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