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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (April 17, 1956)
EIGHT MEDFORD (OREGON) iggest Held in By JOSEPH L. MYLER " United Preii Correspondent Washington (U.R) The big gest nuclear test program, ever held in the Pacific is, about to start. It will feature, about May 1, the firSt U. S. H-bomb test 'ever witnessed by newsmen and other "unofficial observers." This ."public shot" will be equal in violence to several mil lion tons of TNT. It will be one of the largest shots of the test series, which will Include more than 10 explosions. - The program will get under way shortly after April 20. The United States has issued a warn ing to the world that a rectangle cf 373,000 nautical square miles nearly 500,000 square land miles around the Marshall Island-prov ing ground will be a hazard area from April 20 until the tests end during the summer. The test opeier will be at least the 66th U. S. nuclear exposion. Russia, with possibly 30 atomic explosions under her belt, and Britain with three also are conducting tests this year. lest devices will be more varied than ever before. They will include featherweights, lightweights, middleweights. and heavyweights. None will be as the Bikini "super" detonated March 1, 1954. The 1954 series Included five giant blasts. Outsiders Admitted It will be the first Pacific test program in a decade to which newsmen and other outsiders were admitted. More than a score' of civil defense offials, probably including a few governors, and 15 reporters, photographers, and radio-TV technicians will wit ness the big blast scheduled for May.l. They will watch from the U.S.S. Mt. McKinley, a communications-command ship, at a distance of about 50 miles, ac cording to present plans. That suggested distance is a tip-off to the might of the weap on. Its anticipated ' energy yield has not been announced. Ap parently, however, it will be somewhere between five and 10 megatons. A one-megaton bomb equals the explosive power of 1,000,000 tons of TNT. ' Both Eniwetok and Bikini, the two atolls of the proving ground, will be used for test shots in the spring series. The observer shot will be set off at Bikini. It may be an air drop from an H-bomber. Or it may be exploded on a Jbarge, on the ground, or on a tower. A prime purpose of the new tests is to develop small atomic warheads for defense. In past tests at the Nevada proving grounds devices of less than 1000 tons TNT equivalent have been exploded. Small Weapons Testing The largest A-bomb equals around 500,000 tons, and the largest U. S. H-bomb ever actual 3 ly tested was a 15-megaton de vice, according t o informed sources., There is no upper limit, however. It is understood that some of the smaller weapons to be tested are designed - for delivery by low caliber cannon, rockets, mortars, and a variety of ground-to-air, air-to ground, and air-to-air guided missiles. Chairman Lewis L. Strauss of the Atomic Energy Commission has said they will beef up this country s defenses against nu clear attack. The keynote of this year's program is "deliver ability." Many tests of the past have been scientific experiments involving devices far too bulky for use. They had to be refined to fit available means of deliv ery. The big task force of service and civilian experts who will conduct the tests already is at the proving ground. Pretty soon, an official said, test weapons of all sizes "will be popping all over the place." Safety Precautions The last Pacific test witnessed by newsmen was also the first. It was staged in the summer of 1946 a year after World War II. The four Pacific test programs since then were closed to all but "authorized persons." News men will be admitted to future tests if this year's observer pro gram works out to everybody's satisfaction. This year the task force is in tensifying safety precautions to insure against any incident like that of 1954 in which 23 Jap - anese fishermen, 239 Marshall Islanders, and 28 U. S. service men were exposed to radioactive fallout. One of the Japanese died months later. All of the Ameri cans and Marshall Islanders have long since recovered. The 1954 accident was caused by a windshift. This year no big shots will be made until officals are as certain as weather science 'can be that conditions are just right. In 1946 some officials believ ed, or at least hoped, that the two atomic explosions of that program would be the last. They figured the world would reject such weapons as "too terrible." But the atomic powers have gone on to develop weapons many ' hundreds of times more terrible. MAIL TRIBUNE Nuclear Test Program Ever Pacific To isafoo'E 1 830' 10 ISO WARNING IS ISSUED to Pacific shipping by Atomic Energy Commission that, effective Anril 20. it should avoid 375,000 nautical square miles in area of Eniwetok Proving Ground due to nuclear tests. Hydrogen blasts are