Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989, January 27, 1956, Image 1

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Medford mail tribune., January 27, 1956, Image 1

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Newspaper Page TextPORTLAND OUT fi (Minns rvn IV IUI n! va Uvi o SHOfflFA ITifWii Medford United Presi Full Leased Wire 50th Year 22 Pages President's Per Al Sarena Cast Hagerly Denies Allegation Made By Drew Pearson , better To McKay Said Non-Existent Washington (U.R) The White House today" branded as a "com plete falsehood" and a "scurri lous lie" a report that President Eisenhower took a personal in terest in the disputed Al Sarena mining claims. Press Secretary James C. Hag--- erty opened his daily briefing by commenting on the report which columnist Drew Pearson made yesterday in his syndi cated column. Pearson said the Senate In terior Committee files include a letter the President wrote Interior Secretary Douglas Mc Kay asking that the Al Sarena section of the Rogue River Na tional Forest be sold. , Hagerty said the report is a "complete falsehood and, in my opinion, a scurrilous lie." No Such Letter Saying that "no such letter exists," Hagerty asked news papers which carried Pearson's column to "use my statement" as well. ; He sid he was making his remarks "so the press of the na tion and American public have this report." . He said Sen. Barry M. Gold water (R-Ariz.) questioned the committee staff about the letter yesterday and the staff members reported that no such letter exists. o Subcommittee attorneys Rob ert Redwine and William Co burn tSld the subcommittee yes terday they had not seen such a letter in studying Interior Department files on the case. : Sen. Thomas H. Kuchel (R-Calif.) said afterwards: i "It is fair to state the state ment in the newspaper is in correct." Rep. Clare Hoffman (R-Mich.) demanded that Pearson be ques tioned. ,Sen. Richard Neuberger (D-Ori.), acting chairman said he could not take .action on . a motion that the columnist be subpenaed in the absence of Siairman Earl Chudoff (D-Pa.) of the House section of the subcommittee. Hearings in Recess Al Sarena Mines, Inc., Mobile, Ala., was granted the claims in rich Oregon timberland in 1954 after being turned down during the Truman administration. Subcommittee Democrats have charged that the company, in stead of engaging in mining operations, "mined" $250,000 worth of timber. . They have charged the case is "another administration giveaway."; Republicans contend the in vestigation is a "smear." Redwin and Coburn said there was a 1955 letter in the Interior Department's file from C. 'W. Powell of Overland, Mo., to the President criticizing the Al Sa rena grants. A photostat of the letter showed only a printed fibte referring it to the Interior Department. Hearings are adjourned until Tuesday. , " (See Story on Page 14) Scientists Use Radiation Process To Sterilize Food Dugway, Utah U.R) Scien tists have found how to use high intensity radiation to kill food spoiling bacteria, but they still have the problem of how to do it "for sure" without ruining flavor, aroma, appearance and food value. .' Military and civilian experts at the unique radiation labora tory of the Army's vast Dugway Proving Ground in Western Utah told newsmen that all cur rent signs point to eventual success. Time for Research "Sterilization by irradiation is revolutionary as cooking and re frigeration in the preservation, packing and storing of food," .Dr. C. J. Christensen of the Univer sity of Utah, cpntractor operator of the laboratory, said. It will take time before re search is completed, h added. MEDFORD, OREGON, FRIDAY, JAM' . Benson Letter Stirs Wrath of Senators Washington (U.R) Sen. Hubert H. Humphrey (D-Minn.), told the Senate today that Sec retary of Agriculture Ezra T. Benson should be fired "this afternoon" for a letter to a maga zine editor which appeared with his signature. Humphrey said the letter ap peared in the February issue of Harper's magazine. He said it praised an article in the maga zine's December, issue entitled Commission Opens Bids On Four Road Projects In County Bids on four Jackson county highway projects, including re placing the covered McKee bridge across Applegate river south of Ruch, were opened by the state highway commission in Portland this morning. Keith Brothers construction company, Medford, submitted a low bid of $39,100 for grading and oiling .24 mile of Crater Lake highway near Casey State park. Rogue River Paving com pany, "Medford, bid $14,781, for widening .68 mile of Crater Lake highway south of Reese creek. Other Projects Other projects and low bidders included: Orlando C. Bernard, Portland, 73,688, for constructing two bridges on relocated Pacific high way in Ashland, one a 256-foot span over Ashland creek and Water street and the other a 17 foot bridge over Ashland creek. R & M Construction company, Central Point, $55,095 for a 302 foot bridge over Applegate river on county road nine miles south of Ruch. The bridge will replace the present covered McKee bridge. " . . A preventive maintenance pro gram, calling for $550,000 worth of construction on