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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 14, 1956)
Stevenson s Bid for Trouble 'Victory meets..' Caffe I Natural Gas Leak Blamed for Blast; 30 Said Injured Building Crushed 'Like an Egg Shell' Monticello. Utah (U.PJ Authorities counted 15 persons dead and more than 30 injured, nine critically, in an explosion Monday night that crushed a crowded Monticella cafe "like an egg shell." The dead included two chil dren, two truck drivers, and sev eral tourists and one known Mon ticello resident. The sheriff's office in Monti cello said everyone had been ac counted for and knew of no one that was missing. Officials of both the Public Service commission and Utah Gas Service company started im mediate investigations into the blast, which authorities blamed on natural gas that accumulated in a shallow basement. The $50, 000 cafe, built last year, was connected to a new gas line Sun day. Sheriff Seth Wright said every one of the 45 to 75 diners in the cafe was either killed or injured when the explosion blew out the walls from under the roof about 7 p.m. The most critically injured were taken to hospitals at Grand Junction, Cortez and Durango, Colo., for treatment, while the less seriously injured were treat ed at San Juan county hospital in Monticello. Many were treat ed and released from the hospit als. The sheriff said the explo sion in the town's downtown bus iness section was caused by na tural gas, just connected to the cafe Sunday. Wright said it was belived the gas had accumulated in the basement. Wright reported that the blast dug a hole 20 to 30 feet deep where the middle of the $50,000 cinder block and wooden cafe had stood. No other building was damag ed. Windows were broken over a block-wide area. Everyone in town heard the rumbling blast. (Sea Story on Pag 5) Late News Briefs MIAMI SPARED Miami, Fla. (U.PJ Hurricane Betsy spared Miami today in a thunderous approach toward the U.S. mainland with winds of 120 miles an hour. OREGONIANS FOUND Libby, Mont. (U.R) An Ore gon man and his young daugh ter "living off the land" while search parties looked for them were found in the rugged Cabinet mountain primitive area five miles east of here today. Paul E. Phillips, 53, Portland, and his daughter, Kay, 10,. were discovered .t Granite lake, five miles east of here, by four men. FAMILIES ROUTED Portland (U.R) Three fam ilies were routed and five units damaged when fire broke out in the Rainbow motel here this morning. WALKER "SATISFACTORY' Salem (U.R) Circuit Judge Arlie G. Walker of McMinnville was reported in "satisfactory" condition at Salem Memorial hospital here today following a heart attack. The Great Highway Gamble J ' . : CowriKht, IHtrblock is xpiosioin V-T AH?) Vt.,V " MISPLACED SIGN The sign shown above was spotted stand ing up in the sand on the Pacific ocean beach about a mile north of the mouth of the Rogue river. Young Gregg Faulkner, vaca tioning at Gold Beach with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. F. R. Faulkner, 908 Whitman ave., Medford, immediately snapped the picture. The sign evidently was washed down the river dur ing last winter's floods. It is believed to have been in the Gold Hill area originally. Shepilov Warns That Egypt Consent Needed For Suez Settlement London (U.R) Soviet For eign Minister D. T. Shepilov ar rived for the London Suez talks today with a blunt warning that Russia considers Egypt's con sent "necessary" for any settle ment of the dispute. "The Soviet delegation will do eerything possible to seek ways for settlement of the points at issue through agreement by all the states concerned, with the necessary participation of the Demo Plafformers Rap Administration Chicago (U.R) Democratic platform drafters in a reversal of party policy today accused the Republican administration of sacrificing American industry to cheap foreign imports. They pledged Democrats to reverse and remedy" this trend. Traditionally it has been the Democrats who championed im ports and the Republicans who fought for increased tariffs and other restraints on imports. The party's platform writers today also promised tighter curbs on monopoly, new aids for small business, including tax relief and a federal minimum wage of "at least" $1.25 an hour. The mini mum wage now is $1. The pledges were made as a Platform Drafting subcommit tee ground out additional planks in what is to become the party s basic campaign document and statement of Democratic policy. The group previously had promised a $5,000,000,000 tax cut, a balanced federal budget, increased welfare outlays and "full parity" price supports for farmers. Settlement of a hot fight on a civil rights plank was still ahead. The platform is scheduled to be presented to the convention Wednesday night. iq56. The Pulitrer Publishing Co., Ct T mil PnM.nicnatrh on Vacation) ' ' J r-f h'Xt. i !y V '. 