursday and
their merchandise lay crumpled
and soggy.
Health authorities ordered all
drinking water boiled and the
city was just beginning to get
through to the outside, world by
telephone.
Knoxville, Tenn. U.R) Fu
neral services were scheduled
here today for 66-year-old Judge
W. C. Burton, who died Satur
day. Road Conditions
Highway 101 Closed north
and south of Coquille, high
water.
Highway 99 Open north.
Water over highway near
Myrtle Creek, but traffic go
ing through.
Highway S9, California
West open. East closed, Yuba
City-Marysville area.
Highway 42 Closed east of?
Coquille, high water.
Highway 38 Closed be
tween Drain and Reedsport,
slide.
Highway 35 One-way traf
fic between Eugene and Flor
ence, slide.
Highway 58 Willamette
pass closed above Oakridge,
slide.
Highway 68 Open over
Green Springs; no snow.
Highway 199 West of
Grants Pass, closed by slides.
Highway 234 Closed at
Dodge bridge.
Highway 238 Detour in
Applegate urea, open.
Tribune
United Presi Full Leased Wire
Price 5
No. 237
400 Families Left
Homeless By Flood
Along Rogue River
Estimates Damage Into
Hundreds Of Thousands
Some 400 families were left
at least temporarily homeless
in Jackson county by last week's
floods, according to estimates
prepared over the week end by
the Red Cross.
Damage will amount to hun
dreds of thousands of dollars,
according to a spokesman, but
official accounting of losses
awaits a more thorough survey
Tuesday by Red Cross and Civil
Defense personnel. n
A minimum of 25 homes were
totally destroyed in the Rogue
River area, . according to the
spokesman, and more than 100
homes suffered major damage.
About 150 families were serv
ed Christmas dinner yesterday
at local restaurants through Red
Cross arrangements. Some 40
or 50 children received Christ
mas toys in the Rogue River
and Shady Cove areas.
Disaster Worker Here
Miss , Josephine McNamara,
professional disaster worker
from Pacific area headquarters
of the Red Cross at San Fran
cisco, arrived Friday to head
rehabilitation work. She is as
sisted by Robert Seward, also
from headquarters.
Both lauded volunteer work'
ers in all the hard-hit areas of
the county, who have given
many hours; of work to assisting
flood victims. A canteen has
operated 24 hours a day in
Rogue River, and workers have
also kept a canteen open in
Shady. Cove when needed.
Others Commended
They commended members of
the Veterans of Foreign Wars
in both Rogue River and Shady
Cove who donated their halls
and services.
Families seeking Red Cross
aid in the Rogue River area are
asked . to contact Mrs. Charles
Babcock, Sarigri La auto court,
or Mrs. A. P. Klomhauw, West
Evans Creek rd. In Shady Cove
Mrs. E. S. Strother is in charge.
Some of " the families . left
homeless by the floods started
moving back in over the week
end, cleaning up the messes lefjt
by the high, silt-laden ; waters.
Others will be returning during
the week, while some of the less
fortunate Will have to await
completion of major repairs.
The entire facilities of the
American National Red Cross
have been pledged to aid the
flood relief and rehabilitation
work in disaster areas, both in
Oregon and California.
Three Babies Born
Here On Christmas
Three babies were born
Christmas day in Medford, all
at Sacred Heart hospital.
Parents of the two boys born
are Mr. and Mrs. Donald Craw
ford, 131 Lincoln st., and Mr.
and Mrs. La Rue Smith, 409
Summit ave. The girl is a
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Clif
ford Ouellette, 1532 Terrace dr.
Unloading Shotgun
Fatal To Virginia Boy
Millard, Va. (U.R) A 17-year-old
boy was fatally wound
ed by a hunting companion near
here late Saturday, according to
Sheriff John Rose.
The sheriff said Bob Puckett
Was accidentally shot by a sec
ond youth as the two unloaded
their automatic shotguns. . No
charges were filed.
Senate Probers Studying
Ford Financial Details
Washington (U.R) Senate in
vestigators are studying finan
cial , details about Ford Motor.
