o
o
Is That So?
Approaching Japan, with Ja
pan Air Lines Before rolling
into my berth for the night, I
asked Purser Asao Iwamatsu to
wke me before dawn to witness
that recurring miracle of sun
rise which never fails to make
a man humble.
The sun, rising behind us,
lifted quickly out of the silvered
horizon, the eastern sky open-
ing like a great rose, petal by
petal while in the west a few
hard stars still sparkled.
. With that memory still vivid,
I was scarcely prepared for the
next view: "Captain Sowell asks
if you'd like to come forward
to get the first glimpse of Mr.
Fuji." Looking at my half-drained
coffee cup, the purser added:
"Don't wait. I'll bring you a hot
cup in a minute. Fuji-san, you
know, is best early in the morn
ing." Sure enough, there was Fujiy
ama, far in the distance, the
only land visible. The well-nigh
perfect cone was still pinked
with the morning sun's glow.
(Fuji comes from the Ainu word
meaning 'fire'; and 'yama,' or
'san,' meaning mountain.) A
fresh snowfall had dropped the
snow below timberline.
Looking at the glorious peak,
the captain (Quinn N. Sowell of
Houston and Ontario, Calif.) ob
served: "Of the thousands of vol
canoes circling the Pacific basin,
Fuji must be the most beauti
ful." (Some travelers would say
there is a second, equally beauti
ful certainly, Mt. Cotopaxi, Ec
uador.) As we neared the mainland,
the mountain's perfect conical
peak seemed to rise in majestic
splendor. Although I could not
distinguish the flora, I knew that
from the mountain's flaired skirt
to the ever-snow-covered 12,395
foot peak, there was a changing
variety of trees.0 From flowering
cherries and azaleas in the low
' lands, to the rhododendron in
the high lands, topped with a
twisted timberline stand of
gnarled stunted mountain ash,
silver fir and northern hemlock;
and beyond that, the inevitable
mosses and lichens.
Always Beautiful
I turned to the navigator, Ki
yoshi Yamada, "When is the
mountain ,most beautiful?"
He looked embarrassed. "Fuji
san is always beautiful, I think.
In spring, cherries and azaleas;
in summer, reflected in serene
lake; in fall, autumn colors; but
I think it is mosl; clear in the
blue-sky of winter. Maybe best
O
X
So smooth
if leaves you
breathless
mirnoff
cnvxicst name
J 4rtTltA
vuvntt
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10 proof. Mide from 1 00 grain neutral spirit
Ste. Pierre Smirnoff Fls. inc.Htrtforci.Conn.
By EUGENE BURNS
Ranger-Naturalist
always in mornings and very
late afternoons, just before sun
set. . ."
As we swept over the main
land, the captain veered north,
taking us over the mountainous
Japanese mainland. (San Fran
cisco to Tokyo, 24 hours flying
time; 29 hours elapsed time,
with dining stops in Honolulu
and Wake Island.)
Mostly formed by volcanic up
heavals, Japan has a wealth of
scenery; mountains of many
shapes cone-like, knife-edged,
saw-toothed; wa terfalls, hot-
springs galore, ravines, and tran
quil mountain lakes to reflect
the surrounding beauty. With it,
there are gentle, peaceful highly
cultivated valleys.
What Big Ben is to London,
Diamond Head to Hawaii, Man
hattan Skyline to New Yorkers,
Golden Gate to San Francisco,
Old Faithful to Yellowstone
Park, that Fujiyama is to the
Japanese nation. To everyone in
Japan. Since ancient times Fuji
has been venerated men have
worshipped at its summit for a
thousand years (until a century
ago, no women were permitted
to climb it; and surely no moun
tain has been painted more of
ten, had more poems dedicated
to it, had more stories and leg
ends surrounding it.
Once Two Mountains
Geologists say that Fuji, with
a base of some 75 miles circum
ference, was once two moun
tains. Then about 300,000 years
ago, an immense quantity of
lava spurted out and spread over
these two to form the outer crust
and give Fuji its present beauti
ful shape.
In Fuji's 2,000 years of re-,
corded history, it has had some
18 violent eruptions: one of the
worst being the last, about 250
years ago. This eruption blacked
out Tokyo (then called Edo),
some 75 miles distant, for a
week and deposited a six-inch
layer of ash to the frightening
accompaniment of earth shaking
and thunderous noises. Today,
only one spot is still too hot to
sit on and a few faint fumes
of steam still rise to attest to
the mountain's former power.
Every summer (from about
July 5 to Sept-. 10), more than
100,000 climbers scale its sides
over fairly easy trails. It's about
a nine-hour, eight-mile climb,
divided, into 10 stages with a
stone hut for resting, eating or
sleeping at nearly every one.
Horses, too, are available to the
eighth station.
Members of the Japan Alpine
club tell me that the best time
to climb Fuji is at night when
it is cool then the way seems
so much shorter. Also, this
brings the- climber to the sum
mit by sunrise. For the stay
abeds, there is an easier way
there are good auto roads sur
rounding the mountain; or for
a panorama of land, sea, moun
tain, lakes, there is the plane
trip to Osaka, clouds permitting.