believed scheduled. Scientists May Soon Pin Down Cause of Mulltiple Sclerosis By DELOS SMITH United Press Science Editor New York (U.R) Science may soon pin down the cause of a disease which now has no known cause nor cure, for that matter. Prof. Samuel J. Prigal has completed a mammoth job of scientific scholarship which makes a most impressive theo retical case for allergy being the cause of multiple sclerosis. No ordinary allergy, under stand; nothing that would be turned up by skin tests or other standard ways of detecting and Congressmen To Take Stand in Icardi Hearing Washington (U.R) The gov ernment today' called three con gressmen to support its perjury charge against former Lt. Aldo L. Icardi, who; denied murder ing his superior officer during a World War II cloak-and-dagger mission. The congressmen were brought into Federal District Court to explain the establishment of a special House Armed Services Subcommittee before which Icardi appeared in ,1953. Former committee Chairman Dewey Short (R-Mo.) was ex pected to testify that he set up the subcommittee to investigate the strange disappearance of Maj. William V. Holohan behind enemy lines in Italy in 1944. Subcommittee members called to the stand were Reps. W. Ster ling Cole (R-N.Y.) and Paul J. Kilday (D-Tex.). Legal Technicalities The government claims Icardi, a 34-year-old Pittsburgh real estate broker, and his colleagues murdered Holohan. But it can not try him on a murder charge because of legal technicalities. Defense attorney Edward Ben nett Williams of Washington, D.C. was slated to give Icardi's side of the story to the jury be fore the witnesses were called. In a long opening statement, chief government Prosecutor Victor C. Woerheide Monday ac cused Icardi of plotting the mur der of Holohan and of embez zling funds and supplies ' from the United States. Icardi, now the father of five children, is accused of lying to the subcom mittee when he denied the charges. FRBSays Industrial Production Declines Washington (U.R) The Federal Reserve board reports that industrial production de clined slightly last month in stead of showing its usual rise. The board said yesterday that the March decline was due to the failure of durable goods pro duction to show its usual sea sonal increase. It said auto out put also declined during the month. The board's industrial produc tion index was still seven points above the level of March, 1955. But the auto production index was almost 25 per cent below its March, 1955, leveL Tuesday, April 17. 1956 Start About WAKE ISLAKff ENIWETOK ATOLL ' 83C1MJ ATOLL - t6S8'e RONSEUW iKWWALEiN fffOLL AILING LAPALAP ATOLL 6S- ENIWETOK f ROVING 6R0U N D04N5.ER identifying allergies. But some thing most extraordinary like the body becoming "sensitized" that is, allergic to its own self. It's no small matter, either. As Dr. Prigal pointed out: "Approx imately 300,000 cases exist in the United States, as compared with 250,000 cases of chronic.po liomyelitis. Lengthy Study Dr. Prigal, who is associate professor of medicine, New York Medical college, studied and dovetailed the work of over 200 scientists over the past 30 years. In multiple sclerosis there is a slow but progressive destruc tion of myelin, which is. a sub stance of nerve sheaths and other tissue, in the brain and spinal cord. The result is a creeping pa ralysis which cripples and kills the victim by inches. The question has always been: What destroys myelin; Dr. Prigal made these points: (1) Extracts of brain and cord tissue when injected into -animals will sometimes produce a condition resembling multiple sclerosis. An as yet unidentified substance within the extracts sets off ah allergice reaction and in myelin tissue. ' From Outside (2) The central, nervous sys tem can be affected by a number of allergic reactions, caused by substances which come from out side the body. (3) The brain may contain a substance which usually is latent but when "released" by some means now unknown, serves to set up an allergic chemical mech anism which acts against myelin. (4) Infections, either viral or bacterial, could play a part in re leasing a latent substance from the brain and setting up an "autosensitivity." West Must Spend For Better Roads Oakland, Calif. (U.R) A government official estimates the 11 western states must spend $17,360,000,000 to bring their highways up to date for the traf fic expected hv 1964. This estimate came yesterday from A. C Clark," deputy com missioner of the U. S. Bureau of Public Roads, who spoke to 350 delegates attending the Western Public Works conference. ' Discussing the proposed Fed eral highway programs, Clark said: "Never before in the his tory of highway development has there been such a public under standing Ox the highway defi ciencies that .exist, of the cost and consequence of driving over poor roads and of the economic benefits of riding over high ways designed