state high ways in southern Oregon subject to annual flooding was approved yesterday by the commission, provided that the U.S. bureau of public reads will pay about half the cost. Part of State Program The proposed construction in southern Oregon is part of a state-w i d e program totaling $2,750,000. Highway sections in southern Oregon approved for preventive maintenance and amounts to be spent include: Redwood high way, one mile, $80,000; Rogue River Loop road, $175,000; Med- ford-Provolt road, half mile, $40,000; Powers secondary road, one-fourth mile, $30,000; and Pa cific highway south of Grants Pass near Savage Rapids dam, about a mile, $225,000. Highway Engineer R. H. Bal dock was authorized to make application to the bureau for aid. He reported that recent floods did $685,400 damage to state highways The preventive maintenance would in most' cases involve changes in line- and raising the grades to . get the roads out of flood-threatened areas, Baldock said. but said "we have a darned good idea . . . that it will be used commercially within 10 to 15 years." Capt. .G. A. Lynn, laboratory chief for the Army Chemical Corps, said some pharmaceutical manufacturers are already using irradiation to preserve such drugs as antibiotics, where taste is not a major factor. 'Actually, the Dugway pilot plant only does the cooking" of the food by subjecting it, on a remote controlled processing line that runs through a lead cell containing uranium, to an in tense bombardment with gamma rays. Testing of the food after it passes through the chamber is done in other laboratories and at the Army's Medical Nutrition Laboratory- in Denver, where it is served to volunteers. 1956 4 "The Country Slickers Take Us Again." Describing the article as "out rageous," Humphrey said Ben son's purported letter is "an in sult to every farmer in America." Resignation Demanded Sen. Milton R. Young (R N.D.), said Benson should "re sign immediately and apologize to the farmers" if he wrote the letter. Another Republican, Sen. Francis Case of South Dakota, said, "If the facts are what Har per's makes them appear to be, Secretary Benson has ended his usefulness." But both said they have some doubts that he wrote the letter. Humphrey said he would apologize publicly if Benson did not write the letter. But he said he would not accept any "escape hatch" that Benson signed the letter and didn't know what it contained. To Contact Magazine Humphrey said he will con tact the magazine to see if it re ceived an authentic letter from Benson. Case said Benson's office now is making a search to see if an authentic letter from the secretary was sent. The article was discussed at a closed meeting of the Senate Agriculture Committee. Under secretary of Agriculture True D. Morse, who sat in on the meet ing, later told reporters he hadn't read the article and was unfamiliar with the letter at tributed to Benson. Humphrey said the December article by John Fischer, con tained such phrases as farmers "scandalous wartime prosper ity," "swindle of the city vot ers" and "political hypocrisy" by friends of the farmer. Benson's Letter ' . , The February issue of Har per's in the "letters" section, carries a letter signed "Ezra T. Benson, secretary of agriculture, Washington, D.C.," saying: "I have read the article by John Fischer in the December is sue of Harper's with a great deal of interest. It is excellent." Humphrey called the letter "another injudicious example" of an Eisenhower Cabinet mem ber "getting into print when he shouldn't have." "This man should be fired now this afternoon," Humph rey declared. "When a secretary of agricul ture can endorse statements such as 'scandalous wartime prosperity," . he has outlived his usefulness," .Humphrey said. . Sen. Wayne Morse (D.-Ore.) said he could not understand how Benson could write such a letter. 'Just Plain Fool' "I always considered him a short-sighted reactionary," Morse s'aid. "I never thought he was just plain fool. The time has come to go after this fellow and make it clear t6 the farmers he's America's No. 1 economic enemy '." Several other Democrats join ed Humphrey and Morse in criticizing Benson. But Sen. Paul H. Douglas (D. 111.) inquired why Benson was being made "the whipping boy" for "just voicing policies of the administration." Non-Aggression Pact Proposed by Russia Washington (U.R) Russia has proposed to President Eisen hower a non-aggression pact which, in effect,, calls for separ ating the free and Communist worlds by a belt of neutral na tions, informed sources said to day. The non-aggression proposal, the sources said, was couched in vague terms in the now-famous personal letter sent to Mr. Eisen hower by Soviet Premier Nikolai Bulganin. i Weather FORECAST: Decreasing cloudi ness, with a few snow flurries along mountains this evening. Valley fog tonight and Satur day morning. ParUy cloudy Saturday. Low tonight 28-30. High Saturday 45. Temp. Highest Yesterday 42 Lowest this Morning 32 Prec. to 4:30 a.m. Today 12 ml Tribune United Press Full Leased Wire Price 5c No. 264 terest in Falsehood Warsaw Powers Open Conference On Red Army Plan 'Aggressive Circles' In U.S. Denounced