Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989, July 24, 1956, Image 1

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Medford mail tribune., July 24, 1956, Image 1

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Newspaper Page TextV ins u pi pi o (tIl by flFBn bc 1 Nunn Murder Trial Expected To Go To Jury Late in Week Parents of Victim Testify This Morning Dirirt A""irm v WsitT Nun Ipv said t;iir s testimony in tor first decree rm'rriT tril of Billy Junior .:imi will be rornpie;ed by noon Wednesday. Nunley predicted the case would go to tr.e jury on Tiiurs day. Dofen.-e Attorr.r-y Sam Har bison said he didn't expect the jury to get the case until Friday, though Judge H. K. Hanna esti mated Hip jury v.ould retire Wednesday Stats' Witness Among str.te's witnesses ap pearing tii, morning were Mr. and Mrs. .John Eairet, parents of M- ear-old William Alvin f'acret. who was slain at Tub Sprint's state park April 19. Nunn 15 acei sed of killing the Klamath Kalic hov after sexual ly assaulting him. Mrs. Earrot said her son had suffered from rheumatic fever. Harbison interrupted her testi mony to say to the court, "'I think it's absolutely inhuman to ask this woman to testify." He requested that she be excused before her testimony was com plete, hut Judge Hanna denied the requrM. She uas I;:Tf;- ifciiilrri to the witness stand to identifv a red and black plaid lunch pail. She said her son had a similar lunch pail but could not remember whether it was red plaid or tan r'aid. Truck Driver Another witness. Charles Wil bur Hammond, Klamath Falls truck driver, told the jury he had participated in a conversa tion with the defendant on April j 18 on the Green Springs high-, way at the site of a wrecked car. Hammond, whose wife is related to the Eacrct family by marriage, said he recognized Alvin and was 'curious" about his being so far from home. In the courtroom. Hammond identi fied Nunn as one of the men he had conversed witli at the scene of the wrecked auto. j Other state's witnesses in-! eluded Miss Snirlcy Dean Bish-' op, an employee of the Sliding Door cafe in Medford. wher--Alvin had asked for a job on April 19 while accompanied by Nunn; James Bairey, who said he had ser iced Nunn's car on that date at Mountain View ramp on the Green Springs and identified Nunn in the court room: Kenneth Dale Alexander. 12-year-old Klamath Falls boy who said he saw his friend, Al vin. get out of a gray Buick. go into a store and come out with a pack of cigarettes at 8:10 a.m. April 19: and Mrs. Eva La- Marche. Klamath Falls house wife, who said she had known Alvin four years before his death and saw him the day he disap peared. Officers Testify Testifying Monday afternoon were State Ponce Sat. Earl Tichenor and Deputy Sheriff Joe Walsh. Both officers told of ques tioning Nunn in the Modoc coun ty jail at Alturas. Nunley relinquished to the defen j tape recordings of con versation at Alturas between Nunn and the officers. The dis trict attorney said elements of the recordings would be inad missable as state's evidence. Har bison said he did not know whether or not he would play the tape in the courtroom. The i rourt previously declared inad missible a statement of confes sion which Nunn had written in Alturas. Frank Jenkins Heads Order of Antelope Lakcvicw. Ore UP Frank Jenkins, publisher of the Klam ath Falls Herald and News, was elected head of the Order of the Antelope at the group's annual meeting at Hart mountain over the week c-'d. Other .':f:-.Ts named include Bud Leah". Crciwell; Lew Wal lace. Portland: John Hounsel. Hood Kivci: Giies French. Moro and E. Breed Garrison. Eugene. Liquor Commission Raids Net 19 Youths for Br nking Portland '11 R; - Two week end raids by the Oregon liquor control investigators brought the arrests of 19 youths involved m drinking bouts. Juvenile girls accounted fur four of the 19 arrested. They were turned over to juvenile authorities. In two instances, investigat ors led by Li. Gordon McCreary were forced to battle their way out when youths rushed the of ficers trying to take the prison ers from the scene of the drink Medfo United F'e F-'j'l lea-scd V 51st Year 13 Pages Oil Company, m m On Charges of Action Taken in Connection With Natural Gas Bill Superior Oil, Neff And Patman Charged Washington U.P: A fed eral grand jury today