SIX MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE
Wednesday, January 23, 19S7
Disappearance of Flier in Dominican Republic Stirs Officials of Government
By A. ROBERT SMITH
Mail Tribune Correspondent
Washington U. S. govern
ment officials are growing in
creasingly agitated over the se
ries of events
surround i n g
the disappear
ance of an Or
egon flier in
the Dominican
Rep u b 1 i c, a
Caribbean dic
tatorship. Seven weeks
have elapsed
a. Robt. smith since Oeraia
Lester Murphy, a 23-year-old
aviator from Eugene, Ore., van
ished without a trace in the Do
minican capital, Cuidad Trujillo.
He had ju.t quit his job with the
Dominican Airline, which is
owned and operated by the gov
ernment of Generalissimo Rafael
Leonidas Trujillo. Murphy's car
was found abandoned on the
outskirts of the capital city not
far from the coast and the shark
infested waters that are nearby.
A month after Murphy disap
peared Dominican police arrest
ed a Dominican national. An
tr.nia Del La Maza. who had
worked with Murphy for the
government airline. Several
days after his arrest and deten
tion, police reported to Ameri
can authorities that he had com
mitted suicide in jail and left a
letter for his wife in which he
confessed killing Murphy.
Officials Skeptical
American officials are plainly
skeptical of the appearance of
the entire affair. They recall
vividly the mysterious disap
pearance last March of Jesus
; Galindez, a Dominican history
j professor at Columbia universi
I ty who vanished from New York
City. He was an avowed foe of
Dictator Trujillo. No trace has
ever been found of the profes
sor. Diplomatic relations between
the U. S. and the Dominican gov
ernment are very strained,
which serves to aggravate the
suspicions that are harbored by
State Department officials who
are working on the case.
De la Maza, the suspect, was
found hanging in his cell from a
pipe that was only six inches
above his head, according to Do
minican police, who have com
plete authority to investigate the
case locally without U. S. inter
ference. They said he hanged
himself by knotting mosquito
netting into a makeshift rope.
State Department Silent
New and secret developments
have occurred in the last few
days, but State Department offi
cials won't talk about them yet.
Very probably they involve this
series of circumstances: I
De la Maza showed up at the !
American embassy in Cuidad
Trujillo on Dec. 10 to pick up
visas which he had arranged to
obtain for his parents to come to
the United States: Murphy, as it
is now recalled, was last seen
only a few days before1 this. His
abandoned car was noticed Dec.
6. He had that day advertised his
personal effects for sale in a lo
cal newspaper prior to returning
to the U. S. to be married to a
Pan-American airline hostess
from Miami.
Embassy officials recall that
de la Maza seemed highly over
wrought when he showed up for
the visas. His parents then left
the country and now reside in
New York. Police then picked
him up for questioning, and a
few days later reported him as
a suicide.
F.B.I, agents have been called
into the case. They have ob
tained a photostatic copy of the
alleged suicide note in order to
nicke a handwriting analysis and
determine whether in their opin
ion it is genuine or a forgery.
Some officials here, who know
more than they can reveal at
tiiis time, believe there has been
active complicity on the part of
Dominican underlings of the
Trujillo regime. Possibly the po
litical reason for such complici
ty. it turns out to be the fact,
might lie in the type of hauling
the Dominican Airline may have
had young Murphy doing.
The whole affair seems head
ed for becoming a minor inter
national incident between the
U. S. and one of her smallest
neighbors, unless a better an
swer for the disappearance of
the Oregon flier is found very
soon.
Swell
PACIFIC ,
INDUSTRIAL""
16 S. Central Phone 3-S308
Quick in Results!
Use Tribune Want Ads
March of Dimes Said
Desperately in Need
Of Funds for Program
Chicago Polio patients of the
nation would be in a dangerous
position if many people had the
erroneous idea ' that paralytic
polio is licked at a time when
the current March of Dimes is
desperately in need of funds,
Basil O'Connor said here today.
O'Connor, president of the Na
tional Foundation for Infantile
Paralysis, was in Chicago to at
tend a Cook County Chapter
Medical Advisory Committee
luncheon in tribute tc those who
gave valuable assistance during
the 1956 polio epidemic.