Prague, Czechoslovakia (U.R) The Communist Warsaw Pact powers opened a conference on organization of a Red European Army today with a denunciation of "aggressive circles in the United States who wish to re open the cold war." ' The session was attended by the "Political Consultative Com mittee" composed of the Soviet Union and its seven European satellites, with Red China as an "observer." The grouping is gen erally considered Moscow's an swer to the West's North At lantic Treaty Organization. The opening two-hour and 15 minute meeting in snow-covered Cernin Palace which houses the Czech Foreign Ministry was marked by an attack on "West ern forces of war . . . especially in the United States." Attack on Dulles It also scored Secretary of State John Foster Dulles as be ing "naive" for his alleged "med dling" efforts in the internal af fairs of Eastern Europe. Czech Defense Minister V. Alexei Cepicka accused the United States of trying to renew the "old war." Polish Premier Joseph Cyran kiewicz made the "naive", and "meddling" charges ; against DulleS. : - ry;- Besides members of the Czech and Polish delegations, and the observers from China, there were representatives from the Soviet Union, Albania, Bulgaria, Ro mania, Hungary and East Ger many. Great crowds of Czech citizens stood in the snow outside the 17th century castle to watch the arrival of the delegations. R. G. Fowler Will Not Seek Reelection County Assessor Robert G. Fowler will not be a candidate for reelection, it was reported today. Fowler, who was elected to a four-year term of office in 1952, has been associated with county government for many years, most of the time as county agent. He is well-known in all parts of the county. ' Friends of his, who reported that he, has decided not to run, did not assign any reason for his decision. But he has been under medical treatment for some months, and only yesterday underwent major surgery at Sacred Heart hospital. Only announced 'candidate for the office so far, which is up for election this year, is Ray Schu maner, real estate man and ap praiser, who is seeking the Demo cratic nomination in the primary election. SWRB Urges Surveys For Flood Control Salem A resolution asking for early completion of flood control surveys in southwestern Orego was passed by the State Water Resources board at a meet ing recently. The resolution states that sur veys and reports on the Rogue, Umpqua and Coquille rivers, made under provisions of the 1936 flood control act are now considered obsolete because of increased population, land and property values and industrial expansion in the areas. Other preliminary and review reports on the rivers have been authorized by congress but have not yet been scheduled due largely to the insufficiency of appropriated survey funds, the resolution states. The resolution requests the Oregon congressional delegation urge the chief of Army engi neers, and the bureau of the bud get to expedite the work. Copies of the resolution were sent to the governor of Oregon, and to the division and district engi neers of Army of engineers. ryr irsm?' Ism ' ' t f re A fSJ i . ml i :J Y jr. ' 14 k - in i ' INSPECTING VIEW Glenn O. Taylor, Med ford attorney and businessman, inspects view from the site of Rogue Valley Manor, a Chris tian centered retirement home in which he has purchased lifetime occupancy rights. With' him are Walter Higgins, left, executive direc tor of the non-profit manor, and Melvin H. , Hogan, right, Medford investment counselor, who is president of the organization. The site Serious Fire Flares at Assembly Plant at Wilmington Wilmington.. Calif.- '(U.R) A serious fire broke but in the Ford Motor company assembly plant today after dikes protect ing the below sea level property gave way and unleashed a three foot flood in the huge building. . All available fire equipment from Wilmington, San Pedro and Long Beach, the three-city "waterfront" of the Los Angeles harbor area, was called to the scene, including fire boats in the harbor. A series of explosions preced ed the fire, which brdke out in the boiler room section of the plant. One plant employee re ported "only a skeleton crew working" at the time. There were no immediate , reports of University of By A. ROBERT SMITH Mail Tribune Correspondent Washington Senator Wayne Morse (D-Ore.) launched a new scholarship fund for the Uni versity of Oregon law school Thursday night, after receiving the '$1000 annual ' award for meritorious public service of the Sidney Hillman Foundation. ; Morse said that by prior ar rangement with the dean of the law school and the university president, he was sending his award check to Eugene to estab lish "the James T. Landye Memorial Scholarship. He said it would be for the aid of Ore gon law students in need of financial assistance. Award at Dinner The Senator was given the award at a dinner in the Shore ham hotel attended by many senators, representatives, su preme court justices and other public figures. A scroll given him by President Jacob S. Potofsky of the foundation praised his "independence of pri vate and partisan interests and his defense of the public wel fare." "He is bound to no man or party, but seeks only to disclose the truth and uphold the just, regardless of the odds or the opposition," the award said. "We honor Sen. Wayne Morse as a Road Conditions Highway 99. south Chains : required over Siskiyous. 