1 jtSL 4 'A ' state of Egypt and on the basis of a correct combination between the national interests of inde pendent and sovereign Egypt and of the just interests of other countries who use the Suez Ca nal." Shepilov said. He accented the "all the states concerned," an apparent hint that Russia will start the talks off with a demand for veto power. The Big Three want ma jority rule. Prepared To Stay It took three Ilyushin twin-engine transports to bring Shepi lov's delegation of 50, in addi tion to the two plane loads that arrived Monday. It was noted that the Russians appeared pre pared for a long stay. Moscow indicated last week that the Russians would press to double the size of the 22-nation conference and might also insist on bringing up the status of oth er international waterways, in cluding the Panama Canal. Secretary of State John Fos ter Dulles arrives Wednesday with last minute instructions from President Eisenhower re garding the U. S. stand in the dispute. There has been insistent speculation that the United States is veering away from the idea of internationalizing and may come up with a compromise plan of its own. Dulles Hopeful In Washington, Dulles said af ter a final conference with Mr. Eisenhower that he believed a formula can be found for "inter national operation" of the Suez Canal consistent with Egypt's rights and dignity. The last two days before the start of the important confer ence found British Prime Minis ter Anthony Eden under increas ing criticism by his Labor party opposition. Labor party leader Hugh Gaitskell demanded assurances from Eden that Britain would not use force if the conference fails to resolve the Suez crisis. Count Court Meets To Consider Home The Jackson county court was to meet at 1:30 p.m. today with juvenile court officers, the coun ty juvenile committee and Wil liam Siebert, architect, to con sider a recommendation to post pone constrnction of the county juvenile detention home until spring. County Judge Rodney Keating said the juvenile court recom mended the delay because they felt it would be unwise to begin Construction at a time when fall and winter weather conditions would be likely to interrupt the project. He said the architect also claims to have a full sched ule of other construction proj ects which might make the delay advisable. Chicago (U.R) The youngest delegate to the Democratic Na tional Convention is 19-year-old Jerry Ringo, a 225-pound Uni versity of Kentucky junior. Radio, TV Highlights Sen. Wayne Morse, (D-Ore.) will make the major address at the Democratic convention in Chicago tonight. It will be carried by all network radio and television stations, start ing al 6:30 p.m. t 1 , A Ax. 'i imi Uftah Fatal Medford United Press Full Leased Wirt 5 1st Year 22 Pages Tm Available Kefauver Tells Cheering Throng Stevenson Avoids Making Commitment Chicago U.R) Sen. Estes Ke fauver (D-Tenn.) today told a cheering throng of his enthus iasts that he is available for the vice presidential nomination. But Adlai E. Stevenson care fully avoided telling the Kefau ver supporters what they wanted to hear that he wants Kefauver as his running mate on the Democratic ticket. Kefauver and Stevenson went before a noisy, cheering crowd of Kefauver supporters in an at tempt .to hold them in line for Stevenson for the presidential nomination. Kefauver claimed he had 259 delegates, many with half votes, before he withdrew from the presidential race in fa for of Stevenson. Kefauver forces estimated that about half of those delegates now are sup porting Stevenson. Not Complete Success The joint effort of Kefauver and Stevenson was not complete ly successful. At one point the meeting broke up into compet ing chants of "We Want Steven so" and "We Want Harriman." But the Kefauver supporters were unanimous in wanting the Tennessee Democrat on the ticket for vice president. A delegate in the audience, re flecting the question on the crowd's mind, asked Kefauver if he was interested in the vice presidential nomination. "If offered the place, I will accept it," Kefauver declared. Motion Filed for New Nunn Trial Attorney Sam Harbison will appear in circuit court at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday to move for a new trial on behalf of Billy Junior Nunn, 28, Klamath Falls, convicted July 26 of first degree murder of 14-year-old Alvin Wil liam Eacret, Klamath Falls. Harbison filed the motion for a new trial late Friday. He claimed Nunn's trial was mis handled on the following grounds: 1. Abuse of discretion by the court in refusing to grant a motion filed by the defendant for continuation of the case to allow further psychiatric ex amination. 