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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (April 16, 1956)
Wmmmmmmm FIREPOWER Shown above is a four-second time exposure arc lines created by tracer bullets, fired by National Guards men Saturday night during a firepower demonstration at the Camp White range. Some 400 to 500 persons witnessed the demonstration, which was given as part of week end range qualification activities by 60 men of Company A, 1st Battalion, 51st Year Medford 14 Pages MEDFORD, rood GCn Small Alabama Community Bears Brunt of Storm Birmingham, Ala. (U.R) Rescue crews searched through 150 smashed homes today for vie tims of the vicious storm which struck a tiny suburb Sunday, killing at least 18 persons and Injuring more than 100 others. McDonald's Chapel bore the brunt of a 45 mile squall front that raked the Southeast Sun day. A tornadic wind slammed through the heart of the mining community of 1,000, leaving a fourth of the residents homeless. The houses looked like piles of timber in a lumber yard. Over a wider area homes were roofless, overturned or battered. While the Red Cross sheltered some 400 persons in a Methodist church and in a union hall at nearby Ensley, Ala., dozens of other survivors walked through the debris hunting relatives. Many Bodies Unidentified Roscoe D. Whatley, Red Cross director, said the nightlong con fusion was made worse by the fact that, seven of the bodies were too mangled to identify. A crew of 50 searchers forced their way into rooms buried un der debris and pried up mounds of planks in their hunt for vie; tims. They found one body draped in a tree. None of the survivors saw the funnel of a tornado but their descriptions of a sudden roar and wind lifting them through the air bore out the tornadic force of the storm. Eddie King, a 45-year-old Negro, who with his 17-year-old daughter, was injured, said he just "floated out into the yard" when the wind yanked his frame house from its foundations. The Rev. W. J. Lucas, another resident, said he and his two young sons held on to each other to keep from being blown away when the wind struck with a roar that sounded "like a freight train." Squall Hits Birmingham Hours later a squall line lashed back at this industrial city with winds clocked up to 71 miles per hour at the airport weather sta tion. No further damage was re ported, however. Severe thunderstorms with torrential rains, hail and wind clocked in gusts at near-hurri cane force hit Shreveport, La., Centreville, Ala., and Atlanta, Athens and Cumming, Ga. Portland (U.R) Joseph Pat rick Walsh, 45, has been order ed held under $5000 bail pend ing arraignment on an indict ment charging him with at tempted robbery last January of the Metropolitan branch of the U. S. National bank here. Dental Health Survey Starts In Medford, Ashland Schools Three Medford dentists exam ined teeth of first, third and fifth grade students at Jackson school today as part of the dental health survey under way in Medford and Ashland. Results of the Ashland tests, made last week, are expected tomorrow in a report from Dr. David Witter, director of dental health for the state board of health. Students in the first, thira. fifth and seventh grades will be examined in all schools of both cities before the survey is com pleted, according to Miss Doro thy Collard, supervisor of nurses, Jackson county health department. Dentist will xamio Qliu OREGON, MONDAY, APRIL Israelites Warned of Stern Tests Ahead on Eighth Anniversary Jerusalem (U.R) Israel observed its eighth independence day today with a glow of pride hardly dampened by a warning that the difficulties lying ahead "will be greater than those of the Palestine war, The warning of the stern tests still ahead came from Premier David Ben-Gurion who told Egypt that "for every blow the Egyptian army delivers against use we shall return two." Border tension was easier Thornton Denies Labor Charaes Salem (U.R) Attorney Gen eral Robert Y. Thornton today denied charges that his office was "biased against the rights of labor." Thornton had recently been criticized by labor leaders. Executive boards of the State Federation of Labor and the State Industrial Union Council Saturday endorsed Republican Carl Francis as a candidate for attorney general. Thornton, a Democrat, ans wered: "Despite recent criticism by certain labor leaders that the attorney general's office has been biased