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Comics 2
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House Fires Claim
19 Lives in Four
Stales Early Today
13 Children Among
Victims of Blazes
By UNITED PRESS
House fires in four states to
day claimed the lives of 19 per
sons, including 13 children.
The two worst blazes took six
lives each at Reading, Pa., and
Jeffersonville. Ga. Five more
perished at Marshall, Mo., and
two at Balltown, Iowa.
A family of six was killed
when flames swept through a
frame house rented by A. Lucius
Ringwood, about 40, near Jef
fersonville. The dead were Ring
wood, his wife and their four
children.
Kerosene Stove
Fire which apparently started
from a kerosene stove which may
have been leaking was blamed
for six deaths at Reading.
Killed were Mrs. Esther Roth
rmel, 48; her grandchildren.
Jimmy and Peggy Probst, aged
1 and 3; and her nieces and
nephews. Donna Rothcrmel, 2;
Carol Ann Fromm, 4. and Eedie
Rothermel, 4. Another woman
and two children fled to safety.
Flames wrecked a four-roon
house near Marshall. Mo., and
five persons apparently suffocat
ed in their beds An overheated
stove was blamed.
Deputy Sheriff Henry H o f f
identified the Marshall victims
as Orvell Swisher, 37; his wife,
Edith, 34, and three children,
ranging from 3 to 9 years old.
At Dubuque, Iowa, Frank Cur
iel, 41, and his daughter Frances,
15, died at a hospital of burns
they received in a fire at their
Balltown home Wednesday
night. Five other children were
hurt, two seriously.
Curiel suffered his burns in
making three trips into the burn
ing house to rescue his children.
Five Logging Train
Cars Leave Track
Five rear cars of a 30-car Med
ford Corporation logging train
derailed at 4 a.m. today, south of
the Little Butte creek tressle
near Eagle Point.
One of the cars turned com
pletely over and logs were scat
tered on both sides of the track
for a considerable distance.
A spread rail was reported to
have caused the accident. This
was the third derailment in four
years at that location, which is
a broad, slightly banked curve.
Lloyd Breeding, Eagle Point,
a member of the train crew, was
locked in the caboose for sev
eral minutes after the mishap. He
had been riding in the caboose
when the cars left the track and
the impact jammed the door. No
one was reported injured.
The train was traveling with a
load of logs from Butte Falls to
Medford when the accident oc
curred. Stanley Jones Elected
President of Council
Stanley Jones, Jr., Ward III
councilman, was elected presi
dent of the Medford ,city coun
cil last night. This is Jones'
seventh year on the council. He
is a member of the council.
Last night was the first of
ficial meeting of Mayor John
Snider and four new council
members. They were sworn into
office at a special meeting last
Monday.
New councilmen are Al Brad
ford. Ed Hall. Jimmy Dunlevy
and Robert Van Sickle.
India's Shifting Attitude on Agenda
For Kremlin, Red Chinese Conference
London U.R) India's shift
ing attitude between East and
West will top the agenda of the
forthcoming emergency meeting
in Moscow between Red Chinese
Premier Chou En lai and the
Kremlin leaders, informed
sources said today.
Soviet Russia has shown grow
ing uneasiness in recent weeks
over Indian Premier Jawaharlal
Nehru's policy moves which cul
minated in his visit to President
Eisenhower lest month.
Diplomatic sources said Mar
shal Georei Zhukov's scheduled
surprise visit to Delhi later this
51st Year
United Press full Leased Wira
20 Pages
Reds Challenged to
Make 'Significant'
Peace Contribution
Washington (U.P.) Presi
dent Eisenhower has challenged
Russia to make a "significant"
contribution to world peace by
pulling its armed forces out of
Hungary.
The President sent his chal
lenge directly to Soviet Premier
Nikolai A. Bulganin.
He did so in replying to a
Nov. 17 letter .from Bulganin
which called for a five-power
"Summit Conference" to end
deadlocked negotiations on dis
armament. Mr. Eisenhower rejected the
idea of a meeting on disarma
ment between himself, Bulganin
and the prime ministers of
Britain, France and India.