indicted the Superior Oil Co. and two attorneys on charges of illegal lobbying in connection with Sen ate passage of the natural gas bill. In addition to the oil firm, the indictment named Superior's at torney Elmer Patman. Austin, Tex., and lawyer John M. Neff, Lexington. Neb. President Eisenhower etoed the controversial measure after its passage on grounds that a small segment of the gas and oil industry used "arrogant tac tics" to push it through. Charge Creates Sensation During debate on the bill, Sen. Francis Case (R-S.D.), reported to the Senate that he was offer ed $2,500 by Neff as a campaign contribution. He rejected the of fer. Case's charge, made on the Senate floor, created a sensation and led to the creation of a blue ribbon Senate Investigating Committee. After lengthy and often stormy ; hearings, the committee April 7 issued a report charging Neff : and Patman with "galloping ir- I responsibility" for allegedly try-j ing to sway Case's ote on the! gas bill. Rut the investigators ruled that "there v.as neither a bribe : nor an attempt to bribe.'' in volved. They said, however, that j Superior Oil President Howard i B. Keck had to share w hatever ' blame was involved in the ac-! tions of Neff and Patman be cause he was "remarkably lax" in directing their activities. From Special Fund Testimony during the hearings showed that the money Neff of fered to Case's campaign had been given to him by Patman from a special fund provided by Keck. The grand jury, which met here, cited one count in which all three defendants were named. This charged they conspired to violate the lobbying act. Five other counts named cith er Neff or Patman. The grand jury said Neff and Patman collected money from Keck "to be used principally to j aid in the pa.-sage" of the natural gas bill. The measure would have exempted independent gas producers from federal control. Law Said Violated It charged further that the two attorneys violated the law by failing to register as lobbyists with Congress. It said "it was part of the set conspiracy" lhat Neff and Pat man "Should make personal con tact with U.S. senators and have direct communication with them" and "should encourage other persons to communicate" with senators urging them to vote for the measure. The indictment specifically cited visits by Neff to Case and Sens. Roman L. Hruska and Carl T. Curtis, both Nebraska Re publicans, urging passage of the bill. Portland UP The federal i government has mailed checks to 355 members of the Confed erated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community as their share of the assets of the tribes on a I Dro rata basis. ing parties. A raid on Sauvies Island early Sunday netted the largest num ber of arrests. At Roamers' rest park south of Tigard. Sunday, the raid re sulted in what Lt. McCreary de scribed as a "wild mob of 150 persons." During tiie melee the mob smashed the windshield of the liquor commission car. The of ficers were barely able to leave the scene with youths arrested at tit aiiair. 'Thanks, Dear. Now I'm Uh Going Away For Awhile" Planning Consultants Discuss County Work Lawrence Wise and A r t Pritchard of Hahn, Wise and as sociates. Redwood City, Calif., discussed possible cits and coun ty planning projects at a joint meeting of the Jackson county and Medford planning commis sions last night. The planning consultants methods and experience in city and county planning also was discussed. The California planners re cently signed a contract with Siskiyou county. They are pres ently working in several south ern cities. Wise said his firm would pre fer short term contracts. He also explained that Hahn. Wise and associates would want to work under separate contracts to the city and county if both decided Senate Votes Ban On Yugoslavia Aid Washington (U.Ri The Sen ate handed President Eisenhow er a slap today by voting to ban practically all military aid to Yugoslavia from new funds in the S4. 000. 000. 