2. Misconduct of the district attorney in his closing argu ment. 3. Insufficiency of evidence to justify the verdict. 4. Commission of three errors in law occurring in the trial. The jury found Nunn guilty of the first degree murder charge after 45 minutes of delib eration. The victim, son of Mr. and Mrs. John Eacret, was stran gled to death on April 19 near Tub Springs state park on the Green Springs highway. The trial began July 17. Harbison was appointed by the court to defend Nunn. Troutdale Father Slain by Daughter Portland U.R) A little girl who had been taught about the workings of a revolver by her father apparently shot and killed him after he threatened her mother, Multnomah county police said today. The body of James Luther Johnson, 68-year-old Troutdale father of eight children, was found yesterday buried in a three-foot ditch under planks in a barn near his home. Deputy Coroner C. Earl Shea said John son died from a bullet wound in the head. Mrs. June Shirley Johnson, the victim's wife, told police the shooting accurred after her hus band had threatened her Sun day evening. She said that he suddenly shouted Ta going to blow your head off." According to her account to police, the girl, Auby Edith John son, 11, overheard and went to a dresser drawer where she knew the .22 caliber revolver was kept. Two shots were fired, one going wild and the other striking John son behind the ear, polic said. MEDFORD, OREGONf'-TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 1956 Commission Approves Proposed Contract With Planning Firm The Medford planning com mission last night approved, sub ject to amendments, a six-month contract between the city and Hahn, Wise and Associates, Red wood City, Calif., planning con sultant firm. Planners reviewed a proposed contract drawn up by the firm, establishing the function of the consultants and setting a salary FRANK VAN DYKE Vice Chairman Van Dyke Named Vice Chairman of Education Group Frank J. Van Dyke, Medford attorney, has been named vice chairman of the Western Inter state Commission on Higher Education, it was reported to day. He was elected to the position by other members of the com mission meeting in McCall, Idaho, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. He succeeds Dr. Ward Darley, president of the Univer sity of Colorado, who was named chairman. Van Dyke, it was learned, will become chairman of the com mission next Jan. 1, when Dr. Darley will accept a new posi tion in the east. The Medford man, a former member of the state board of higher education, has served on the student ex change, resolutions and nursing education committees. Commission Established The commission, establishd in 1950, is an interstate organiza tion charged with finding the best and most efficient way to provide a full range of educa tional facilities for western young people, whether or not their field is provided within their own state. Oregon has three members on the 33-man commission. All are appointed by the governors of the 10 western states and Alaska. Oregon's members are Van Dyke, Dr. John Richards, chancellor of the state system of higher education, and State Sen. Lowell Steen, Milton-Free-water. Van Dyke is a former Oregon legislator, having served as speaker of the house of repre sentatives, and among other acti vities is the present U.S. com missioner in this area, having judicial jurisdiction over federal court cases. Weather F O R F. C A S Ti Fair Ihrouch uilndav with sm rik of thunderstorms nvr th niniin tatns. Low tonight 35. High tomorrow H2. Temp. Fich5t Vslrrlay 91 Lowest this Mornine 35 Our Skies Tonight Sunrise Sunset . 5:17 a.m. 7:14 p-m. The Moon sets Wednes day ..12:06 a.m. Tonight It appears near the star, Antares. Next February the planet, Saturn, now movlne slowly eastward amone the stars, will appear near Antares in the position tonight occupied bv the Moon. Full Moon next Tuesday " At 1 of $300 per month and eight cents per mile for travel. Among amendments to the contract will be a stipulation that all drafts, maps and similar work will become property of the city. Also included will be a provision that the firm will work under direction of the planning commission. Proposed Contract Under the proposed contract a consultant will spend two days per month in Medford and two days in the consultant's of fice. He wjill meet with the plan ning commission once a month to make recommendations on day - to - day planning problems and current application;;. Recent legislation provides federal aid in similar city im provement projects. However, it was pointed out last night that considerable delay would be in volved in applying for federal air. The commission decided, in the interest of speed, to hire the consultants immediately and proceed with the program with out federal aid for the six-month period. It was stated that federal assistance may be sought at the end of the six-month period if the program proves satisfactory and warrants continuation. In other business, the commis sion recommended to the city council that annexation of a six block "island" within the city be placed before the voters there in the November election. The proposed annexation area lies south of Oakwood dr., west of Bameburg rd. and north of Keene Way dr., with a portion of property west of Groveland dr. The area is surrounded by property which has been an nexed. Preliminary Plot Douglas Pickell appeared be fore the group last night on be half of a preliminary plot of property located on Clover lane on which he has indicated a de sire to build houses. The com mittee appointed to study the plot said several "mechanical problems" are evident in that area, including street problems and improved land in the area that would be damaged by Pick ell's proposal. Pickell will meet at a later date with a committee of the planning commission for further study of the problems and possible solutions. Members considered a petition from several property owners to close a 30-foot portion of Ruhl Way. Two members were named to study the situation. The commission recommended annexation of a small strip of land at the corner of South Hol ly st. and Stewart ave. Considerable discussion was held concerning access facilities in property east of Crater Lake ave., north of East Main st. and south of Reddy ave., where pro perty owners have indicated de sires to build alleys and ease ments. The' commission decided to obtain a clear definition of an "officially approved access place" mentioned in the city ord inance. Portland (U.R) Dan M. Dib ble, a Portland attorney, has been appointed by Attorney Gen eral Robert Y. Thornton to co ordinate and expedite the prose cution of cases in Portland's cur rent vice probe. Adviser Forgotten, Spends Cold Night on McLoughlin Klamath Falls (U.R) A Girl Scout from Grants Pass got stung by a yellowjacket and as a result her 43-year-old counsel lor from Iowa was lost overnight on the rugged, cold slopes of Mt. McLoughlin northwest of here. Hiked to Summit Fifteen giris from the Low Echo-Medford camp at Lake-of-the-Woods hiked to the summit of Mt. McLoughlin yesterday. On the way back, about 2 p.m., Sandra Ulick of Grants Pass was stung by a yellowjacket. Her eyes began to swell and she became faint. Counsellor Carrie Kidwell hurriedly hiked .back to To 15 Tribune United Press Full Leased Wins Price 5c No. 124 WOWS DEMOCRATS Gov. Frank G. Clement of Tennessee, above, last night wowed the Democratic convention with a fiery keynote speech in which he denounced President Eisen hower for watching "from green fairways of indifference" while his v'vice hatchet man," Vice President Richard M. Nixon, traffics in political "slander." A story on Clement's speech ap pears on page 9. Clement's Speech Rapped by Hall at Press Conference San Francisco U.R) GOP National Chairman Leonard W. Hall charged today that Demo cratic keynoter Gov. Frank G. Clement's speech was "filled with half-truths, distortions and some outright misstatements and falsehoods." Hall told a news conference that Clement's attack "indicates we're going to have a rough campaign." but "we'll meet it. He predicted that "We'll have more of these demagogic ap peals" from the Democrats but "I don t think the people Willi be fooled." Renews Nixon Prediction Hall also renewed his predic tion that Vice President Richard M. Nixon will again be Presi dent Eisenhower's running mate. And he declined to comment specifically on statements by Govs. Goodwin J. Knight of California and Theodore R. Mc Keldin of Maryland that they would be available for the No. 2 spot. Hall conferred with McKeldin at breakfast today and the jo vial Maryland governor was in the room during Hall's press conference. Hall's session with reporters highlighted a day of preconven tion GOP activity in which the Contests subcommittee sought to work out disputed claims of rival delegates from South Caro lina and Mississippi. Introduction by McKay Asked about the tone of the forthcoming GOP keynote speech by Gov. Arthur B. Lan lie of Washington, Hall said "it won't be filled with distortion and half-truths." Earlier, Wendell Wyatt, Ore gon GOP chairman, announced that Langlie will be introduced next week by former Interior Secretary Douglas McKay, who is seeking to unseat Sen. Wayne L. Morse (D.