against the rights of labor I would like to point out that as attorney general I have made a number of rulings favor able to the rights of the work ers." The attorney general, who is running for reelection, said he thought the labor criticism was based on a 1953 ruling that the anti-picketing bill was uncon stitutional. But Thornton said he thought the criticism of the decision was "unwarranted and unjustified particularly since the Oregon State Supreme Court upheld our ruline in toto. except for one section of the act." Three-Offense Suspect Leaves Jail on Bail Donald Milton Straus, 23 roue 2, Gold Hill, was released on $210 total bail Sunday after- non after spending the night in the city jail on hit and run, reck less driving and no operator's li cense. City police said they arrested Straus Saturday night following an accident at Fourth st. and Central ave., involving Straus' auto and a car operated by Lawr ence A. Dinneen, Grants Pass. Roseburg (U.R) Fire de st roved Sandy's Tavern here Sunday. dren at Roosevelt school tomor row; Hedrick Junior high, Wed nesday; Lincoln school Thursday morning: McLoughlin, Thursday afternoon; and-Washington, Fri day. Jefferson students were exam ined last Friday. To Find Problems The extent of dental health problems among children is ex pected to be determined through the tests, as well as the number of children receiving dental care. The county health depart ment, Southern Oregon Dental society, Oregon state board of health and Medford and Ash land schools are cooperating in tha survey. Medford National Guard, with Lt. Jack Phillips in charge. The men shown in the picture are riflemen, except the men second from left, with a light machine' gun, and at the far right, an automatic rifleman. The smooth arched lines are the bullets' trajectories, and the confused pattern at right are ricocheting bullets. (Birchfield photo) Price 5c Tribune 16, 1956 No. 22 than it had been in days al though an Egyptian military spokesman said in Cairo that Israel forces twice opened up small arms fire on Egyptian positions in the Gaza strip Sun day. Hammarskjold in Beirut United Nations Secretary Gen eral Dag Hammarskjold was in Beirut, Lebanon, where inform ed sources said he had received promises of wholehearted co operation from both Israel and Egypt in keeping the Middle East peace. The sources said both sides agreed to widen the demili tarized zone separating the hos tile armies and that both Arabs and Jews were anxious to avoid provocations that would force them to declare-war - - Hammarskjold flies to Jeru salem Tuesday to talk with Ben- Gurion and Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett. He already has conferred in Cairo with Egyp tian Premier, Gamal Abdel Nas ser. New Cooperation Pledged A promise of new Israeli co operation came from Israel's am bassador in London, Elihu Elath, who pledged his country's full support for the Hammarskjold mission. But he too warned that while Israel wanted peace and friend ship with Egypt and other Arab states, "any act of aggression" will be firmly resisted. Missing Boy Scouts Found Near Eugene Eugene (U.R) Two Boy Scouts missing since yesterday in rugged country of Eastern Lane county, walked cut of the woods today, apparently none the worse for their night in the open. The Fall Creek guard station radioed to state police that the boys, Lester Hedgecoke, 15, and Tom Frese, 12, were in excel lent condition. The two were members of a Boy Scout camping party. When they were reported missing, Nor man Wilson of Dallas and his bloodhounds, well known for rescue work in Oregon, went into the area. The Scouts walked out of the woods about four miles from the Fall Creek guard station, east of Springfield. Weather Favorable For Tree Pollination ' Present warm weather is fa vorable for bee pollination of the valley's orchard trees, C. B. Cordy, county horticultural agent, reported today. He said rain would hinder pollination, and would thus be unfavorable for pear production this year. Cordy added that D'Anjou pear trees are now in full blossom, and that Bartletts are approach ing full bloom. Barring unfavor able conditions the trees should be perfect for the annual Pear Blossom festival next Saturday, he indicated. Weather FORECAST: Partly cloudy to tonight ..and.. Tuesday. . In creasing cloudiness Tuesday night. Low tonigh 36. High Tuesday 70. Temp. Highest yesterday 56 Lowest this morning 45 