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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (May 16, 1956)
TWO MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE Wednesday. May 16. 1956 Truck Cargo Hijacking Returns To Plaque Law Enforcement Men New York (U.R) A crime that helped to give the "roaring ZO s its name has come back like a lion in the postwar per iod to plague both law enforce- mcjit vmciais ana mausiry. Truck cargo thefts and hi jackings have increased sharply since the end of World War JX Losses now are believed to be running in excess of $100,000,- 000 a year. Industry spokesmen point out that the consumer actually foots the hijacking bill. "Hijackings and truck cargo thefts push up insurance rates, which in turn mean higher trans portation charges and ultimate ly higher prices at the retail lev el," they said. Hijacking is a throwback to the lawless days of prohibition when ganglords battled for con trol of the illegal liquor trade. Violence was their creed and the big black sedan bristling with machine guns was their trade mark. Gunplay Seldom Used But today highly organized gangs prey upon the nation's trucks with the precision of a professional football team. Sel dom do they resort to gunplay or other rough stuff. . An analysis of loss reports from Insurance companies and law enforcement agencies indi cates that truck cargo thieves made off with an estimated $100 000,000 worth of loot in 1955, against only $22,000,000 in 1945, A spokesman for the Cargo Protection bureau in New York says these loss figures do not re flect "single-package" losses, such as when one fur coat or one case of whiskey is stolen from a truck. "Estimates show that single case losses in the aggregate rep resent an even greater toll to carriers and shippers than full load losses," according to the bureau. These loss figures are disrupt ed by many trucking industry groups as being exaggerated or not fully substantiated. However, the bureau empha sizes that all loss figures are es timates. It points out that truck cargo thefts are not a serious problem among the big contract carriers, such as those which comprise the American Truck ing association. Liquor Favorite Target "The great proportion of high way thefts occur from shipper owned or locally-leased pick-up and delivery trucks which fre quently lack the protective meas ures set up by the contract car riers," the bureau explains. The bureau notes that most truck cargo thefts occur when unattended while the driver makes a pick-up or delivery in a nearby store or building. Liquor is a favorite target of the "truck rustlers." In Balti more last month the FBI seized three men only a few minutes af ter they hijacked a tractor trail er carrying $50,000 worth of whiskey. But scores of other easily dis posed of items such as furs, to bacco, food, appliances, clothing and even metals stand high - on the hijacker's list of popular items. Like the bandits of the Old West who knew exactly which stagecoach was carrying gold, to day's hijackers know what cargo a truck is hauling and what route it will follow. Sometimes they slip up, like the time a gang wound up with 15,000 Bibles. Ike Not Expected To Speak at Linfield Washington (U.R) Ren. Wal ter Norblad said today that he has been informed that Presi dent Eisenhower will not be able to accept an invitation to deliver the commencement ad dress at Linfield college this year. On The Side By E. V. Durling (Distributed by King Future! Syndicate. Inc.) Travel guides continue to cov er an Increasingly wide field of advice. For example, I note it sug gested that a lonely young wom an in Paris can find it helpful in meeting interesting men by buy ing a French poodle and then strolling about the boulevards with the pup in tow. The poodle will give a male stranger a chance to open a conversation, referring to the dog, without his being considered flirtatious. The young woman can respond to the gentleman's interest in her dog without endangering her reputa tion. And so one thing leads to another. It is not a new idea. Young women of Manhattan have been using the same system of flirtation for years. Especially on Park ave. Perfect Husband Is there such a thing as a per fect husband? How about a near ly perfect husband? It would seem Geoffrey Grenville-Wil- liams of London might qualify for one of these ratings. Mr. Grenville-Williams, who is a mil