To Maka Further Proposals
The President said continued
negotiations within the United
Nations "seem more likely to
General Assembly
Takes Up Problem
Of Divided Korea
United Nations, N.Y (U.R)
The General Assembly's main
Political Committee takes up the
perennial problem of divided
Korea today despite objections
by the Soviet Union and India.
The United States and its
Western Allies were expected to
move for adoption of a report
calling for continued UN assis
tance to the Republic of Korea
and a continuation of the 1953
armistice agreement pending a
full political settlement.
The Political Committee put
the Korean question at the top
of its agenda late Wednesday, to
be followed by disarmament. Al
geria, Cyprus, and West Iran,
West New Guinea.
Disarmament First
Soviet Deputy Foreign Minis
ter V. V. Kuznetsov insisted that
disarmament be discussed first
and the Korean question be
placed last on the agenda.
But U. S. Ambassador Henry
Cabot Lodge Jr. apparently
mindful of President Eisenhow
er's latest letter to Soviet Pre
mier Nikolai Bulganin on the
question, said the United States
would not be readv to discuss
disarmament until next week. He
favored placing it second.
Indian sources said their dele
gation wanted postponement of
the Korean discussion because
it could not get instructions
from New Delhi soon enough on
how to handle their end of it.
Mayor Too Speedy,
Police Officer Says
Mayor John Snider last
night presided, for his first
time as mayor, over a meeting
of the city council. It was a
quick job, and tha meeting
adjourned about 35 minutes
after it was called to order.
With many things on his
mind (including, perhaps, tha
dispatch with which tha meet
ing was conducted), tha mayor
sped homeward too rapidly.
As his car neared his resi
dence, he heard a siren and
saw a red light, and pulled So
tha side. Ha was presented
with ,a citation for violation
of tha basic rule. 40 mph in a
25 mph xone.
Ha dutifully took tha sum
mons (on which his occupa
tion is listed as "MAYER") and
drove back to the city hall
(slowly) to post S10 bail.
month has spotlighted Moscow's
mounting anxiety over India's
possible westward shift.
India's criticism of Russia's in
terference in "Hungary was said
to have added to Moscow's mis
givings and fears of a possible
change in Nehru's attitude to
wards the Eastern bloc.
The dispatch of Zhukov, Rus
sia's defense minister, to Delhi
so soon after the return of Nehru
from his extensive talks with
President Eisenhower is consid
ered a highly significant move
on the part of the Kremlin.
Zhukov's prestige is high
produce" results and that the
United States will make further
disarmament proposals there.
He also rebuked what he call
ed Russia's attempt to dismiss as
a "slanderous campaign" the
"world's indignant reaction to
the Soviet armed actions against
the people of Hungary."
The President told Bulganin
that if Russia wants to make "a
significant step toward reduc
tion" of world tensions, it should
bow to a United Nations resolu
tion and pull its troops out of
Hungary.
He noted that Britain, France
and Israel have abided by U.N.
demands to end the Suez fight
ing and said Russian should fol
low their example.
Take Issue With Statement
Mr. Eisenhower also noted
that Bulganin's Nov. 17 letter
suggested that the strategic ad
vantage in Western Europe now
lies with Russia.
"TTlis statement does not
seem calculated to relieve inter
national tensions," the President
added. "Moreover, I am con
vinced in the light of my long
association with the North At
lantic'Treaty Organization that
it is fully capable of carrying out
its mission of collective defense"
of Western Europe.
Three Districts Elect
Officers for Year
Directors o ,three irrigation
districts, Medford, Talent and
Eagle Point, all voted to retain
Leland Knox as auditor this
week at their annual meetings.
The Medford Irrigation dis
trict reelected Paul Culbertson,
president; J. G. Cameron, vice
president; Jack Hoffbuhr, sec
retary-manager; and Neff, Frohn
mayer and Lowry as legal coun
sel. Directors of the Talent Irriga
tion district reelected Homer
Moore, president; David Holmes,
vice president; Walt Hoffbuhr,
secretary-manager, and Frank
Farrell, legal counsel.