Prec. To 4:30 a.m. today .trace Firepower Shown By National Guard Company Saturday More than 60 men of Com pany A, First Battalion, 186th Infantry, of the National Guard, took part Saturday and Sunday in range training and a fire power demonstration at the Camp White range. Lt. Jack C. Phillips, platoon leader, was in charge. He report ed a "high percentage" of qualifications during the train ing. Weapons used included .30 caliber light machine guns. Browning automatic rifles and M-l rifles. Many Spectators The demonstration, first one held by the company, was part of a weekend training and was watched by 400 to 500 specta tors, Lieutenant Phillips said. He added that the group in cluded the largest number of recruits ever to join the com pany, the result of the recent successful drive. Those who fail ed to qualify in the weekend firing will have another oppor tunity when the entire battalion meets May 20. Southern Oregon Rail Line Aired Salem 4U.R) Public- Utilities Commissioner Charles Heltzel today received a memorandum from Clifford W. Ferguson, di rector of rail transportation, on legal aspects of a proposed ex tension of Oregon Electric rail road into southern Oregon over tracks of the Southern Pacific. Ferguson said it was his opin ion that the Interstate Com merce commission had no power to compel one carrier to grant trackage rights over its line to another carrier, except in de clared emergencies. "The Interstate Commerce commission has no power to compel the SP&S and the Ore gon Electric to extend its lines into southern Oregon," the memorandum continued. Petitions to the SP&S have been circulating in southern Oregon, Ferguson said, setting forth the lack of competitive rail service in the area, as' well as the unprecedented industrial growth, and requesting that ac tion be started to extend the Oregon Electric from Eugene to Ashland and Powers over SP tracks. ! Ferguson said, however, that SP&S and Oregon Electric had every right to petition the ICC for a certificate of public con venience and necessity authoriz ing them to extend their lines into southern Oregon. Caye Junction Man On Bail in Gold Case San Francisco (U.R) Two men arrested Saturday by secret service agents on charges of at tempting to sell black market gold to an undercover agent were free under $1,000 bail to day but face possible indictment Wednesday when the case against them is presentea to the grand jury here. The men held were Guy Pye, 59. Auburn City, a miner, and FJberg S. Osbourn, 49, Cave Junction, Ore., timber salesman. They were arrested when they attempted to sell gold valued at $2,940 in the United States. The gold was in three bars and two lumps weighing 84 ounces and testing 24-carat fine. Paul Pa terni, head of the Secret Service office here, said the pair had been under investigation for three months. Midnight Is Deadline For State, Federal Tax State and federal income tax returns must be in the mail by midnight tonight or taxpayers will find themselves charged with interest on overdue pay ments. An extra 24 hours was added to the April 15 deadline when it fell on Sunday this year. Message To House Tells of Regret In Official Act Administration To Take Four Steps Washington (U.R) -dent Eisenhower today the farm bill. In a message to the House of Representatives, Mr. Eisenhow er said he acted with "intense disappointment and regret." Bill Improper - Because he found the bill be fore him improper for improve- President Eisenhower still has an opportunity to get his farm program enacted, despite his veto of the controversial farm bill, according to Con gressional Quarterly. How this can be done, through enactment of addi tional farm measures, is told in an exclusive CQ article on Page 4 of today's Mail Trib une. ment of current farm income, he announced that the administra tion would take four immedi ate steps: 1. Price supports of wheat, corn, cotton, rice and peanuts will be set by Secretary of Agri culture Ezra T. Benson at a lev el of 821 per cent of parity. This meant that the Administra tion will guarantee a national pric average : of wheat at $2 a bushel," corn a"$l'.50"a bushel, and rice at $4.50 per 100 pounds. 2. The support price of milk will be increased to $3.25 per 100 pounds and the support of butter will be increased to 58.6 cents a pound. 3. The Agriculture depart ment promised, "Where assist ance will be constructive," to strengthen the prices of perish able farm commodities. 