and constructed to modern standards." Another speaker, J. P. Mur phy, principal highway engineer for California, said a Federal highway program is needed this year if the state is to meet its backlog of highway needs. He urged that Federal funds be spent on the basis of state highway needs. , , mm May 1 if of VtfTiSiK ATOLL ATOLL, , CWOTE ATOLL ' C i ' ... . - MA MALOELAP A1 CLL tftf 175 , AREA. (International Soundphoto) Oly umpla o o o with pleasure When all is shipshape and anticipation grows, settle back and contemplate your pleasures with the friendly refreshment of light Olympia Beer. Because Olympia . is brewed exclusively with rare, naturally perfect ; ; artesian water, you can rely on its delightfully different taste . . and always enjoy it, with pleasure! Its the Water that makes Visitors Stronger Baghdad Pact Aim of U.S. . Washington OJ.R The Unit ed States i3 taking new steps to strengthen the Baghdad Pact without joining it. Administration officials said today the United States does not plan to formally join the five nation alliance despite new de mands that it do so. But they said this government will pro vide new moral support for the alliance and will give sympa thetic consideration to large scale economic aid on a regional basis to pact members. It pre viously has granted aid to mem ber nations individually. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and President Eisenhow er came under attack from three House Democrats Monday. They called for immediate U.S. mili tary aid to Israel in speeches marking the eighth anniversary of Israeli independence. ' Rep. Emanuel Celler (D-N.Y.) told the House that if President Eisenhower "played a little less golf and paid more attention to the serious duties of his office" it might mean that "Israel would get these arms." Rep. James Roosevelt (D Calif .) said it was "dense and stupid" not to grant Israel's re quest for $50,000,000 worth of U.S. arms when the Arab na tions are getting arms from the Communists. Rep. Charles A. Boyle (D-IU.) also called for granting the arms request. There are nearly eties of bats. 2,000 vari- are always welcome at "One of America's Exceptional Breweries' Olympia Brewing Company, Olympia, ' Q .''v. ' ' ill il Lock of Response To Sucker Public Less Gullible Than During 1920 New York (U.R) Lack of response to an advertisement for a get-rich-quick investment scheme proves that the public is less gullible than it was in the days of Charlie Ponzi, according to True Magazine. The current issue of the maga zine has a book-length feature on Ponzi, who swindled Boston "in vestors" of more than $5,000,000 in 1920. To check whether the public would still go for Ponzi's scheme, True editors inserted the following ad in the public no tices column of the New York Mirror for three days at the be ginning of the month: Sucker Ad "A unique investment plan. Promises to pay you a fat profit of 50 per cent in 90 days. For further details, Charles Ponzi, Room 2002 67 West 44th Street, N.Y." True has received only 23 re sponses to the ad in the two weeks since it appeared. Thir teen letters and eight postcards arrived at True's offices and two Polk County Farmers Refused Emergency Aid Salem (U.R) Request of Polk cpunty farmers for emer gency Teed assistance has been denied by the secretary of agri culture, Gov. Elmo Smith was informed today. Americans buy more newspa ers per day than packs of cigar ettes. Readers are buying an av erage of 56,000,000 papers daily an all-time high. the difference Washington, U.S.A. Oly persons made personal inquiries The letters and cards indicated curiosity mixed with wariness. Most of them asked for further details by mail "without obliga tion" and seyeral asked "Ponzi" not to send salesmen to their homes. The grammar, spelling . and penmanship indicated a rather low educational level for the writers. One letter smacked of the sort of sucker enthusiasm that made it possible for the orig inal Ponzi to collect. It read: Edmund E. Resident Manager Hacific Northwest uttutttt Sine 1913 HOTEL MEDFORD LOBBY Consult With Mr. Hass on , INVESTMENT and RETIREMENT Programs Using the Securities of . . , Utilities Banks Insurance Industrial and Investment Company Shares. Incomes of 3 to 6 Can Be Obtained. 'Other offices in Portland, Eugene, Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, Aber deen, Bellingham, Yakima, Wenatchee and Walla Walla. O p ! I.- Ad Shows "Dear Mr. Bonzo: Too good to be true. Me myself has only 250 dollars to invest. Want to make 125 dollars by end of June. My friends also want to make money too. Please send forms." The two men who came to True's offices in person were a little shamefaced when told it was all an old gag. They got the same printed .warning that True sent to all mail inquirers along ,with a stamp for their trouble. Better think twice next time, the warning said. Kass Companj Phone 2-8379 $ 2 rl