Remark! Misinterpreted
The danger to polio patients
had been enhanced, he said, by
an unfortunate misinterpretation
of his remarks published on the
occasion of a birthday interview
recently, in which he discussed
what the National Foundation
might do when the polio pro
blem actually had been reduced
to a minimum.
"Some people apparently
thought that our looking ahead
to the future had a direct bear
ing on the present," the March
of Dimes leader declared. "But,
as a matter of fact, there can be
no future until the problems
of the present have been met.
"Like any oranization dedicat
ed to the public interest, we have
been discussing and investigat
ing possible courses of future
action in serving the American ;
! people, for we know that some
I day polio will be conquered
now that we have a preventive
j vaccine.
"But to view this as an indica
' tion that our original goal al
: ready has been achieved is a dis-
! tortion of the facts, at a time
when our obligation to at least
80.000 old polio patients is most
pressing."
Scientific research for improv
ed treatment, rehabilitation and
polio vaccines, as well as profes
sional education to train urgent
ly needed physicians, therapists
and other medical experts and
care of new patients this year,
all depend upon continued public
support of the 1957 March of
Dimes. O'Connor said.
"I wish I could issue some
kind of victory statement, now
that we have come this far in
the fight against polio," he add
ed. "There are many elements
of victory in existence reduced
polio incidence last year, the in
oculation of more than 44,000,
000 children and adults with at
least one shot of Salk voccine,
improved patient care. But I am
afraid that talk about victory to
day would be dangerously pre
mature. Victory means the end
of a fight and the tragic fact is
that the polio fight is far from
over. I am sure the American
people intend to fight it to its
end."
Sttj07 of Vim
BOKN TOO SOON
foo yea-Olo MAZLENE OLSEH or
BUffUN&TDN, MASS. ... MiT BY POLIO JUST
S TVIE NATION WAS GETTING ITS tRST SALK
VACCINE ...SVlWaOLlZCS TVIE COUNTRY'S
POLIO VICTIMS WUO STILL. NEED
MAZCH OP PIMES HELP
erRtCKEN WHEN SUB WAS THREE, MAUEWC
WEA3S A BRACE ON HER R.16HT LF.0 AND
MEEDS CRUTCHES TO GET AROUND. DOCTORS
SAY SHE'LL NEED CONTlNUINQ CARE "FOR
THE NPtfT FEW YEARS'
-V "V "V V
. VWtLENE HAS MADE
: LIP HER f.lNDSHE
1 vvw
PAP
1 CAPTAIN ARNQLO OLBVH,
AN ARMY bom bee PtLOT,
WAS AWARDED THE
pfSVNOUlSHED PUWCWS
LAST MAY FOR
TOP SECRET WORK
IK KOREA i
1 1
m mum ... i
PROSPECT
WCTU To Send Gift Boxes
By GENEIL SPRUILL
Prospect" The WCTU met
Tuesday at the home of Hope
Hedgepeth. The ladies finished a
quilt top they were making and
decided to send each local boy
in the service a box of candy and
cookies. Their next meeting will
be held at the home of Mrs. Joe
Colley.
ard Chandler, Miss Merrilyn
Lewis and Miss Mary Lou Hap-per.
Mr. and Mrs. Don Owsley and
daughter, of Eureka, Calif., who
were called here due to the death
of Kiser Owsley, have been vis
iting with Mrs. Owsley's parents,
the Grants.
Six members fd the birthday
club met Thursday with Mrs.
Kennitji Edwards the honored
guest. Mrs. Robert Ells won the
door prize. Twelve new chairs
have been purchased for the use
of the club. The ladies are now
trying to raise money to buy a
piano.
Area Farmers Reminded of
Social Security Changes
Miss Kathy Dilley has been
out of school for several days
due to illness but is again back
at school. '
The Home Extension group
met Jan. 16. About 28 ladies
attended. A hot dinner was
served by Mertis Chandler,
Tressie Vaughn. May Richard
son and Ann Gillespie.
Mr. and Mrs. Roy Halft from
Port Orford are spending sev
eral days at the Lewis Robert
son home.
Mrs. Roy Vaughn was hostess
Jan. 7 at a birthday dinner hon
oring Mrs. Ray Gillespie.