7V& inches new snow; chains re quired n all highways in Sis- ' kiyou county, Calif., and . in the Weed-Dunsmuir area. Highway 99, north Carry ing chains advised over Sex ton mountain; highway clear to Eugene; 5 inches snow at Salem; 9 inches at Portland, chains advised. Highway 66 Chains requir ed over Green Springs, 5 inches new snow; chains ad vised in Klamath Falls area. - Highway 97 Chains requir- : ed north ' of ' Weed; carrying . chains advised north of Klam ath Falls. Highway 199 Chains ad vised over Oregon mountain. Highway 62 Carrying chains advised in Prospect area. Crater Lake National Park Chains advised on Highway 62 through park; required Annie Springs to headquar ters; load closed from head quarters to rim; 6 inches new snow; present depth 132 inches; skiing fair in deep -powder snow. injuries. Preliminary police reports said gasoline on top of the sea water caught fire and added to the conflagration. A short-circuit in the electrical system caused by the,flood was believed to have set off the blaze. Huge clouds of black smoke rolled upwards from the plant, located in the heart of a tightly knit industrial district that" is dotted with gasoline "tank farms" and other highly inflam mable structures. Police reported three feet of water swept into the plant. There was an explosion from the boiler room followed by three other- explosions, police re ported. Uses Award Money Oregon Scholarship Fund living symbol of the wise, honest and courageous servant of the people." ' ' . He was flanked by several previous recipients of the award, including Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, Sen. Her bert Lehman (D-N.C.) and Dr. Frank Graham, former presi dent of North Carolina univer sity. Warns on States Rights 'Morse, delivering the main ad dress, warned against the cur rent cry of the "states righters" for turning federal functions over to the states." He said this contributed to "growing legal, economic, social and political inequality within the United States." Before Morse addressed the dinner audience, he was praised by a special assistant to Presi dent Eisenhower, Mayer Kesten baum, who in private life is president of Hart, Schnaffer and Marx Clothiers. : He called the Senator "a great citizen, a great American, and a man of 'great integrity." The law school scholarship Southern California Mops Up After Rain Los Angeles (U.R) Southern California today mopped up flooded 'areas following a two dy downpour that dumped more than nine inches of rain at many points. Oregon Primary Election Ballots Will Include Candidates for County Offices Eight county offices, to be filled this year, will appear on the Oregon primary election ballots May 18. Deadline for filing nominations is . 5 p.m. March 9, according to Bereth P. Hopkins, county clerk. They are the offices of dis trict attorney, county commis sioner, county . assessor, county treasurer, county superintendent of schools, j surveyor, district court judge and justice of peace in Ashland. The latter two will appear on a non-partisan ballot. District Attorney Office The district attorney position, now .held by Walter Nunley, is for a four-year term . and pays $5,000 by state and at present S2,500 by county. Candidates file with the secretary of state for the -office. The county commissioner posi tion open is that held by L. G. (Shy) Morthland. It pays $4,800. The county assessor's position, currently held by Robert G. Fowler, is 'for four years and 5y y. V is on Barneburg hill in the recently annexed area southeast of downtown Medford. Con struction of the $2,500,000 retirement home modeled after the Willamette View Manor is expected to start some time this year. Direc tors hope the manor will be ready for occu pancy in the early fall of 1957. Higgins for merly was associate administrator of the Wil lamette View Manor. (Brainerd photo) Ford's The San Pedro fire depart ment "reported it is a very se rious fire.'.' . Fireboats . from San Pedro, Wilmington and Long Beach crowded into the estuary to add their streams of water to the horsepower of the land equip ment. Lou Puryear, managing editor of the San Pedro News-Pilot, said preliminary police reports stated the dikes breached short ly after 8 a.m. at high tide, let: ting a flood of water into the sunken property - which lies athwart the Long Beach-Los An geles city dividing line fronting onr Cerritos channel at " Long Beach. " To Establish would honor one of Morse's for mer students at the university who later practiced in Portland and was a member of the board of governors of the Oregon State Bar Association. - Morse spoke of Landye as a , "consistent champion of individual liberty and constitutional liberalism." . AWOL Soldier Admits Chicago Cop Death Chicago '(U.R) A 17-year-old AWOL soldier confessed that he shot and killed a veteran Chi cago policeman and wounded another in a nightclub gun bat tle, police said