000 foreign aid bill. The vote was 50 to 42. A few moments before, the Senate appeared to give the Pres ident a victory by blocking a vote on a similar ban. In the earlier action, the Sen ate refused to suspend its rules for a vote on a slightly broader amendment. Both proposals were sponsor ed by Senate Republican Lead er William F. Knowland of Cali fornia, who broke with the Presi dent on the issue. The ban limits new military aid to Yugoslavia to replacement parts and maintenance equip ment for arms already shipped. Late News Briets WAGE TALKS RENEWED New York :U.R: Industry i and union leaders resumed wage j talks today and informed sources Isaid the companies were ready i to make a new contract offer i aimed at ending the 24-day-old steel strike. Neither side would confirm that a new proposal was up for discussion. ATOMIC BILL KILLED Washington iURi The House voted tentatively today to j kill a Democratic sponsored I j S400.000.000 atomic power pro- I I gram. i The action, on an unrecorded ; j 155 to 135 vote, was subject to i a possible but unlikely upset la- j ! ter. I BILL CLEARANCE REFUSED Washington U.R1 The House Rules committee refused today to clear for House action the bill to authorize the Frying Pan-Arkansas Project in Colo rado. The action was on a tie vote of 5 to 5. loDAY, JULY 24, 1956 wo Lawyers Cited llegal Lobbying to retain the firm so that they : would have definite responsibil I ities to each. A.-ked by Tom Wray. chair man of the city commission, if ! he had had experience with planning where a joint director i represented both county and city. Wise replied: "Yes, and it's been bad." Wise explained that the firm j believed in a public education program so people would undcr- stand clearly what was being j done. I Both he and Pritchard will be i shown various parts of the city j fringe area today before re- turning to California. S300 Per Month I Wise offered on behalf of his firm to submit to the city and the county contracts for six months for about S300 per month. After the joint meeting, mem bers of the county planning com mission held its regular meeting and discussed the possibility of hiring Hahn. Wise and associ ates for the short term period. All members present agreed that it was of first importance that county planning be done with an eye to the needs of the various smaller communities in the area. Each of these should, they said, be given a chance to participate in the planning pro gram. Forest Service Crews ;0n Two Small Fires J A Rogue Fiver National For j est crew from Lake of the Woods ! was on two small lightning fires near Fourmile lake this morn ing. The fires started yesterday ' afternoon. The forest service said the j fires were close together, caused ! by lightning strikes from a dry lightning storm in the Cascades ' late yesterday. They were dis covered about 5:30 p.m. and are located on a ridge about a mile and a half east of Fourmile lake, j Two small fires believed started ' by campfires which had been left smoldering were put out on na ; tional forest lands yesterday. One was on the south fork of ; Little Butte creek and the other ! about a mile down from McKee bridge on the Applegate river. Weather FORECAST: Variable cloudings through Wednesday with aft ernoon and eeninc thunder lorms over mountain. Low tonisht 3S-60. huh tomorrow Temp. Mir-h fstcrdav 100 Lowest this Morning Our Skies Tonight Sunrise 4:36 a.m. Sunset '-V. p.m. MnonrU? 8:2" p.m. 1 t Quarter . July 30 rROMINFNT STR niare-. in th south At mnurnp. u ill be iftw in 'ntuhnrq 11:51 p.m. IMR1,E PLANETS Jupiter. Pti p.m. Mars, rues . .. . 10:29 p.m. Saturn, in th south wejt 10:30 p.m. Venus. rts 2:48 a.m. Tribune Un.ted Pre-s Full Leaded Wire Price 5c No. 106 Marine Instructor 'Slapped at Him Witness Testifies Bottle Raised To Lips, Court Martial Told Parris Island, S.C. vU.Ri Sgt. Matthew C. McKeon "slap ped at me once or twice" and raised a bottle of vodka to his lips just before taking a recruit platoon on a march of death into a tidal creek, a former member of that outfit testified today. The witness, testifying at Mc Keon's general court martial was Marine Pvt. David H. McPher son. 20. Chatham. N.J. He said McKeon. junior drill instructor of the Marine recruit platoon, was irate because the outfit lack ed spirit in training. McKeon 31, Worchester, Mass. is charged with manslaughter, oppression of troops, and drink ing against regulations. Six re cruits drowned about 8:45 p.m. last April 8 when McKeon led the platoon into Parris Island's Ribbon creek to "teach them dis cipline." Holding a microphone close to his mouth, McPherson spoke in a level voice and appeared composed al all times. Praises Drill Instructor When the prosecution finished with him and the defense took ' over on cross examination. Mc- ' Phcrson followed the lead of other recent government w it- nes.