The Eagle Point Irrigation
district reelected J. H. Stanley,
president; C. J. Greb, vice presi
dent: Thelma Short, secretary;
Ted Flury, manager; and Frank
Farrell, legal counsel.
The Rogue River Valley Ir
rigation district will hold its an
nual meeting on Jan. 8.
Canadian Pacific
Tied Up by Strike
Montreal, Que. U.R The
coast-to-coast operations of the
Canadian Pacific Railway were
tied up today by a strike of
2,800 firemen. Picket lines were
honored by all other operating
employees.
Prime Minister Louis St. Lau
rent, who spent the holiday in
Quebec City while his cabinet
aides tried unsuccessfully to per
suade the Brotherhood of Loco
motive Firemen and Enginemen
to call off the strike, listed the
rail dispute as the top item for
discussion at the cabinet's first
1957 meeting today. The strike
began Wednesday afternoon.
The strike issue centered
around the use of firemen on
diesel trains.
Salem (U.P.) Richard C.
Rice, 32, a Pasedena, Calif., Boy
Scout leader, has been named
the new scout executive for the
Cascade Area Council.
abroad and he has seemingly
kept aloof from the present
struggle in the Kremlin.
It will be the first time since
the war that the marshal will
represent Russia alone outside
the Iron Curtain. At the summit
conference in Geneva in 1955,
he accompanied Premier Nikolai
Bulganin and party chief Nikita
Khrushchev.
Zhukov may have been chosen
also to explain the Red Army's
intervention in Hungary on pure
ly military groups.
His visit will follow the talks
in Moscow between Chou and
the Soviet leaders.
A1AXT
MEDFORD, OREGON, THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 1957
TOO
Trial of Ambuehl
Ordered to Resume
On Friday Morning
State Awaits Arrival
Of Los Angeles Woman
Circuit Judge Orval J. Millard
has ordered a recess until 9:3d
a.m. Friday for the trial of Don
ald LaVerne Ambuehl, 31, of
1615 Crater Lake ave., charged
with unlawful possession and
control of narcotics.
District Attorney Walter D.
Nunley requested the recess un
til a state's witness, Mrs. Wilma
Scott of Los Angeles, could ar
rive in Medford to testify at the
trial.
He said Mrs. Scott was report
ed to have left Los Angeles for
Medford on Jan. 2.
Five men and seven were
sworn in at 10:56 a.m. today as
jurors in the trial.
A new venire of jurors was
called to. fill the jury panel this
morning by Judge Millard, Jose
phine county circuit judge who
is presiding at the trial. Defense
Attorney Edward Kelly exer
cised all six of his peremptory
challenge rights and Nunley ex
ercised all three of his during
the jury selection, which started
yesterday.
A peremptory challenge al
lows an attorney to dismiss a
prospective juror without giving
reason for the dismissal.
At the close of the morning
session Nunley stated that at the
request of Tom Reeder, district
attorney-elect, be had agreed to
remain on the Ambuehl trial as
a special deputy appointed by
Reeder if the trial continues aft
er Nunley is scheduled to leave
office on Monday.
Trapped Ships May
Move in Four Days
Cairo (U.R) Thirteen ships
trapped in the Suez Canal more
than two months will be able to
move out of the waterway into
the Mediterranean sea in about
four days, the general manager
of the Egyptian Suez Canal Co.,
said today.
The vessels of various types
and nationalities were caught in
the canal between El Ballah and
El Cap last Oct. 31 when Anglo-
French planes carried out the
first attacks on Egypt.
General Manager Mahmoud
Younic said salvage operations
in the northern stretch of the
10-mile waterway would shortly
permit the ships to sail south
wards to Lake Timsah where
they can turn around for the run
northwards to Port Said
Workers Council
Defies Red Regime
Vienna U.R) Rebellious
workers councils are openly de
fying the the communist regime
by refusing to fire idled em
ployees in the nationalized Hun
garian factories, it was reported
today.
The Soviet-backed Janos Ka-
dar regime ordered more than
200.000 workers fired New
Years day. Virtually all of Hun
gary's industry has been para
lvrpd for weeks bv a Dower
shortage caused by coal short
ages.