4. The President requested Congress to pass a "straight soil bank bill as promptly as pos sible . . . before fall seeding for next year's crops." Farm Welfare "This combined program of Administrative action and legis lative enactment will begin now to improve the income and wel fare of all our farm families," the President said to the House. "Here is a challenge for both the Legislative and Executive branches of the Federal govern ment." His veto message was sent to the House because that is where the bill originated last year. The President will further ex plain his action to the American public by radio at 10 p.m. (EST). His remarks will be filmed and telecast later in the evening. House Democratic leaders had not decided immediately wheth er to attempt to override the veto. It was generally agreed they could not succeed. In any event, no attempt to override was likely before Wednesday. Unofficial agreements had been made to have no record votes in the House today or tomorrow. The veto entailed a major, election-year political risk for Mr. Eisenhower. The legislation is designed to give farmers at a time when their income is at a 13-year low additional cash amounting to between $1,000, 000,000 this year. Governors Called Three Republican governors Fred Hall of Kansas, Leo Hoegh of Iowa and Joe Foss of South Dakota called at the White House this morning to warn the President of the political conse quences of a veto. They hoped to convince him that the 'farm bill should be signed. But after his talk with the governors, Mr. Eisenhower met with Agriculture Secretary Ezra T. Benson, the farm bill's major critic. Benson has said the meas ure was "'unacceptable" to him, principally because it would re store high rigid price supporters at 90 per cent of parity. Administration sources said that it was Benson's arguments during a conference with the President in Augusta last Satur day that led Mr. Eisenhower to decide firmly on what he tenta tively had considered earlier a veto. vetoed xhK-JZM k0B3P V DISCUSS FARM BILL tomehifld SeS IZ JJt- The Resident Sdi! ?S l&Sf cICay Opens Drive For Senate Job With Blast at Sen. Morse Portland (U.R) Private citi zen Douglas McKay wasted no time today in attacking Sen. Wayne Morse, the Democrat he hopes to unseat in November. ' "McKayj- whose resignation as interior secretary became effec tive yesterday, landed late last night at Portland International airport. He went to Salem for a welcome home reception today and then was to head for eastern Oregon for a week of campaign ing. The 62-year-old former gov- Kefauver Raps Big Business Domination San Francisco (U.R) Sen Estes Kefauver, opening his three-day barnstorming tour of Northern California, today de nounced "big business domina tion" of the Federal government and predicted he would be the victim of "organized confusion" in the New Jersey primary to morrow. Kefauver appeared before a Building and Trades Council shortly after his arrival here this morning, held a brief press con ference, hurried away to address the National Wine and Spirits Wholesalers convention, then made a courtesy call on Mayor George Christopher. Kefauver, speaking before the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers, at tacked what he termed the "cabal of big business" which, he said, was "operating the gov ernment to big business' ad vantage." "To me," he said, "the biggest thing in the campaign, affecting the business community, is its unbalanced representation in government." Poce Officer Plays Part of Cowpoke Today Medford Police Officer Don Pursel played the part of a cowpokt early this morning when he rounded up two Jer sey eows which were grazing on the high school practice field, and drove them into a South Holly st. pasture. Pursel. who said he'd given up life on the open range sev eral years ago, drove the pa trol car to chase the bovines several blocks up South Holly Owner of the pasture noti fied the cows' owner, David W. Byers, 1526 Myers lane. Pur sel didn't say whether Byeri would get a bill for feed from the high school. Radio Highlights President Eisenhower will discuss his veto of the farm bill in a radio address this evening. It will be broadcast over both radio station KYJC and KMED starting at 7 p.m. Secy, of Agriculture Ezra Taft Benson Geft) is shown as he FSeah0ZeT Ast Ga" on fl coSversialZnibul has reportedly taken the politically-fateful