-.t.s. extolling the qualities of ' his drill instructor. j- He said McKeon is an ''excel lent drill instructor, a man of great patience." j "Did the two smacks hurt?" he was asked. No, Sir. He said he "definitely felt'' that the platoon "was very poor ly disciplined and had no spirit at all. They worked individually and not together at all." Objection Sustained McPherson testified that in his opinion McKeon had a drink from the bottle while it was at his lips, but law officer Capt. Irving N. Klein sustained a defense ob jection to the opinion and that testimony was not allowed to go into the record. McPherson was the prosecu tion's 1 n til witness in its attempt to send the Marine veteran to prison for a maximum of six years and three months. Hearing Tomorrow On Bus Fare Rise A hearing to consider the ap plication by Evergreen Bus lines to increase passenger fares will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday, July 25. in the Jackson county courthouse auditorium, accord ing to Charles H. Hcltzel, public utilities commissioner. Proposed changes are to equalize fares with those of com peting common carriers of pas sengers and to meet Evergreen's need for additional revenue. Proposed changes in fares are to increase minimum one-way fares from 15 to 20 cents; to in crease minimum 10 ride fares from $1.25 to SI. 60: and to in crease minimum round trip farrs from 30 to 40 cents. Rogue Flood Control Survey Passes House Washington U.R A $1,343. 871.000 flood control, naviga tion and beach rrosion projects bill passed the House yesterday and now goes to the Senate for action. Included in the appropriation are flood control for the Colum bia basin, expected to cost SI 12, 000.000 and a survey for flood control of the Rogue river in Oregon. The biil merely authorizes construction. Congress must ap propriate the funds before actual construction begins. Salem U.R A hearing on an integrated program for use and control of water resources in the Umpqua river basin will be held in Roseburg Oct. 15-16. Portland U.R The Portland Central Labor council has de cided not to sponsor a proposed Labor Day picrac this yea-C Hagerty Firm on Prediction of nomination Stassen's Move Starts Whirlwind Washington U.R Har old E. Stassen's vice presi dential boom for Gov. Chris tian A. Herter collapsed today when it was announced lhat the Massachusetts Governor will nominate Richard M. Nix on as President Eisenhower's running mate. The disclosure was made by Republican National Chair man Leonard W. Hall. Washington U.R) The White House renewed its sup port of Vice President Richard M. Nixon for renomination to day in the face of a dump Nixon campaign launched by Presi dential Assistant Harold E. Stassen. White House Press Secretary James C. Hagerty told newsmen that he is standing firm on his previous prediction that Nixon will be renominated as Mr. Eis enhower's running mate when the GOP convention meets in San Francisco Aug. 20. President Eisenhower himself, on his return from Panama early this morning, went out of his way to give a warm, cordial greeting to Nixon. For Stassen, Boston U.RI The office of Gov. Christian A. Herter said today a telephoned threat had been made against his life. An extra stale police guard was assigned lo the executive suite. Police said an unidentified man telephoned Boslon police headquarters, saying he was going to "kill" Herter. who was also in the welcoming crowd at the airport, the Presi dent had only a brief, perfunc tory handshake and "hello." Stassen told reporters later he did not feel he was snubbed by Mr. Eisenhower. He said he ; thouaht the President "greeted ; me and the others about the ! same v.a' ' ?tasse:i tl rcw a bombshell ; in.o the GOP political campaign Monday by announcing he will fictht. to get the vice presiden tial nomination for Gov. Chris tian A. Herter of Massachusetts instead of Xixon. The announcement touched off a whirlwind of opposition from lop Republican leaders. Newsmen besieeed Hagerty for official While House reaction. Hagerty was reminded that he said recently at Gettysburg. Pa., that he has no doubt Nixon will be renominated. Asked if he was standing firm on