On Jan. 23, the Prospect school
children and any one between
the age of six months and 20
years will be given polio vaccine
free of charge.
Llpyde Moore is confined to
a Portland hospital, where he
underwent a lung operation Fri
day at 1 p.m. He was accom
panied by his wife and his broth
er and family from Lakeview,
Ore.
Miss Yvonne Struck and San
dra Poole have been absent from
school recently due to illness.
J The grade school basketball
j team has been doing well this
; season, winning 15 games out of
16 played. J
Mrs. Paul Mather and Mrs.
Vernon Govenor were hostesses
Tuesday, Jan. 15. at a pink ami
blue shower honoring Mrs. Rus
sel Shoemaker. After opening
the gifts refreshments were
served. Those attending were
Mrs. Spencer Lewis. Mrs. Spen
cer Lewis Jr., Mrs. Gene Wil
liams, Mrs. Eugene Carrico, Mrs.
Clifford Snodgrass, Mrs. John
Hansen, Mrs. Clarence Pearce.
Mrs. George Govenor, Mrs. Len-
SCHOOL DAYS
Ogden, Utah (U.R) City em
ployes here are going back to
school and apparently enjoying
iU Officials say 300 of Ogden's
350 city workers have taken
part in personnel administration,
government administration, pub
lic relations and similar courses
offered at Weber College. The
classes are optional, but college
credit is given for those who
want it.
U A-' v
IEAMING TO DRIVE?
look for
AUTOMOBILE
DRIVING SCHOOLS
TOWING
SERVICE
in Jk
f -sr 'uow mil
3
Farmers of Jackson and Jose
phine counties who will be fil
ing a combined income tax and
social security return for 1956
are reminded that the social se
curity provisions for reporting
farm income have been changed
to the farmer's benefit, W. V.
Nusbaum, district social secur
ity manager, said today.
The revisions are designed
to provide the small farmer par
ticularly with a more favorable
basis for figuring his social se
curity payments, he said.
The new law permits a farmer
with a gross income of S1.800 or
less during 1956 to use either his
actual net earnings for social se
curity purposes, or two-thirds of
his gross farm income.
If his gross Income exceeds
SI. 800, but his net earnings are
less than S1.200, he may report
his net earnings as 51,200. The
new method may be used by
farm partners as well as by in
dividual farm operators, Nus
baum said. It applies to farmers
who keep their records on the
accrual basis and those who use'
the cash method, he added.
The self-employment tax on
1956 farm income is 3 per cent
of the net earnings up to the
maximum of 54,200. For the
years 1957 through 1959 farmers
will pay ZH per cent 6f their
taxable farm income. While the
1956 social security law in
creased the self-employed tax
I rate starting with 1957, farmers
mis year will Be reporting on
1956, income and therefore the
tax rate is still 3 per cent, Nus
baum said.
EASY JOB
Gloversville, N. Y. (U.P.)
Firemen turned on the shower
to put out a blaze in the home
of Mr. and Mrs. Albert Javarone.
A shower curtain had caught fire
when Mrs. Javarone threw a pan
of burning grease into the bathtub.
BUY YOUR HEATING OIL
FROM THE DEALER WHO
DISPLAYS THIS SEAL OF QUALITY
Tho heating oil dealer who displays
this seal is an independent business
man personally interested in your
comfort, safety and satisfaction. Ht
is pledged to give you dependable
service, fair business practicts and
highest quality products. Be sure you
buy your heating oil from the dealer
who displays this seal.
BE SURE . . . buy your heating oil from the progressiva
dealers listed below. They are independent businessmen
pledged to give you low prices, unexcelled service and ths
very finest in Modern Oil Heat comfort.
JACKSON COUNTY CHAPTER
OIL HEAT INSTITUTE OF OREGON
FABER FUEL CO. MEDFORD FUEL CO. VALLEY FUEL CO.
WESTERN OIL & BURNER CO. WHITTLE OIL CO.
THE FUM OD
- Ajf
f if JlffiiZP'&t i :; i
Big servings
cost so Utile I
Ice Cream's the big buy in
any size package! No other
dessert is so delicious..."
so filled with good things
. . . so, easy to serve. So go
ahead, live a little! Enjoy
ice cream often!
"7ake homepenfy
I 7 -the weekend 1 fJ