Reports reaching Vienna indi
cated worker councils in many
plants ignored the government
orders. In some instances, they
seized factory funds in order to
keep employees on full pay.
New County Veterans
Service Officer Named
The county court today an
nounced appointment of Jerry
V. Bianconi. 145 North Third
St., Central Point, as veterans'
service officer for the county.
Bianconi is commander of the
Myers-Holland American Legion
post at Central Point. He is a re
tired logger and received a per
manent disability in a logging
accident several years ago. He
succeeds Charles Holbrook, who
resigned recently.
Salem U.R Street and
highway crashes killed at least
417 persons in Oregon during
1956. the State Traffic Safety
Commission has reported.
"They'll Never
Building Permit Fee
Schedule Amended
The Medford city council last
night adopted an ordinance re
ducing building permit fees for
structures in which construction
costs exceed S500.000.
The previous ordinance pro
vided, a S3 per S1X000 building
inspection fee for each 1,000
of construction costs.
Under the new ordinance the
fee is S3 for the first S500.000,
S2 per S1.000 for the second
S500.000. and S1.50 per $1,000
for more than 51,000.000.
The amendment was proposed
at the last council meeting fol
lowing comments from several
representatives of the Rogue
Discharged Captain
Faces Felony Charge
Corvallis (U.R) James A.
Steadman, 28-y e a r-old dis
charged Philomath police cap
tain, today faced a felony charge
of assault and battery against
Benton County Sheriff C. N.
Lilly, 62.
Steadman is accused of "beat
ing and bruising the head and
body" of the sheriff early New
Year's Day. The sheriff suffer
ed a heart attack after the
altercation and remained in criti
cal condition in a local hospital.
Lilly had Steadman under ar
rest for being' drunk and dis
orderly when Steadhan allegedly
attacked him in front of the Ben
ton county jail. Philomath of
ficers at the scene pulled Stead
man away and jailed him.
In District Court yesterday
Steadman pleaded guilty to a
charge of being drunk in a pub
lic place but asked for a pre
liminary hearing on the assault
charge.
Ships Collide in
New York Harbor '
Kew York (U.R) A U. S.
government ship with 145 pass
engers aboard and a Venezualan
vessel collided "in perfectly clear
weather" at dawn today off the
entrance to New York Harbor,
the Coast Guard reported.
It said the collision was not
"too serious" although the 9,-978-ton
Cristobal of the Panama
Line had plates and railings
smashed on her port side and
had to be towed to the Todd
Shipyard for repairs by a Moran
Towing Company tug. '
The other ship, the 4,214-ton
Ciudad de Barquisimeto, pro
ceeded to the 'harbor from the
collision scene off Ambrose
Lightship under its own steam,
he said. There were no injuries.
DOW-JONES AVERAGES
New York U.R) Dow-Jones
final stock averages: 30 indus
trials 499.20. up 3.17; 20 rail
roads 154.86, up 1.34; 15 utili
ties 68.74. up 0.41, and 65 stocks
174.54. up 1.19. Sales today
were about 2.260.000 shares
compared with 1,960,000 shares
Wednesday.
IRIBUNE
Take Us Alive
91
ii
Valley Memorial Hospital asso
ciation. They told the council they be
lieved the fees were "excessive"
for the new $2,000,000 hospital
under construction at Barnett
and Murphy rds- .......
Feet for Hospital -
A resolution was passed that
the Rogue. Valley hospital build
ing fee be payable within the
new fee schedule. City Attorney
E. R. Bashaw pointed out since
the hospital fee had not yet been
paid it would be collected under
the amended ordinance anyway.
The hospital's building fee as
a result of the new ordinance
will be $4,000, City Manager
Robert Duff said. Under the pre
vious fee system the cost would
have been $6,000.
Non-Profit Basis
Duff added the city building
department does not operate on
a profit basis. Oniy purpose of
building fees are to recover city
costs of building inspection, he
said. In this case, the city man
ager said, city inspection costs
will be about the same as the
$4,000 hospital building fee.