today. Deputy, Chief of Detectives Harry Penzin said the youth, identified as Donald Lawrence, made the confession to military authorities at nearby Ft.' Sheri dan, 111. Military authorities confirm ed the confession report and said Lawrence, a Negro, had been identified by witnesses of the Wednesday night gun battle. DOW-JONES AVERAGES - New . York (U.R) Dow-Jones final stock averages: 30 indus trials 466.56 off 0.26; 20 rails 155.19 off 0.61, 15 utilities 63.44 up 0.09, and 65 stocks 165.66 off 0.20. Sales today were about 1,950,000 shares compared with 1,840,000 yesterday. pays $5,000. ' . The office of county treasur er is for four years and pays $4,500. Karl Janouch has held the job since his appointment to fill . the unexpired term of the late Ralph Sweeney. . School Superintendent Four year terms" also are held by the county school superin tendent, with salary of $4,500, and county surveyor, $135 per month. Alf Mekvold is the pres ent superintendent and Paul Rynning is surveyor. The office of district court judge, presently held by Rawles Moore, is for six years and pays $7,500. The Ashland justice of the peace office also is for six years and carries a $2,500 sal ary. Nellie W. Burns is the in cumbent. ' Filing fee for county offices is $20, except for the justice of peace, which is $5. Medford Offices Five Medford offices will be up for election in November, in Schools Closed, Power Outages Said Widespread Other Willamette Valley Towns Covered . Portland (U.R) Portlanders today dug out from the heaviest snow in 13 years as more than nine inches fell on the city in less than 24 hours. Amounts in some outlying areas were even heavier as a cool east wind and a northward moving storm met head-on in the skies over the Portland area. The official reading at the air port, weather station was 9.3 inches. Lighter Fall Predicted The weather bureau yesterday had predicted a fall of less than an inch but rapidly changing conditions aloft sent snow pelt ing down on the city most of the night after some three inches had fallen during the day. The custom house in down town Portland reported 10V& inches of snow. The last amount over that in a 24-hour period here was 15.5 inches on Jan. 21, 1943. The all-time Portland -record for a 24-hour period was 16 inches on Jan. 31-Feb. 1, 1937. Schools Closed Public schools were ordered, closed for the day . here and power outages were widespread. Most roads were opened but chains were advisable and traf fic moved at a snail's pace. Portland apparently got .the brunt of the snow. The weather bureau said Salem reported four inches, Corvallis 2, Albany and Astoria 1. McMinnville reported some five inches of snow. Van- couver, Wash., got about the same amount as Portland and many schools in southwest Wash ington were closed. Indications were that the snow would stay around for awhile. The weather bureau called for cool temperatures at night, a forecast which helped allay fears of a sudden thaw and more flooding. The snow stopped. early today but the weather bureau said a new storm due to arrive about Sunday might bring more snow before turning to rain. -One Man Dies Travel in and out of Portland was slowed but not crippled. Two northbound planes by-passed Portland for Seattle last. night but . others were 'taking off. Passenger trains were run ning almost on schedule as were busses to and from California. Busses were late from the east and short-run busses in the Port land area as well as city buses were slowed. One death was attributed to the storm. John A. Strand .a Portland nharmacist. died while attempting to start his car which nad become bogged down in the snow. Eastern Oregon also had snow but not as heavy as Portland. some m inches were on the ground at Burns, but most -of it was' from previous storms. The weather man said the storm front seemed to halt as it reached the Portland area and snow to the north was not heavy. PUC Approves Bus Schedule Change Approval of proposed changes in Evergreen bus line schedules between Ashland and Medford has been announced by the pub lic utilities commissioner, fol lowing a public hearing Jan. 19. The changes, which will elim inate Sunday and holiday sched ules and the daily 9:45 p.m. trip between Medford and Ash land, will become effective Feb. 1, according to Ralph Mathews, company manager. . cluding the two-year term, of mayor and four four-year terms for- councilmen. One council man will be elected from each of the city's four wards. Earl Miller is the present Incumbent councilmen whose whose terms expire this year, are John Snider, ward one; Dick Woodcock, ward . two; Harold Frye, ward three; and Jack Fitz gerald, four. City offices, which are non partisan, are filled in the Novem ber general election. City meas ures appear on the primary bal lot when they coincide with the time of voting, to save expense of special elections. The only announced candi dates for office thus far are Ray J. Schumacher, who is seeking the Democratic nomination, and L. G. (Shy) Morthland, who is seeking reelection on the Repub lican ticket as county commis sioner. Assessor Robert G. Fow ler has announced he will not seek reelection: