Medford mail tribune., June 30, 1957, Image 4

FOtTR MXDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE
Sunday, June 30, 1957
UNI
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Flight o' Time
Medford and Jackson County
History from the files of The
Mail Tribune 10. 20, 30 and
40 years ago.
Bisected City
10 YEARS AGO
June 30. 1947 (Monday)
A snake, killed in a Table
Rock area orchard, is unidenti
fiable; it is reported to be 54
Inches long, with brown stripes
on its back and a pink under-
body.
From Arthur Perry's Ye
Smudge Pot column: The court
house lawn pack of Robin
Scouts flew to the rural regions
Thursday. Leader Amos Wood
pecker gave a talk on how to
build a cupboard for a nut. He
then tied the Scouts in knots by
pretending to be scared of a
scarecrow.
20 YEARS AGO
June 30. 1927 (Wednesday)
Two county jail inmates, one
charged with forgery and the
other with larceny, make a clean
getaway through the jail kitchen
and over a roof.
Medford City Bus company
orders three 21 -passenger coaches
for service to begin this fall; fare
10 cents.
30 YEARS AGO
Jun 30, 1927 (Thursday)
Jacksonville ceases to be coun-
ty seat, headquarters start mov
ing to the armory in Medford.
Thirty-three building permits
issued in Medford during June,
total value $51,185.
40 YEARS AGO
June 30. 1917 (Saturday)
Orchard valuations as high as
$350 per acre have been ap
proved by district appraiser for
federal loans, and 12 applica
tions for $31,000 total have been
approved in this area.
From the Local and Personal
column: At the meeting held ot
the state lime board at Salem
this week, Benton Bowers, the
Ashland member of the board,
was authorized to investigate
further into the Gold Hill lime
district, and two other members
weer instructed to obtain prices
on machinery that may be need
ed in developing the industry.
What's Your I.Q.?
' Nine or ten correct It ropertor:
rvrn or eight U icellent; fire or
sis Is good.
1. Did the first American ves
sel to reach a Russian port (Riga)
arrive there in the spring, sum
mer, fall, or winter of 1S83?
2. What region of the globe is
located directly opposite the U.
S. on the other side of the earth?
3. Bible: Are there 68, 72. or
76 Books in the Catholic edition
of the Bible?
4. What form of life is shrimp?
5. What does the color blue in
the American Flag signify?
6. Do mulberries grow on vin
es, trees, or bushes?
7. Do eels have two hearts?
8. What do the following have
in common: Jurassic, Devonian,
Carboniferous?
9. Is the word "antagonized
ever used in a colloquial rather
than a formal sense?
10 "All stratagems In love,
and that the sharpest war. are
lawful." Beaumont and Fletch
er (1630). State the briefer ver
sion of the proverb.
Snswers: T. Spring (June 1).
2. Indian Ocean. 3. 72. 4. Shell
fish. 5. Loeelty. S. Trees. 7. No.
S- The era names of geologic
periods, t. Tec. As "don't aniag
aize him." IB. "All's fair in love
ta4 vrv." Smedley (1850).
All up and down the Pacific coast, towns are "built
around" the railroad. This is the historical conse
quence of the railroad arriving in an area before the
town grows up, and then stimulating its growth.
It is true the length of the San Joaquin and Sacra
mento river valleys, it is partly true in the Willamette
valley to the north, and it is true in Talent, Phoenix,
Medford, Central Point, Gold Hill and Rogue River.
Medford, indeed, is in a sense an offspring of the
Southern Pacific or rather the old Oregon and Cali
fornia railroad for if the rails hadn't gone through
here, Jacksonville presumably still would be Jackson
county's major city.
TN THOSE days, the "railroad did well by Medford.
It was on a main line; passenger trains were the
principal means of transportation, and the public was
served. Meanwhile, profitable freight service was
beginning to build up in and out of the new land.
Under those circumstances, it is easy to understand
why, in those days, the railroad was accepted as a
friend, a neighbor, a benefactor, and was accepted as
an integral part of the city.
If the line through the middle of town was an
inconvenience, who cared? And who can blame the
early residents for not foreseeing the day when Med
ford would be a city of nearly 25,000 people, with
close-packed automobiles (not even invented in those
days), a need for more crossings, and a need for
orderly development and expansion?