that prediction, Hagerty re plied: "I haven't taken it back.'' Hagerty relused to say any thing further on the political squabble rocking the President's official family. He simply re ferred newsmen to a statement he made in Fanama City Mon day. No News Conference Hagerty disclosed that Mr. Ei senhower will not hold a news conference this week because of the pressure of business from the impending adjournment of Con gress. This rules out any chance for newsmen to ask the Presi dent aoout the IS'ixon-Stassen controversy. Herter was definitely in the middle. The Scripps-Howard Newspapers reported that only j a few days ago the Massachusetts Governor was asked, with full I knowledge of the While House. j to nominate Nixon for a second term al the GOP convention. ; The dispatch said Herter so far ; had not replied. ! Knowland's Reaction Senate Republican Leader William F. Knowland, a political ! rival of Nixon in California, dis- j counted Stassen's move. "I have ! no reason to believe that the tiekel in 1956 will be any dif ferent than the ticket in 1952 period." Knowland told reporters. President in Cordial Chat With Nixon; Has Casual 'Hello' for Harold Stassen Washington U.R! President Eisenhower returned from Pan ama today and immediately held a cordial plane-side chat with Vice President Richard M. Nix on. The President had only a cas ual "hello" for Harold E. Stas sen. his special disarmament ad viser who stirred up a political tempest Monday by urging pub licly that the Republicans dump Nixon as Mr. Eisenhower's run ning mate. Stassen endorsed Gov. Ciiristian A. Herter of Massachusetts for Republican vice presidential nominee. Made Special Point Mr. Eisenhower appeared to make a special point of talking with Nixon while the two men were ringed by newspaper and 4islevUipa cameras at Washing Congress About To Up Taxes To Pay for New Social Security Plan Washington U.R" Congress is about to raise taxes on 53, 000,000 workers and self-employed persons and add more than 1,000.000 persons to the benefit rolls of the social security pro gram. These big changes in the multi-billion dollar social security Krupp Submits His Resignation as CP Rural Chief Central Point Richard Krupp submitted his letter of resigna tion as chief of the Central Point Rural Fire Protection district to the board of directors at a meet ing last night. The letter asked that his resignation be effective Aug. 1. The board deferred action until its regular meeting Wednesday, Aug. 1. Krupp gave as the main rea son for his decision the opposi tion of one board member to the operations of the district. "He insults the intelligence and integrity of everyone connected with the fire district,'' Krupp said in his letter. Support of Others The chief said this morning ! that he had had the support of the other four members of the board of directors during his employment. Krupp helped organize the Central Point district, first as a private corporation in 1950. and a year or two later as a munici pay district. He has been chief since its inception except for a short period during the six years. Members of the board are Bert Smith, chairman: David DeAr inond. secretary: Dr. Alvin Rob erts. Claude Hoo er, and iian -Hull. Oregon Bound To Back Nixon Salem (U.R) Gov. Elmo Smith said today that Oregon's delegation would be bound by law to support Vice President Richard Nixon at the Republican national convention in San Fran cisco next month. Gov. Smith said he had not talked wdth members of the state delegation since Harold Stassen's move to replace Nixon on the GOP ticket with Gov. Christian Herter of Massachu setts but he said "I have not heard of any defections from Nixon before this happened.'' The Governor commented. "Maybe Stassen was just trying to stir up some excitement for the convention.'' Nixon won 78.522 write-in votes from Oregon Republicans in the May primary. That was 33 per cent of the total for Pres ident Eisenhower whose name was printed on the ballot. Gov. Smith said "What Stassen said won't have any influence on the delegates from Oregon. We are bound by law to vote for Nixon." New Patrolman Assumes Duties With Department William Albert Hall. 31, 1100 Dakota St.. started work Mon day at the Medford police de partment as a patrolman. Police Chief Charles Champlin has an nounced. Hal! previously