Duff said that for buildings in
excess of $500,000, the previous
building fee was too high. It was
his opinion the new fee schedule
is "fair and reasonable," regard
less of any consideration of
building permit fees for the hos
pital, he stated.
At a previous council meeting
the Rev. George V. Bolster and
Eugene Thorndike, of the hos
pital association, requested the
city to waive building fees "in
exchange for the benefits the
hospital will bring to the city,
(See story on page 14)
Four of 20 Convicts
Start Eating Again
Salem !U.R) Four of 20 con
victs in the segregation block at
the Oregon state prison gave up
a hunger strike this morning but
the other 16 refused breakfast
for the fourth straight day.
The 16 convicts had missed
10 straight meals.
Writer Says Marines Are
Armed With Atom Weapons
Washington (U.R) U. S.
Marines aboard ships in the Med
iterranean have been armed with
"live" atomic military equip
ment, a reporter for the Scripps
Howard newspapers said today.
Staff writer Jim G. Lucas said
his information came in an exclu
sive interview with Gen. Ran
dolph Pate, Marine Corps com
mandant, published today in the
Scripps-Howard newspapers.
He said Pate told him the
Sixth Fleet Marines, have a
"ground atomic capability," ex
plaining that this meant they
have atomic warheads for their
artillery..
They soon will be armed with
Honest John rockets, also having
atomic warheads, Lucas quoted
Fate.
Price 10c
United Press Full Leased Wira
No. 244
Rescue Attempts
Halted on Snow
Covered Mountain
Helicopters Take 8
Rescuers from Scene
Chamonix, France U.R)
The agonized parents of two holi
day mountain climbers today
reached a decision which doom
ed their sons to a frozen death
high up the side of snow-shipped
Mont Blanc.
They refused a daring pilot's
offer to attempt to land his light,
ki-equipped plane beside them
in a last ditch rescue attempt.
Their decision meant that all
hope had been abandoned for
the two climbers, trapped on the
peak for 13 days.
Eight other' men who almost
lost their lives in other attempts
to save Jean Vincedon, 24, and
Francois Henry 23, were, brought
down from the mountainside to
day by daring helicopter pilots.
ine 15,781-foot mountain is
the tallest peak in Western Eur
ope. French authorities had forbid
den their men to make any fur
ther try to reach the pair strand
ed by storms on Mont Blanc
since Dec. 22.
Parents Reject Offer
Swiss mountain rescue pilot
German Geiger offered to make
a desperate last ditch attempt
to land beside a wrecked heli
copter In which the two men lie
helpless. .
- But Geiger said he dropped his
plans because the parents of the
two young climbers opposed the
try due to the risks involved.
Most mountaineers here be
lieve they already are dead. The
last time they were seen alive
was Tuesday. Then they were
wrapped in chemically-treated
blankets by would-be rescuers,
provided with food and placed
in the cabin of the wrecked heli
copter. Both were in critical condition.
Vincedon was reported so badly
frozen he could not move enough
to feed himself.
The rescuers themselves were
forced to retreat from the risky
perch where the two men lay,
and no on has been able to reach
them since.
Vincedon and Henry started
their climb against the advice
of local guides, who warned
them of the treacherous storms
that sweep the gigantic moun
tain. The day was clear when they
started, but soon the region was
swept with a fierce fall of snow,
zero temperatures and winds of
gale velocity. The two youths
were trapped.
Holmes' Plan to Attend
Ike's Inauguration
Salem (U.R) Gov. Elect
and Mrs. Robert D. Holmes have
accepted an invitation to attend
the inauguration of President
Eisenhower in Washington Jan.
21.
The Holmes' will make a quick
trip to Washington for the af
fair and return immediately.
Holmes himself is scheduled
to be inaugurated as governor
Jan. 14 and is expected to be in
the midst of pressing legislative
duties at the time of the presi
dent's inauguration.
Lucas said Gen. Pate also re
vealed:
1. That two reinforced Marine
battalions secretly put to sea,
one each from Norfolk and Ja
pan, during the Middle East cris
is with orders to proceed to the
Mediterranean and Persian Gulf
and stand by for orders.