DUT THE town did grow, and fast. It- grew rapidly
in the 1870s, had another spurt in the "colonist"
days of the teens of this century, and another spurt
during and after World War II. Until relatively recent
years, planning for the future was something which
cities, as cities, tended to overlook.
The price of that lack of foresight for which no
one really can be blamed is now being exacted. The
rail line does bisect the city, both physically and in
less tangible ways. The noise, the blocking of traffic,
the drab slash through the city, are all part of it.
A ND IT'S probably too late to do much about it,
except make the best of it. Underpasses and over
passes for street crossings are tremendously expensive,
and two of them were eliminated for that reason (and
we think it probably was a mistake to do so) from the
arterial street plan OK'd by the voters last fall.
With an uncooperative railroad which is more
interested in making money than in rendering good
service, or providing for the safety of its neighbors,
or even assuming part of the cost of a new grade cross
ing it will be up to the people and their representa
tives to force such betterments as they can from the
railroad, and then provide the rest themselves. E.A.
Watching the Sky
The clear skies and warm temperatures of recent
weeks have produced the sort of conditions where
contrails those silvery cloud-like marks across the
sky left by high-flying jet aircraft frequently f orm.
They are a spectacular sight. Some of them are
made by planes so high they appear to be nothing but
tiny, bright dots trailing a long, long plume of white
nothingness which sometimes stretches from one hori
zon to the other. These spread and diffuse in a little
while, and soon resemble weird, deformed clouds.
IT IS a comforting thought, in these days of interna
tional tension, that they are made by U.S. planes.
That they could be unfriendly aircraft, armed
with bombs, is unthinkable to most of us. We are con
fident that our radar networks would spot planes that
don't belong in the skies. And, we reassure ourselves,
if radar misses them, the Ground Observer Corps wall
locate and report any planes which shouldn't be there.
We are secure behind the oceans and our defenses,
we tell ourselves.
Well, maybe we are. It's a cinch that the Air
Force is doing its best to maintain a protective barrier.
And it's also a cinch that members of the GOC are
dedicated folk who voluntarily, devote a few hours
a month to "plug the gaps" in the radar systems.
"THE big difficulty here, though, is the fact that
there aren t enough people who are willing to give
up their time to man the GOC stations.
In Jackson county a year or two ago, there were
about 1,500 people who devoted a couple of hours a
week or a month to watching the skies and reporting
planes to the autorities. There are now only some 800.
Medford at least in theory has a station that
is manned 24 hours per day. But in practice, there
are not enough volunteers to man it around-the-clock.
In Jackson county, there are about 35 other
ground observer stations, none of them on a 24-hour
basis. Some of them are at locations where people
combine their regular work with extra curricular
plane-watching. During the summer, the forest fire
lookouts are part of the network, and on their moun
tain perches, away from noise and confusion, are
highly effective.
A MINIMUM of 86 volunteers is needed to man a
station 24 hours per day for one week. This is
on the basis of one two-hour shift per week each.
Other volunteers, who can't help operate the Med
ford GOC observe post at Jackson st. and Andrews
rd., but who can check planes passing over during
the course of their other activities, are also needed.
Anyone interested in obtaining the details of the
task can call Karl Knutsen, 615 North Columbus ave.,
telephone SPring 2-6481, or Mrs. Virginia Cox, 527
Beatty St., telephone SPring 3-44S8.
The lack of personnel in the Ground Observer
Corps is a gap in eur defenses, and one that only vol
unteer personnel can fill. E.A.
1 -1
C 5 '
c'
'Get vouf? hats : I'm soma treat for ice cream sodas '
Today and Tomorrow
By Walter Lippmann
A WEAK MANDATE
There are many signs that
while Governor Stassen does
have a mandate to negotiate in
London, it is
Walter Lippmann
thin and weak
and tentative.
He is author
ized to see
whether he
can work out
an agreement
which, when
it is brought
back to Wash
ton, will have
the full support of the Adminis
tration, which is divided on tne
fundamentals, and of the Sen
ate, which is keeping itself aloof
and uncommitted.
The negotiator of any treaty
is, of course, in the position of
not being entirely certain that
the Senate will ratify what he
mav aeree to. But Governor
Stassen's position is unusually
Drecarious. For he has the Admin
istration united behind him only
in the sense that the President
has made a ruling which must
be obeyed, not in the 'sense that
the oDDOsition has been con
vinced and won over. The high
officials who do not want an
agreement at this time are be
ing formally correct in not chal
lenging the President's policy.
But their real feelings ooze out
in every direction, and are
exerting a powerful influence
in Congress and in the press
What has happened, I believe,
is that the great underlying
issues of policy, which must in
the end be decided by public de
bate, have been debated in sec
ret within the Administration,
and have been decided but have
not been settled. The underlying
issues turn on whether, if an en
forcable agreement to limit
armaments could be reached, it
would be wise to make the
agreement. The really import
ant opposition is among those
who think that an agreement to
limit armaments, even though
enforceable, would be undesir
able. The President has ruled
against them, and has taken the
Dosition that if an enforceable
agreement can be reached, the
agreement should be made. Gov
ernor Stassen has the President's
ruling behind him. But the seri
ous opposition though it is over
ruled for the time being, is
likely to continue to be very
formidable indeed.
the race of armaments will not
be an unequal sacrifice.
IT is a pity that the case of the
opposition was not debated
publicly before the negotiations
began in London. It may well
become necessary to debate the
case before the negotiations can
go much further. For it is not
realistic to assume, as the Presi
dent does when he discusses the
subject in his oversimplifying
way, that the whole problem is
whether the Russians will
agree to some arrangements
that they will not be able to vio
late. Although for my own part, I
would make a limited agree
ment, say to suspend the nuclear
tests for a trial period, I do not
doubt that the case against such
an agreement must be recog
nized and answered. Otherwise,
we may find ourselves in the
dangerous position of rejecting
an international agreement that
the President has made.
There are, it would seem, two
principal objections to making
an agreement.
The first is that to suspend
testing would be to sacrifice ad
vantages that we now have and
others that we expect to obtain
in the future. Presumably we are
not only ahead of the Russians
in the race of armaments but
the scientists think that we are
within reach of advances which
will put us decisively ahead for
at least some considerable
period of time. I do not know
what there is in it, but there
have been hints that defensive
nuclear armaments may be de
veloped which would make this
country largely invulnerable to
nuclear attack. If that were to
happen, we should until Rus
sia developes the same defensive
weapons be way ahead in the
race of armaments.
In any event, the burden will
rFHE second of the principal
-- objections is that any agree
ment, however limited technical
ly, in a matter of such critical
importance as nuclear weapons
will have a profound influence
on all the great issues which di
vide the world. An effect of the
meeting at the summit in 1955
at Geneva was to downgrade
the international importance of
issues like the division of Ger
many. Any substantial agree
ment now which covers the ulti
mate weapons of modern war,
will have a similar, perhaps a
larger, downgrading effect.
Whether this would be a good
thing or a bad one is the really
debatable question. Does the
downgrading of issues like the
division of Germany, of Korea,
of Viet Nam, like the rivalry in
the Middle East, like the with
drawal of the Soviet Army from
Eastern Europe, mean that these
problems will never be solved?
Or does it mean that they will
all be solved in the end as suits
the Soviet Union? Or does it
mean that as the tension relaxes,
the national and local impulses
towards independence and na
tionalism will assert themselves?
No one knows for certain and
it is foolish to be dogmatic. The
future is not under our control.
But as between the risks of
standing pat and the risks of
venturing forward, why should
we take counsel only of our
fears?
(c) 1957 New York Herald
Tribune Inc.
In the Day's News
By FRANK JENKINS
The United States has pro
posed at the London disarma
ment conference a reduction of
"conventional" armaments. (Con
ventional armaments are shoot
ing irons all the way up from
pistols to Big Berthas.)
Under the plan proposed at
London, surplus arms would be
deposited in specified depots
subject to international inspec
tion and control.
H
M-M-M-M-M. Out here in the
that brings up memorif s out of
the past.
There was a period here in the
wide open spaces when more or
less every male citizen packed a
gun. In the general state of af
fairs then prevailing, picking a
gun was a wise precaution. No
body knew just when he might
need one, so "going heeled" was
the custom of the time.
But
There were moratoriums.
These moratoriums included
neighborhood social affairs,
where people of all sorts mixed
and mingled. So, in the interest
of safety, the guests PARKED
THEIR GUNS before joining the
party.
The custodian at the door
acting in the capacity of the
modern hat check girl took
care of inspection and control.
TN THE Wild and Wooly West,
-S- At a timp whpn there wprA no
policemen, the system helped to
keep the peace.
Maybe IN A WORLD WHERE
THERE ARE NO POLICEMEN
it will help to keep the peace.
PRESIDENT EISENHOWER,
- addressing the governors of
our states at Williamsburg the
other evening, proposed some
thing that may never come to
pass but MIGHT go down in his
tory as one of the most import
ant suggestions he ever made.
In brief, he proposed that the
governors of the 48 states join
with the federal government in
working out a new states right
policy ... in determining just
how much authority and respon
sibility should be WITHDRAWN
from Washington and GIVEN
BACK to the state.
Putting it more pointedly
Ike suggested to the governors
that the states DO FOR THEM
SELVES a lot of the things now
being done for them by Wash
ington and PAY FOR IT THEM
SELVES with state funds.
A S YOU have undoubtedly read
in the papers and heard on
the air, the proposal got no rous
ing cheers from the assembled
governors. No hats were thrown
in the air in approval.
How come?
The answer, I imagine, Is that
money from Uncle Sam is still
rather widely regarded as manna
from heaven.
POTLUCK
(By M-T Staff and Contribution)
One can fall into the habit of
thinking of Police Chief Charles
Champlin as a conservative man
in dress, appearance, behavior
and talk. W'e were jolted out of
this obvious misconception the
other day when a reporter swip
ed a picture someone had
snapped of the chief, clad from
the ears up in a gift-hat colored
blue, brown, silver, gray and
white, with a brass buckle, pre
sented him, for no reported rea
son, by some colleagues.
Champlin conservative? Hah
Judge for yourself:
1 !Hf
4S
Matter of Fact by
fi
r. ft)
5U KrH
THE TESTS WILL GO ON
Washington Since the Presi
dent's press conference on Wed
nesday, it is clear that there will
almost certain
ly be no mu
tual agreement
with the So
viets to sus
pend nucl ear
weapons tests
Bar a miracle
the tests will
go on. When,
fc.. tk J on June 15th,
stfwan aisod tne Soviets
proposed a two or three year
suspension of all nuclear weap
ons tests, to be monitored by
nternational inspection teams
the President was faced with a
simple, dangerous, vitally im
portant cho'ce.
Should the United States try
to negotiate a suspension of the
tests, as a "first step towards
disarmament," independent of
other conditions? Or should the
United States tie the suspension
of tests into a "package deal,"
including conditions which the
Soviets would almost certainly
reject?
The question divided the Eis
enhower administration into two
bitterly opposed camps. In the
lower policy-making levels there
were those who favored the first
course. Their arguments ran
abouts as follows. The Soviet
experts, including former Am
bassador to the Soviet Union
Charles Bohlen, had expressed
the view that the Soviets were
probably serious about negotiat
ing a limited agreement. And
the Soviet proposal, since it in
volved the stationing of moni
tors within the Soviet borders,
looked like a serious proposal.
fOREOVER, it would be rela
tively easy to test its seri
ousness. The experts have here
tofore unanimously contended
that a mere handful of inspec
tion teams operating in the So
viet Union and equipped with
acoustic, seismic, and radiologi
cal devices, could detect a nu
clear test of significant power
anywhere within Soviet - con
trolled territory. Thus a test
suspension could be monitored
without a vast army of inspec
tors on both sides.
Moreover, it was argued a test
suspension should logically be to
the advantage of the United
States, since this country has
tested far more bombs of far
greater total power than the So-
Stewart AIsop
President has so often talked
At his first press conference
after the Soviet proposal on
June 19th, it was obvious that
the President was strongly in
fluenced by such views.
would be perfectly delighted,"
he said, to make some satis
factory arrangement for tempo
rary suspension of tests while
we could determine whether we
couldn't make some agreements
that would allow it to be a per
manent arrangement.
HPHIS looked very much like
willingness to accept a test
suspension without the "pack
age deal. A powerful group
within the Administration led by
AEC Chairman Lewis Straus;
and Admiral Arthur Radford
violently opposed any test sus
sion on any terms, and they were
undoubtedly appalled by the ap
parent weakening of the Presi
dent on the issue.
Strauss, who has the Presi
dent's ear, had based his stand
largely on technical grounds
that the radiation danger was
greatly exaggerated, for exam
ple, and that continued tests
were necessary to develop effi
cient missile warheads. Then, ap
parently fortuitously, Strauss
two main allies in the scientific
community, Dr. Edward Tell
and Dr. fcrnest Lawrence, came
to Washington to testify in
closed session before a Congres
sional committee. They provided
Strauss with the clinching argu
ments in the battle for the
President's mind.
Both men testified that further
testing was necessary to develop
a whole family of "clean" hydro
gen bombs. They testified fur
ther that the development of
"clean" bombs made it techni
cally possible for the Soviets to
cheat on any test suspension
agreement, bar a vast inspec
tion system reaching into every
corner of the Soviet Union.
be on the President and his sup- viet Union. And it would pro
porters to prove that a pause in I vide the "first step" of which the
AT THE suggestion of Rep
W. Sterling Cole, a close
Strauss ally, Teller and Law
rence were taken to the White
House by Strauss to brief the
President on these two points
which greatly strengthened the
Strauss - Radford case. Mean
while, of course, the President
had been hearing other cogent
arguments against suspending
the tests, including the fact that
both the British and the French
opposed suspension. But the
J? Igk
A wise modern youth was
observed standing on the con
crete bus area in front of the
Trailwayi depot last week
when his mother, sitting in a
chair next to the door, called
out, "Billy, get out of the run
way." He replied. "How come?
There ain't no planes going
to land."
The Mail Tribune staff mem
ber who covered the annual in
stallation of officers of a local
service club patiently observed
all the ceremony, back-slapping,
p r e s e n tations and announce
ments which go with such an
event. He typed out a plaintive
little note when he handed in
the story. It said:
"Can you make anything of
this? I doubt if I can. There were
more people thanking others for
this and that, I became down
right confused. Did YOU get a
past-president's pin?"
Before some fast pencil
work was done by a secretary,
an entry in the police log last
week read: "Kenneth A.
Blank, 823 Blank st., reports
at 12:09 p.m. June 27, 1957,
that his dog has been bit by
a neighbor's child."
A subscriber went on a tour of
a local industry the other day as
part of a group, and almost had
hysterics when reporting the
fact that an M-T reporter in the
crowd had to borrow a piece of
paper to take his notes.
One of our pir, attended a
a wedding practice the other
day, and reports what she
thinks is a classic answer given
by the bride, who was asked
whether ahe wanted to carry
a prayer book or a Bouquet of
flowers. "I don't kgow," the
declared. "I've gever been
married before."
The Oregon Water Ski tourna
ment is being held at Gardener
lake this week end, and last
week participants were practic
ing for it. A car drove up, com
plete with skis on a rack on top.
One water skier viewed it as a
symbol of the change of the
seasons. The skis on tbe car were
snow skis, used for the last snow
of the season at Crater Lake th?t
day.
A aatrea telephoned the
other day te atk the telephone
number of an M-T staff mem
ber. She said she's called every
number in the book listed
under the last name of the per
son she wasted to calL
The one whe aaswered the
call checked the telephone
book, and fouad the proper
name and number, and told the
caller the page. "That page has
K's, not H's. in my book."
was the answer. It did, too,
for it was found to be last
year's book.
A boy who attended YMCA
day camp this week reported
that one of the leaders suggested
that boys who brought a lot of
lunch share part of theirs with
those who didn't bring very
much. This was a good idea, par
ticularly for the leader, who sud
denly remembered he'd brought
no lunch at all.
We were dismayed at the re
port, given us by a colleague,
that the U.S.S. Forrettal,
America's mighty super air
craft carrier, had been wreck
ed and scuttled.
We were therefore consider
ably relieved to learn that ha
was r e f erring to a plastic
model of that ship, in the win
dow of Sims Hobby Shop
across the alley, which had
stood in the sun too long and
collapsed from the heat.
A staff member finds some
thing funny about seeing a small,
square sign on the end of a
great, big boxcar that says
"Fragile."
The same staff member, who
keeps alert as he prowls the
street, reports in the "Defeat
of Purpose Department" a
car which was parked at the
curb, and which had attached
to the dash board by an in
genious magnetic device a
small black metal box labeled
"Hide-A-Key."
On the west wall of a large
brick building downtown, the
prowling newsman also report
ed, Is a large painted sign read
ing "Odd Fellows," and just be
low it is a soft drink sign say
ing "Three Sizes, Large, Med
ium and Small."
Communications
Letters to the Editor must bear the name and address of the writer, although
under certain circumstances the use of a pen name or Initial tor publication
is permissible The Mail Tribune reserves the right to edit all letters with e
view to clarification and condensation Letters submitted for publication must
not exceed 400 words.
Orphan Bills Stymied
To the Editor: I wish to com
mend the very fine action which
Sen. Richard L. Neuberger and
Sen. Wayne Morse of your state
are taking in regard to the ref
ugee orphan legislation. In spite
of the fact that there are many
good American families who
wish to adopt the half-American
orphan children born in Japan
Korea and Okinawa, at the pres
ent time not one of these chil
dren is allowed to enter our
country. The reason for this is
simple enough there is no law
which permits their entry.
Your senators have fought no
bly for such legislation but it
remains stymied in committee.
urge that the citizens of your
state write to Washington and
express their opinion.
Rep. Francis E. Walter has in
troduced yet another bill which
also is stymied in the House Ju
diciary Committee. Only per
sistent demands from American
citizens can bring about this leg
islation. The cause for the de
lay seems to be political in the
main, bince a bill allowing a
specified number of orphans to
enter the United States for pur
pose of adoption is non-controversial,
certain congressmen
wish to attach controversial ma
terial of their own. This delays
the entry of the children to a
damaging degree.
I think the American people
should know about the children
and their predicament.
Pearl S. Buck
R D. 3
Perkasie, Penn.
Teller-Lawrence briefing was
undoubtedly the clincher.
So on Wednesday the Presi
dent did what he had not spe
cifically done the week before.
He placed conditions on a sus
pension of tests which hardly
anyone believes the Soviets will
accept, including the kind ' of
vast "inspectional system," to
use the President's phrase, which
is contrary to every Soviet in
stinct. Thus the Strauss-Radford
group has won a signal, and
probably final, victory wheth
er for good or ill, only history
can tell.
Copyright 1957,
New York Herald Tribune Inc.
Against Parking Item
To the Editor: In a recent is
sue of the Mail Tribune appeared
a summary of the proposed City
budget. In it appeared an item
of $50,000 for off-street parking.
In the recent election when the
question of off-street parking
was placed before the voters it
was turned down. Is not the in
clusion of this item in the pro
posed budget an attempt orb the
part of the budget committee to
accomplish by council action
something that has already been
rejected by the voters? It seems
to me, and I find the same opin
ion exists among many persons
with whom I have talked, that
this is purely and simply a dou
blecross of the voters of the city.
In other words, the council
would take their tax money and
spend it for a project they have
already refused to approve.
We do not question the desir
ability of off-street parking, but
we do believe that the assessment
for such a project should be made
against those who would be di
rectly benefitted thereby, the
down town business interests,
and that it should not be paid
for by revenues collected in part
from outlying residential inter
ests who would derive no direct
benefit therefrom. That was the
primary reasoa for the defeat of
the project when it was submit
ted to the voters, and I dare say
were the budget submitted to 3
the voters with this item in it,
it would be defeated again.
Therefore, should the city
council approve this budget with
the off-street parking contairted
therein, how would members of
the council who voted for the
item explain their action to their
constituents when the next elec
tion comes along?
A. J. Curry,
906 West Main St..
Medford, Ore.
i