attended Med ford schools and graduated from Granite Falls High school in Washington. He recently return ed from Washington to live in Medford. He is married and has two children. ton National Airport. Mr. Eisenhower landed at the airport aboard his government plane. Columbine III. after an overnight flight from Panama City, where he had attended the good neighbor conference of American presidents. President Congratulated Both Nixon and Stassen were on hand to welcome him hon. along with a large party of dip lomats, congressmen and gov ernment officials. Nixon was the first to greet the President. He and John F. Simmons, State Department pro tocol officer, presented acting heads of Latin American diplo matic missions to Mr. Eisen hower. When Mr. Eisenhower got to Stassen he thook hands quite system are contained in comp romise legislation slated for fi nal Senate and House approval this week. To Add 800.000 Women Effective in November, it would lower from 65 to 62 the age at which women can draw social security benefits. This is expected to add 800,000 women to the rolls within a year, even though most women who take advantage of the provision would get reduced annuities. An additional 250.000 would be put on the rolls by a pro vision lowering from 65 lo 50 the age at which permanently and totally disabled persons can draw benefits. Besides revamping the contri butory social security system, the bill, effective in October, would liberalize the federal-state public assistance program, giv ing nearly 3.000.000 needy aged, blind and disabled persons an additional S3 to S4 a month in welfare payments. Would Increase Taxes Social Security payroll taxes would be increased Jan. 1, 1957, to finance the new disability in surance. Instead of deducting a 2 per cent payroll tax on earn ings of up to $4,200 annually, the government would take 2.25 per cent. Taxes also would be increased for employers, who must contribute the same amount in taxes as employees on jobs covered by social security. For self-employed persons covered by social security, the tax would jump from 3 to 3'.s per cent. Tale Love' Opening At Theater Tonight "Late I.ove." summer produc tion of Medford Footlighu-rs, wiii or. oil t"uiu'r.t at the little, tiici.tcr Hi tic i uirgrounds. 1 Fans have hot n installed in ' tiie tlieater. ollicers anm'uncod this morning, and it is thought that by 8:30 p.m., curtain time, the theater will not be uncom fortably hot. j Miss Norcen Kelly and Jerry McDougal have the lead roles in the play, which is directed by Robert Sledman. Eoth Miss Kelly and McDougal are experi enced actors, and Stcdman has coached many of the valley's most successful dramatic pro ductions. Mrs. Max Wimmer, president of Footlighters, said punch will be served to theater patrons be tween acts. As an added attraction, local artists will display a collection of their works in the theater lobby. The play will cont in u e through Saturday night. Tickets are on sale at Purucker's Piano house and Swem's Gift shop, or may be obtained at the box of fice. Medford Man Dies In Oklahoma Hospital Charles Joseph Haas, 83. of 802 West 11th st., Medford. died in an Enid. Okla., hospital last night of injuries received in an automobile accident July 17, ac cording lo the United Press. The condition of his wife, Al berta. 52. was not given. She was reported to have received head lacerations and chest in juries at the time of the mis hap. The accident occurred on U.S. Highway 81 several miles north of Enid in a rainstorm, accord ing to the Enid Morning News and Eagle. Haas was driving a car with Mrs. Haas as a passen ger when it collided with an other vehicle. Two occupants of the other car were killed. briefly and said "Hello." Stassen told the President: "Congratulations on the great job you did down there. It was wonderful." Later Stassen and Nixon hap pened to come together in the welcoming crowd and shook hands briefly, with set smiles on their faces. After the formal welcoming was over, Mr. Eisenhower sought Nixon out of the crowd and they chatted for a few moments. Goes To White House As the two men parted, Mr. Eisenhower said, "Thank you very much for coming out." Nix on replied, "We'll be seeing you. Take a little time off." Mr. Eisenhower then entered a government limousine and was driven to the While House.