decision to veto UP to aCtiD With 3 -Person'report to the people vS ernor handed reporters a state ment in which he accused Morse of playing the role of a medicine man with a magic political brew. "It's composed of a little bit of Republicanism, ";a' little bit of Democratic party principles and a lot of socialism and opportun ism but the flavoring is 100 per cent pure Morse oratory," he said. McKay said Morse's bitter per sonal attack on President Eisen hower has ended the senior sen ator's usefulness to Oregon. McKay said he no longer was bound by restrictions placed upon a cabinet officer. "I'm iust Doug McKay and I am going to talk frankly and honestly, as I always have," he said. Referring to Phil Hitchcock, a rival candidate for the Republi can senatorial nomination, Mc Kay said that if the voters make him their choice in the May pri mary "I will support him to the limit in the general election." Hitchcock, using a small plane, campaigned in central Oregon yesterday in the area around Bend and Prineville. Salem (U.R) The Oregon Statesman, a Salem daily news paper published by former Gov ernor Charles Sprague, Sunday gave editorial backing to Phil Hitchcock in his fight to gain the Republican nomination for the Senate from Douglas McKay. Previously the Statesman had supported McKay in his cam paigns for public office. The Statesman said the Repub lican party needed "fresh and aggressive leadership" for the coming "critical" election and questioned the wisdom of Mc Kay's late entry into the sena torial race. Pressured Into Running The newspaper said McKay was "pressured into running by top political brass in Washing ton." However, the newspaper said the primary reason it was sup porting Hitchcack was that "he carries the potential of high statesmanship which we like to attach to a United States sena tor." The editorial said the fu ture of Oregon Republicans de pended to a great extent on the outcome of this year's elections. Deadline for Registration In order to vote at the May 18 primary election you . must: ' - 1. Be correctly registered by 8 p.m., Tuesday, April 17. You must re-register if you: 1. Have not voted in one state-wide election within the past two years. 2. Have moved into another precinct or to another county in the state. 3. Have changed your name by marriage. 4. Desire tr change from one political party to another. (It is preferable, but not essential, that you re-register if you have moved within your precinct or have had your address changed by order of the post office.) You may register from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the county clerk's office in the courthouse or with the deputized registrar for your precinct. Ashland Fire Chief Dies in Portland Hospital on Sunday Ashland Harry D. McNair, I 58, Ashland fire chief, died Sun day morning in the Veterans Ad ministration hospital in Portland. Funeral services will be held in Ashland Mortuary chapel at 10 a.m. Thursday. Members of Elks Lodge No. 944, Ashland, will be in charge of the services, with the Ameri can Legion conducting grave side services. Committal will be in Ashland Mountain View ceme tery. Mr. McNair was born Sept. 16, 1897, in Marysville, Mo. He came to Ashland from Idaho Falls, Ida., in 1923, and had been, a member of the Ashland fire department since, and chief since Jan. 1, 1950. He was a member of Elks Lodge, American Legion, and the 40 & 8, and was man ager of the Ashland Kiltie band. When he first came to Ash land, he operated the garage which is now the Shrine ware house. He moved to Yreka in 1935, but returned to Ashland in 1937. ' He was a veteran of World War I, and spent some time in the National Guard. Married in 1949 On Aug. 24, 1949, in Ashland, he was married to Eloise Mackie, who survives. Other survivors, include a sister, Mrs. Thomas Wasley, Idaho Falls, Ida.; two step daughters, Mrs. Foster Seaver Jr., Ashland, and Mrs. Gary Keener, El Monte, Calif.; a niece, Mrs. Dean Snarr, and a nephew, Richard Wasley, Idaho Falls. State Funds Alloted To Jackson County The secretary of stete's office has allotted $106,430.70 from county revenues to Jackson county, the county court said to day. The sum of $105,309.43 from motor license fees was allocated to the general road fund. The genera! welfare fund was allo cated $206.84 from the amuse ment device tax, and $914.43 from the alcoholic beverage tax was also allocated to the gener al welfare fund.