(Coprighi, 1956, by
Eugene Burns)
(Released by MeCluxe News-
- paper Syndicate)
Free: By special arrangement
with the editors of the Encyclo
pedia Americana, my panel of
judges will award each week
to the reader who sends me the
best true-life nature adventure,
the best nature observation, or
the best question on nature and
wildlife, a complete 30-volume
set of this world-famous refer
ence work in a handsome Seal
craft binding. Each week new
submissions will be considered.
Sorry, I simply can't answer
your many friendly letters.
Please address your letter to: IS
THAT SO! co Medford Mail
Tribune, Box 575, Sausalito,
Calif.
Theyll Do It Every Time
By Jimmy Hatlo
KUMQU4T?
WUY, SHE fvWBRIED
HERS MILLSTONE-
MESS'S COUSIN SUPEN"4
USED TO (50 WTM ISGY
HOOFK4SLE BEFORE ME
ELOPED WITH WUA7
hsr mmb'" you
r KNOW THE ONE
WHO PLAYED THE
MORSES
W DO VOU KNOW
ZSGy UOOFHAGLE?
HIS SISTER HERMIN4
MARRIED LANSING
BOyLE.THE DOCTOR
WHO TOOK C4 RE OF
My SISTER SiESW'S
HUSS4MD AHD HIS
UNCLE YATATTA-
VATATTA
'Wx LOST THE TURBAD'WAY B4CK
WHEN SUPESM ELOPED WITH
THE R4CE HORSE 'j
I'M GOMA
STAYA? LISTEN-
THIS IS VERY
INTERESTING"
LIKE RE4DINS
THE TELEPHONE
BOOK
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fMm&ssm.x Ps MIC:
3-7 --l
ft 14 PG TCATTBJg SYNDICATE., la, WQKID WGHTS
Listening to the
two old gal pals
play wh0-m4bried-
c? WHO
TUANX ANOITIPOP
TUB UOTIP HAT TO
DOC ' CiN.CiNm-n, onto
On The Side
By E. V. Durling
(Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.)
The only soil in which miner
als can be fully utilized by plants
is the topsoil where organic mat
ter and humus from decayed
plants ere found.
An average U.S. family spends
15 per cent of its food budget
for dairy products.
come
astounding
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To love is to believa,,
To hope, to know.
'Tls a taste of Heaven lielow!
Tls that delightful transport we can
feel,
Which painters cannot paint nor
words reveal,
Nor any art we know of can conceal.
Waller.
What is the higest price ever
paid for a dog? Can S30.000 be
topped? That was offered for a
British owned Pekingese named
Carversham KU-KU of Yam or
"KU-KU" for short. KU-KU is,
of course, a champion show dog.
However, to its owner KU-KU is
still a much beloved pet. The
offer was refused.
Familiarity
The interlocutor of that air
wave huddle, the 64,000 ques
tion has an irritating habit of
immediately addressing guests
by their first names. This is not
in keeping with the occasion.
Instead of creating a friendly
atmosphere, it inspires one of
cheap familiarity. The practice
is especially annoying when the
guest is an elderly person. As
in the case of that competitor
who was an expert on Dickens.
The interlocutor started calling
her "Mabel" right away. If she
had been on a couple of more
times he probably would have
ended up calling her "Babe."
So They Say
Women born under Pisces
(Feb. 20-March 20) should be
the recipients of much affec
tionate treatment and be fre
quently praised in order to build
up their self-confidence. Piscean
females are inclined to get very
moody and low in morale. Their
appetite should be controlled or
they will end up in the stylish
stout class and have many ter
rific and tiring struggles trying
to get a girdle on. Because of
their sweet' and trusting nature,
the Pisceans should be warned
early in life to beware of deceit
ful males. Or, so say the star
gazers. Pleas Not
The book titled "Think and
Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill
is claimed to include "Andrew
Carnegie's secret method of
making money." I don't know
how much Carnegie made, al
together. But he gave away
$350,000,000.
Love Letters
Something every young man
should know is that if he writes
a young woman an ardent love
letter she will not be the only
one to read it. The great major
ity of females show such commu
nications to their friends. Not
one girl in a thousand keeps her
love letters to herself.
Insurance)
Am asked to name an or
ganization specializing in dog
insurance. Don't know of any
However, there are companies
offering insurance protection
against legal action in case your
dog bites somebody. This same
policy also protects you in
certain cases in which, your wife,'
son or daughter or yourself
cause injury to somebody else.
As for example, it protects you
if you slice a drive on a golf
course and your ball hits another
player on the head and seriously
injures him.
Asides
ihe nicknames ot the gayer
girls of the Old West were truly
picturesque. "Calamity Jane
had a couple of friends known as
"Kitty The Schemer" and Rowdy
Kate" . . . It was Churton
Collins, who said, "Never trust
a man who speaks well of every
body" ... As for persuading hus
bands to wear wedding rings,
our countrywomen seem to have
that situation well in hand. Nine
ty per cent of present-day mar
riages have double ring ceremonies.