lionaire, has a beautiful young wife named Edwina. Of his ma trimonial mate, thisv remarkable husband says, "My wife is my hobby. I try to buy her some thing every day." Some of the things Mr.' Grenville-Williams has recently purchased for Mrs. Grenville-Williams are a mink coat, a Russian sable, a sapphire mink coat, a $280,000 diamond necklace and a pair of $2,800 earrings. Asides Note "Babe" Ruth referred to as a "batting champion of the American league." Should read "Champion home run batter." The "Babe" was never the bat ting champion of the American league. Incidentally, Ty Cobb won that title 12 times . . . that distinguished Ailurophile, Dr. Samuel Johnson, had a cat nam ed Hodge. The favorite food of Hodge was oysters. Dentists Why do dentists insist upon standing up while working? There are dental chairs which permit dentists to sit down while in action. The use of a dental chair is said to have the possibil ity of adding five or more years to the dentist's professional life. Too many dentists quit before they should because their legs go back on them. Also, the use of a restful chair by the dentist will give a better break for pa tients with late . afternoon ap pointments. Dentists who have been standing up all day are of ten not in the best of humor around four in the afternoon. Bathtub Singer Have come into possession of a remarkable song book compil ed by George Goodwin that has done much for the variety of my singing in the bathtub programs. To give you an idea of the cali bre of these programs, permit me to inform you that this morn ing I rendered the following dit ties: "Where did you get that hat?"; "McFadden's Uptown Flat"; "Sergeant McGee of the N.Y.M.P."; "Just Because She Made Them Goo Goo Eyes"; "She Was Happy "Til She Met You"; "A Little Bit of What You Fancy Does You Good" and "Never Take the Horseshoe from the Door." Briefly It was none other than that widely traveled and highly ob servant fellow Tyrone Power who once said: "I have watched them closely and I say after trav eling in many countries that English girls have the nicest legs in the world." . . . Am asked the ages of Lana Turner, Judy Gar land and Rita Hayworth. Rita is one year older than Lana who is three years older than Judy who was born the year Morvich won the Kentucky Derby. Sidelights Sarah Bernhardt did not mar ry for the first time until she was 30 years old . . . How large can a human being grow? So far the largest man known to medi cal historians was Miles Darden of Tennessee. Darden was seven feet six inches in height and weighed 871 pounds. Visual Telephone When will the visual tele phone be available in this coun try That is the telephone which in a person to person call makes it possible for those on the tele phone to see each other. That type of telephone has been in operation in Europe for many years. As far back as 1938 it was possible to telephone from Ber lin to Munich, a distance of 408 miles for the equivalent of $1.95 for three minutes and to see the person talked to. CHIPPER AND CHEERFUL President Eisenhower walks beneath wing of his Aero Commander plane on arrival in Washington from Gettysburg, Pa. The chief executive, chipper and cheerful after a highly encourag ing medical checkup, observed Mothers' Day at his farm. Medford High Sophomores Above Average in Fitness Medford High school sopho mores rank above the national average in physical fitness, ac cording to results of the phy sical fitness tests completed re cently. The tests, administered, by a testing team from the Univer sity of Oregon and Southern Ore- gongon college, are part of a pilot physical fitness program sponsored by the Central Phy sical Fitness committee of the Oregon Association for Health, Physical Education and Recrea tion. Twelve schools have been selected over the state for par ticipation in the tests. First Test The first test was given to Medford sophomores Feb. 14, and showed boys to be above the national average. The girls were just under national fig ures. On the second test given May 10, a gain of 15 points was averaged by all students. Both boys and girls scored above the national averages. The top 25. per cent of those tested nationally scored 115 and above. Medford boys scored 129 and girls 123 in the category. The median score for boys was 118 and girls was 106, against a norm of luu. The most significant thing about the results, according to Lee