-Ore.). Sports Bulletin Seattle (U.R) Luke Sew ell was fired today as manager of the Seattle Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League. No suc cessor was named. ward a snowbank to get some snow to apply as first aid. Meanwhile, two girls walked back to the Iake-of-the-Woods ranger station aad four men re turned with them to carry out Sandra and tke her back to Grants Pass where she was treat ed for the sting. Counsellor Forgotten In the excitement Miss Kid well had been forgotten. Search was organized for her, but was unsuccessful overnight. She was found at 8:45 a.m. today, and returned to the ranger station, where a nurse reported her con dition good. ifT 1" iv i Southerners Hoard Votes To Await Platform Outcome Clement Will Get Tennessee Ballots Chicago-lU.R) Adlai E. Ste venson's bid for quick victosy in the fight for the Democratic presidential nomination rrn into new trouble today. More South ern delegations decided to hoard up first ballot votes once thought to be in the Stevenson bag. Stevenson s campaign manag ers still claimed 600 of the 686 Vi votes needed for victory. But: Tennessee voted to give its 32 full ballots to Gov. Frank G. Clement. Arkansas decided to hold back commitment of its 26 votes until the Democratic platform is adopted. Virginia turned toward Sen ate Democratic Leader Lyndon B. Johnson, Texas' favorite son candidate and darling of the con servative South. Georgia considered handine its first ballot strength to a favorite son. Civil Rights Issue The Southernem mined if possible to keep a strong civil rights - integration plank out of the platform. If mey tail, they could conceivahlv be angry enoueh to refusn mn. port for any candidate north of tne Mason-Dixon line, including the "moderate" Stevenson, and to try to make a king of their own, prooably Johnson. Today's action brought to eight the number of South em delegations which have indicat- ea or aeciaea mey won t go for Stevenson on the f'rst haiint The others are Al&bama, Missis sippi, Texas and South Carolina. The day's news wasn't all bad for Stevenson. The word was that Stevenson will get at least a big chunk of Michigan's 40 votes after the first ballot for favorite son Gov. G. Mennen Williams. Meanwhile, the Democrats plowed through the second day of their 1956 convention at the International Amphitheater in the stockyards. The afternoon Storie on Democrat ic convention speeches by Gov. Frank G. Clem ent and Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt will be found on page 9. was devoted to speeches by lead ing women Democrats, the night speeches by leading Democratic men. The former Illinois governor was still front runner in known delegate preferences and was still the best bet for ultimate victory in the second day of the 1956 Democratic National con vention. But his drive for he added 100-plus delegates he needs ran into a growing determination by some Southern states to hold back final - commitments until they see whether the convention adopts a civil rights-integration plank they will accept. Floor Fight Possible All this was in line with Southern strategy to hang on to votes until the civil rights chips are down. The convention is scheduled to adopt a platform Wednesday night. There could be a floor fight by Northern lib erals to beef up the civil rights plank if the Platform Committee ' comes up with one they consider too mild. Such a fight could hurt Stevenson in Thursday nights balloting. But as of today he had sur vived the first assaults of the stop Stevenson forces and had a better than two to one margin in sure delegate strength over Gov. Averell Harriman 'of New York. Despite former President Tru man's endorsement of Harriman,. Stevenson was slowly picking up power outside the holdout states. As it was Monday, the real politicking was going on in the delegates' and candidates' hotels, not at the International Amphi theater in the stockyards where the convention is going on. Rayburn Speaks Tonight Speaker Sam Rayburn, the convention's permanent chair man, and others, are scheduled to speak tonight. Mr. Truman meanwhile was still boosting Harriman. He said his main idea in coming out for the New Yorker was to give the convention "a good stirring up." Of Harriman he said, "I know he can win the election, but the nomination has got to be worked out." BASEBALL NATIONAL LEAGUE Cincinnati 2 6 1 Chicago 0 5 3 Nuxhall and Burgess; Kaiser and Landrith. Horn runt Post. Cincinnati.