Sidelights
Note the shape of the gen
erously proportioned females is
being referred to as the "Juno
esque figure." That's quite an
improvement over . "stylish
stout" . . . There is some ques
tion as to who originated Moth
er's Day but there is no doubt
that Mrs. John Bruce Dodd of
Spokane, Wash., originated fa
ther's Day. Mrs. Dodd's. father
successfully reared a motherless
family of six children.
Australia has a coastline of
about 12,200 miles which in
cludes the island State of Tas
mania nearby.
State Claims Money
Due on Liquor Taxes
Salem (UP.) Gov. Elmo
Smith said Tuesday that the
state of Oregon will be nearly a
million dollars richer if tax re
fund claims prepared by the
Oregon Liquor Control commis
sion against the United States
Treasury department are grant
ed. W. H. Baillie, liquor commis
sion administrator, reported to
the governor that the claims for
refunds from the treasury de
partment total $929,746. In ad'
dition, the commission has a
claim against National Distillers,
Inc., amounting to $31,940 for a
refund of taxes paid by the
commission through the distil
lers.
Refund claims are based on
taxes paid by the commission in
1952. The claims contend that
the increased rate of tax on all
distilled spirits in bond from
$9.00 to $10.50 on each proof
gallon, effective Nov. 1, 1951,
imposed on floor stocks was "il
legally and erroneously assess
ed, collected and paid."
Wednesday, March 7, 1958
MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE THREE
Unemployment in
Oregon Increases
During February
Salem (U.R) Unemploy
ment in Oregon increased slight
ly during February for the first
time since 1949, the State Un
employment Compensation com
mission has reported. Those un
able to find jobs March 1 were
estimated at 51,900, a few hun
dred! more than a month or a
year ago.
Payments to insured workers
also increased, hitting $3,265,-
220, most since 1953 and third
highest in the 19-year history of
the commission. The number of
checks dropped, partly because
of elimination of low-paid work
ers from eligibility, but the av
erage weekly benefit rose from
$22 to over $29 under the new
schedule approved by the 1955
legislature.
Weather Blamed
Continued wet and cold wea
ther was blamed in most areas
for the increase in the number
of job seekers. Nearly 43 per
cent of those drawing compen
sation were from lumber and
logging, compared with 35 per
cent a year ago. An additional
26 per cent came from other
seasonal lines, food processing
and construction.
In the four-county Portland
metropolitan area . unemploy
ment changed but little, holding
at levels about 12 per cent un
der a year ago.
Seventeen of the 26 local em
ployment offices reported more
workers actively seeking jobs
than at any time since early last
winter. Largest increases came
from Hillsboro, Astoria, Baker,
Bend, La Grande, Lebanon, On
tario and Pendleton. Logging
shutdowns also kept unemploy
ment around Eugene about 1,
600 higher than a year ago.
State Hospital Escapees Apprehended in Eugene
Eugene (U.P.) Two men who
escaped from Oregon State hos
pital at Salem over the week
end have been apprehended in
Eugene.
Robert James Van Landing
ham, 22, San Jose, was picked
up yesterday in a restaurant
and Jack Gordon, 35, Klamath
county, was arrested Tuesday.
The two were being held at the
hospital for examination.
Gold Hill VFW Post
Schedules Meeting
Gold Hill The Gold Hill Vet
erans of Foreign Wars post and
the auxiliary will meet at 9 p.m.
Friday, March 9, at a new loca
tion, in the hall beneath the
Odd Fellows meeting place, it
was announced this week.-
All members and their wives,
and men eligible to join . and
their wives, are invited.
IIMMilllilMIMMlMiaftWUMBI
Daily's U-Drive
Medford Airport
A FAVOR PTE
COPS EMBARRASSED
Detroit (U.R) Two embar
rassed suburban Highland Park
patrolemen reported the theft
of their two-day-old patrol car
from police headquarters early
today.
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Mamie Not Going
To Monaco Wedding
Monte Carlo, Monaco (U.R)
The White House in Washington
has blasted hopes of sources
close to Prince Rainier ni that
Mrs. Eisenhower might attend
the wedding of the prince and
actress Grace Kelly.
The sources said President
Eisenhower's wife might pinch
hit for him at next month's nup
tails. But in Washington, the
White House said there was "no
truth" to the report.
Although no woman on record
has ever visited the Antarctic,
many of the regions around the
South pole are named for women.
It Knows No Master
but You !
You're setting the pace in this one
with your own good judgment virtually
the only limiting factor!
Up front you have the highway's
hottest performance team . . . the
mighty 227-h.p. Strato-Streak V-8
(239-h.p. with dual exhausts) and its
partner, the revolutionary Strato-FIight
Hydra-Matic. Here's a vast reservoir
of dynamic power!
The first time you tap that reservoir,
$. You can actuallg buy a big, glamorous Pontiac 860 for less W
than you would pay jor many models of the low-priced three!
you'll discover a thrill that can't be
duplicated anywhere else at any price!
The way it whisks you past awkward
situations and .6lower-moving traffic
has you breathless.
Why not come in and sample this
. tremendous go?
And while you're here, you'll find that
performance is only half of Pontiac'i
wonderful story. The other part is price
and it's every bit as exciting!
9Eztra-coti option.
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