2. That a reinforced company
was flown to PCrt Lyautey, Mor
occo, after the Mediterranean
area naval commander, Adm.
Walter F. Boone, received a tip
that Arab extremists might try
to storm the big U. S. naval base
there and seize its ammunition,
'3. That Marines attached to
the Sixth Fleet were prepared
to fight their way into Cairo
"if necessary" to evacuate Am
erican civilians at the start of
tha Suez fighting.
Middle East Policy,
Civil Rights Top
Issues at Session
Lausche Votes With
Party, Assures Control
Washington U.R) Fresh
man Sen. Frank J. Lausche nail
ed down Democratic control of
the Senate by voting with his
party today in a suspenseful
opening session of the 85th Con
gress. Democrats organized the
House with no trouble. But in
the more closely divided Senate
there had been anxious mom
ents among the Democrats about
Lausche's intentions.
The Ohio Democrat hinted last
summer he might vote with Re
publicans on organization of the
Senate. Had he done so, it
would have been possible for
President Eisenhower's party to
control that chamber.
Priority Items
Both houses convened with
civil rights and middle eastern
policy high priority items for
early debate.
Northern senators promptly
offered a motion aimed at curb
ing filibusters. A showdown was
postponed until 3 p.m., (PST)
Friday when the Senate will vote
on a move to table" the antifili
buster proposal.
President Eisenhower will go
before a joint session at 9:30
a.m. (PST) Saturday to ask early ,
congressional approval of the ad
ministration's new Middle East
policy.
He wants the two houses to
authorize $400 million in eco
nomic aid for that area and use
of U. S. troops, if necessary, to
deter Russian aggression there.
Indications are that Congress
will give him substantially what
he wants.
House Speaker Sam Rayburn
said that because of the special
message on the Middle East there
is some doubt that the President
will deliver next Thursday's
State of the Union Message in
person.
Not until the actual voting on
organization did Lausche defin
itely commit himself. When he
voted with the Democrats for
Sen. Carl Hayden (D-Ariz.),
against Sen. Styles Bridges (R
N.H.) as president pro tempore,
the suspense was over. The vote
was 49-46.
In the House, to nobody's sur
prise, Rayburn was reelected
speaker. Rayburn, who will be
75 Sunday, has held that post
longer than any other man.
(Sea Stories Page 6, Section 2)
Experts Say Ship
Could Have Survived
Washington (U.R) A group
of maritime experts reported to
day that the Italian luxury liner
Andrea Doria which sank after
a collision last July 25 "would
have survived" if she had been
in compliance with U.S. safety
standards.
The experts were appointed
by the House Merchant Marine
Committee to make a study of
the collision of the Andrea Doria
and the Swedish ship Stockholm
off Nantucket Light in the At
lantic. '
The experts, who filed their
report with the House, did not
draw any conclusions as to
which ship was to blame for the
collision in which 50 persons
lost their lives.
Portland Woman
Named to Post
Washington U.R) President
Eisenhower today designated
Mrs. Dorothy McCullough Lee,
former mayor of Portland, Ore.,
as chairman of the Subversive
Activities Control Board.
Mrs. Lee, who has been serv
ing as a board member since
Aug. 21, was named to succeed
Thomas J. Herbert whose resig
nation is effective Jan. 21.
Mrs. Lee served on the Justice
Department parole board from
1953 until she was named to the
Subversive Activities Control
Board.
Weather
FORECAST: Cloudy tonight and
Friday with a slight chance
of light showers Friday. Low
tonight 34, high tomorrow 42.
. TEMPERATURE ,
Highest Yesterday 38
Lowest ThU Morning . 33
Our Skies Tonight
ADD PI "WEATHER
The Earth today is in Peri
helion, the point on it orbit
nearest, the Sun. and the Moon
lonipht is in Apogee, the point
on its orbit farthest from the
F-arth.
Moon's distance .. 252.400 miles
S(in distance. 91.347.000 miles
Sunrise 7:41a.m.
Sunset 4:51 p.m.
Moonset 7 48 p.m.
Tirst quarter Jan. 8