Co., which were made public for
the first time last week, it was
.disclosed today. -
The study is being made by
the staff of the Senate anti
monopoly subcommittee the
same group which has been
looking into the impact of Gen
eral Motors Corp. on the na
tion's economy.
Pertinent to Study
Subcommittee counsel Joseph
W. Burns said Ford's financial
position is pertinent to the sub
committee's study of GM be
cause . Ford is GM's principal
competitor.
Burns said the staff is study
ing the prospectus which Ford
filed last week with the Securi
Steady Downpour
Drenches Coast
Willamette Valley
Isolated Riddle in
General Evacuation
. Portland U.R) -"-Heavy rains
today added to the woes of the
already drenched residents of
southern Oregon and brought
concern ' over possibilities of
more serious flooding.
The floods last week in west
ern and southern Oregon were
blamed for at least six deaths.
Five other persons are reported
missing.
The steady downpour dropped
4.44 inches of rain on North
Bend during the 24 hours ended
at 4:20 a.m. today. Eugene had
3.36, Roseburg 3.76, Brookings
4.96 and Portland .75.
Still Raining on Coast
It was still raining heavily
along the Oregon coast and
through the southern Willam
ette valley today. There was
snow in high elevations and
early today it was snowing from
the Coast range to McMinnville.
The. weather bureau forecast
snow for the Portland area to
night. A general evacuation was in
progress at Riddle, south of
Roseburg, last night. Water has
completely surrounded and iso
lated the town. Deer creek,
Sutherlin creek, the South Ump
qua river and Cow creek spilled
over their banks in Douglas
county. Water was over the
highway at Myrtle Creek" and
numerous slides were reported
in the Roseburg area. There
were reports of serious water
damage to homes and stores in
Sutherlin where volunteers
were putting up sand bags to
hold back further, flooding.
Some persons were evacuating
their homes in the Deer creek
area.
Umpqua Crest Expected
The South Umpqua river was
expected to crest at 29 feet to
day, threatening the -Winston-Dillard
area.
The Willamette at Portland
crested at 22.3. feet yesterday
and was falling today, but heavy
up stream runoff from tributar
ies and soaked land was expect
ed to send the river up again.
However, a cold front moving
in might keep streams general
ly from rising too much furth
er. At Divide, near Cottage Grove
six out of seven Southern Pacif
ic engines pulling 1 78 cars were
derailed yesterday. The track
was cleared to traffic last night,
but trains were moving cauti
ously. SP officials said they
were protecting the railroad
bridge at Myrtle Creek by run
ning cars full of lumber out on
the bridge to act as "ballast."
At Coquille, the cresting Co-,
quille river was causing some
flooding last night as more than
three inches of rain fell on the
area in a 13-hour period.
Deaths Reach Six
Toll in the flood remained at
six dead with two Hood River,
Ore., duck hunters still missing
and feared drowned on the Co
lumbia. The weather bureau at Port
land said the only major threat
is a storm developing off the
Oregon coast which might
drench inland areas. But the
weatherman said that distur
bance was weakening last night.
Comedian Succumbs
At Hollywood Home
Hollywood (U.R) Abe Rey
nolds, 71-year-old stage, screen
and radio comedian, died yester
day at his home here after a long
illness.
Reynolds was born in New
York City and started his stage
career in burlesque 46 years ago.
He appeared in many Broadway
stage productions and also was
active in vaudeville for many
years.
He leaves his wife, Florence,
three brothers, Robert, Harry
and Arthur, and a sister, Esther.
ties and. Exchange Commission,
outlining plans for the first pub
lic sale - of Ford stock. It also
listed Ford's assets and earnings
for the past 10 years.
New Hearings Planned
The Ford data came under
the subcommittee's scrutiny as
another Senate group announced
new hearings on auto marketing
practices. Chairman A. S. Mike
Monroney (D-Okla.) announced
that his Commerce subcommit
tee will begin a hearing series
Jan. 19.
He announced that George
Rommey, president of American
Motors Corp. Nash and Hudson,
will be the first witness. Ford,
Chrysler, GM and Studebaker
Packard officials also will testi
fy, as will representative deaV
ers, the senator said.
5