Ragsdale, supervisor of city school's physical education, is the fact that 90 per cent of the boys and 75 per cent of the girls tested are either above or with in the normal range of fitness. Ordinarily only 50 per cent of A Nichol's Worth of . . . Comment On This and That By HARMAN W. NICHOLS United Press Feature Writer flarman Nichols Washington U.R What's new in Washington: Dorothy, pretty young daugh ter of Republi can Congress man Otto Krueger of North Dakota, got all worked up over what people say about her state. Like In dians raiding the forts in the , dark of night Dorothy is teaching school in Maryland. When she took her worries to pop, he asked her to sit down and plead a cause for their home state. She did and the congressman printed it in his news letter. Said Dorothy: "I get really up set when I have to locate North Dakota geographically for those who've never heard of it, or what is even worse, to hear about the Indians." The North Dakota red man, she said, is docile and neighborly. Tie help around Capitol Hill, like many an aproned house wife, is busy feather dusting and getting the premises prettied up for summer and visitors. But most of our ladies in simple liv ing don't have the problem of dismantling chandeliers. All of the dangling bobbles on the hill have to be unhooked, scrubbed and put back. It's quite a chore, Secretary of Agriculture Ezra T. Benson has some interesting hobbies. One is puttering around the garden, planting carrots and petunias. He also is better than the gar den variety of horsemen, having won several silver cups. Our informant from Heidel berg, Germany, cables that the Army is collecting souvenirs. Some of the kids are making their own take-homes. Like cuff links from melted down coins. Pebbles along the beaches grow up to be "Jewelry." Hotel bag gage labels are decorations for ash trays. Museum tickets wind up under the glass of cocktail tables. None is for sale. Strictly hob bies. The Postal News Services bul letin reports that carrier Harold PAINT WITH MEDFORD PAINT & WALLPAPER STORE Comer 6th & Holly, Diagonally Acrou from the Post Office We Give S&H Green Stamps PHONE 2-9321 Miller of Rochester, Ind., had no trouble at all delivering a letter addressed simply: "Milo, Thelma, Jean Joan, two blocks south of thumb hand side." Miller got it there on time, even though the sender didn't say which thumb. Secretary of Defense Charles E. Wilson hired a new hand the other day. Asked if the man had enough authority, the secretary replied: "He has not enough authority to do the wrong things and keep it up very long." Multnomah Vice Probe By Grand Jury Slated Portland U.R) The Multno mah county grand jury investi gation into alleged vice opera tions in Portland is scheduled to get under way either today or tomorrow, Attorney General Robert Y. Thornton said. Trumans Arrive In France for Tour Around Europe Le Havre, France (U.R) - Former President Truman ar rived here today for a seven week look around Europe but said he would return home and take an active part in the presi dential campaign if asked. He quickly added that he had no interest in a presidential cam paign except to elect a Demo cratic president. Mr. Truman said lie and Mrs; Truman had "smooth sailing" on the five day Atlantic crossing aboard the liner United States and a steward volunteered the information "There wasn't a single wave." Up Early for Stroll As usual the former president was up at 7 a.m. for a stroll around the decks after the liner docked in clear, sunny weather. He was still suffering from a fall down a stairway three weeks ago and limped along with the aid of a cane. He was chipper enough, how ever, to climb a full flight of stairs instead of taking an ele vator. "This should give you boys some knee exercises," he cracked to newsmen hurrying to keep up with him. Mr. Truman, dapper in a blue suit, held a news conference shortly before he and Mrs. Tru man boarded a boat train for Paris. The train was 15 minutes late because of a freight engine which blocked the way. No Political Interest Asked if he would run for of fice any time in the- future, Mr. Truman said. "I'm not interested in politics at all." He scoffed at reports he would Ask any lawyer about MO 5. HonsCx incumbent candidate for position number five on the Supreme Court mummf" ses a Lawyers will tell you Judge Lusk ... ie . . . has been a judge for 25 years. ic . . . has an admirable record of conscientious and able service. has been on the Supreme Court ' for 18 years k . . . has the respect and confidence of law yers and litigants. HALL S. LUSK Associate Justice ef the Supreme Court Pd. pol. adv. by Jackson County "Lusk for Supreme Court Committee," William E. Duhaime, Secretary ' run for vice president and added, "I'm not interested in being a vice president at all." His only interest, he said, was to elect a Democratic president. In admitting he would take an active part in the campaign if asked, Mr. Truman added, "I judge there will be some chance of that." Oregon Marines Set Confab-Reunion Date The Oregon Marine corps league convention reunion will be held in Albany June 2 and 3. Registration begins at General Headquarters at 9 a.m. June 2. During the two day conven tion recognition for top repre sentation of any corps outfit will take place. All marines and ex-marines, whether members or not, are urged to attend. For reservations to the con vention those interested are asked to call Jim Barrett in Al bany, Wabash 8-8637. Spilled Tea Aids In Negotiations Washington (U.R) Atten tion diplomats: A Japanese of ficial has accidentally discover ed a new method of negotiating with the Russians. Just spill some tea during the conference. Ichiro Kono, Japanese minis ter of agriculture and forestry, spilled his tea during fishery ne gotiations last week with Soviet Premier Bulganin In Moscow. What happened next is de scribed in a Radio Moscow broad cast. "It is a good sign in the Sov iet Union to spill tea on an oc casion like this, Bulganm soothed his guest. "The talks will surely come to a successful end," he added. Soviet negotiations,- at first willing to allow Japanese fish ermen to take only 25,000,000 fish annually in a restricted area, later agreed to the Japanese proposal of 45 to 50,000,000 fish. any group tested would achieve the standing, he said. The battery of tests was ad ministered by Dr. H. Harrison Clarke, research professor for the UO school of physical edu cation, and Ted Schopf of South ern Oregon college. Portland Woman Slays Husband, Tries Suicide Portland (U.R) Mrs. Ruth Ellis, about 42, shot and killed her husband, Vernon W. Ellis, 45, while he was asleep yester day, then wounded herself, po lice said. Detectives and a deputy cor oner said the killing and at tempted suicide climaxed a long period of domestic trouble. Dodd For Delegate :V ii f '" mvmm : ii ..i mm r. imW "aw v. f ' WALTER H. DODD serves as assistant to Oregon's United States Senator Richard L. Neuberger In our nation's capital, Washington, D. C. ELECT... fa Walter H. Dodd served as delegate to the 1952 Democratic National . Convention. Secretary of the Oregon delegation. -"At Walter H. Dodd, by his service .as a delegate and experience in Washing ton, can help Oregon Democrats select a winning ticket and platform. WALTER H. DODD Delegate to the Democratic National Convention Paid Political Ad by I DODD FOI DEIIOATI COMMITTEE JOHN CHATT. EUGENE. Chairman 22J8 Unlvvilty Si. , IFOR A PAY You can, and all you have to do is to Attend the Annual YMCA AtJgTIM ST. MAY 1 MEDFORD YfJCA BUiLDIIIG 522 WEST SIXTH STREET Anyone attending can register to win the King's Treasure Chest contain ing many, many valuable prizes including .-. . Automobile Accessories . . Sporting Goods . . Clothing . . Jewelry . . Home Appliances . . Barber Service . . Meals . . Lubrication Jobs . . and many more real worthwhile prizes Remember, anyone that attends the YMCA Annual Auction may register to win the King's Treasure Chest . . . You don't have to buy any thing to win! STARTS' 9:00. A. AfL The Rummage and Miscellaneous Sale starts at 9 A.M. . . . The Auction Sale is from 1:30 to 5 P.M. and again from 7 P.M. to 9 P.M. ... Be sure to be there . . . all proceeds are for the YMCA . . . and the money will be used to purchase vitally needed athletic equipment . . . Ifs for a fine cause ... you'll have a lot of fun . . . and you may be King for a Dayl ... And win the rich King's Treasure Chest. DON'T MISS THE BIG will be held at the YMCA Building at 5:30 P.M. to 7:30 P.M. Tickets are on Sale at all local stores ... $1.50 for adults and 75c for kids under 12 . . , This is a "waited for" annual event ... Eat as much as you like . . and the food is truly fabulousl Published In Cooperation With the Medford YMCA By- HOME APPLIANCE CO. - Your G.E. Store
