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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (July 24, 1957)
f ' f - v V K4 5l Steer A. ? . FLAMES CONTHOLLED Firemen, working with three trucks with an aerial laddi r true, brought last night's fire in the Palm building, Medford, undrr control after battling the blaze for more than an hour. Above, an unidentified fireman on the aerial ladder plays a stream of water onto the roof while another fireman mans the hydraulic laddi-r control-. The fire originated in the back ol the Tri-County Office supply on South Fir st. At one time, the flames flared up to a hciht of 30 feci or more; firemen said. (Mel Scott Photo). 1 1 b . r 5 ' J ' t . X! . .. v .... -1 - ; . , $ J r . v ; liri -Trnn -j 'it 0 -iITImii hi -it i- i n i r " i-f- it -ii'i fiiiii i '.r nY iinn i INSPECTS DAMAGE Fire Chief Gordon Barker, picking his way through debris, inspect": the damage to the Palm building and Pacific Telephone and Telegraph company trucks after last night' fire. The root and ceiling of the building collapsed but comparatively little damage was done to vehicles inside. The fire, confined mostly to the loof. did not ignite any of the gasoline tanks or tires on the vehicles. (Bob Vroman Photo). LSW Union Discusses Strike Against Medco Member of Lumber and Saw mill Workers, Local 2715, AFL, last night discussed the strike of about 130 woods and railroad employees against Med ford cor poration, and expressed dissatis faction with Medco's position. The strike began Monday and was called following failure to agree on wage and other negotia tions which have been under way since April. The union, whose members approved the strike, is Local 6-221, Interna tional Woodworkers of Ameri ca. AFL-CIO. Pass Picket Lines The Medco mill is operating with members of the LSW who have passed the picket lines es tablished by striking workers. The woods operation and rail road are shut down. Warren Davis, business agent of Local 2715, LSW, said union "employees of Medco indicated ''that they were highly- dissatis fied with the actions of the com pany in not granting a wage in crease like many of the other mills of the Willamette valley district council have already granted since June 1." They further "indicated that a strike action may be taken at Federal Washington '1" The House Interior Committee formally killed the federal Hells Canyon Dam project today bv a vote of 16-14. The action, anticipated for the past three weeks, came after sponsors of the highly controver sial public power proposal made brief speeches defending it. One called it "the only legitimate de velopment of the peoples' re sources" in Hells Canyon. Fourteen Ropublicans and two southern Democrats. Reps. James A. Haley and George A. Shuford of North Carolina, cast the votes that spelled final de feat for the proposed federal dam. The bill would have authorized-federal construction of a high federal dam in ll!e Hells a later date," Davis said. B. L. (Bud) Nutting. Medco manager, earlier said the com pany feels that no cost increase is justified in view of the pres ent lumber market slump. Davis said last night's meeting of Local 2715 was well attended. No date has been set for any pos sible strike action, he added. Harry Finley is president of Local 2715. Police Investigate Four Burglaries Medford police today were in vestigating the burglaries of four business concerns on Court st., which took place sometime Tuesday night. Approximately $20 in change and small currency was taken from the Trowbridge and Flynn company warehouse, they said. Other buildings entered housed the Westinghouse Electric com pany, Sherwin-Williams com pany and the Schmidt Distrib uting company, officers said. Similar entries were made into the firms by breaking glass panels, according to police. Hells Canyon Dam I Canyon reaches of the Snake I river on the Idaho-Oregon bor j der. It was opposed by the ad j ministration. The Federal Power ; Commission has authorized the Idaho Power Co. to build three low dams in the canyon. Today's vote came half an I hour after the committee con 1 vened its regular Wednesday meeting. Democratic supporters of the federal project, who had ; successfully- headed off a vote at the previous two meetings, made no attempt to delay the action today. The, 14 members voting for the project were Democrats. In contrast to previous stormy Hells Canyon meetings in the I committee, the session in which , the long-debated issue was final I MAN FIRE HOSE With smoke pouring out of trucks owned by the Pacific Telephone the font entrance to the Palm building at ai.d Telerraph company. A total of 39 men, 16 Sou'h Fir st., firemen work a four-inch including 10 volunteers, answered the gen hose into the building to get-at the flames eral alarm, which was turned in about 7:45 from below. The building housed a number p.m (Mel Scott Photo). Fire Damages Palm Building; Cause Is Yet Undetermined Telephone Service Trucks in Building Fire last night extensively damaged the Palm building, 16 South Fir St., which housed the Tri-County Office supply and Pacific Telephone and Telegraph company's service truck storage. A total of 39 men, including 10 volunteers, fought the fire about two hours. Three trucks and the aerial ladder truck an swered the general alarm. Originates in Storeroom Firemen said the blaze origin ated in a small storeroom back of the Tri-County Office supply space and about mid-way of the building on the north side. Cause of the fire had not been de termined late this morning, they added. When the alarm was turned in at 7:47 p.m., flames and smoke were streaming from the roof, firemen said.. The alarm was turned in from the Labor temple, which is across the street from the Palm building. Flames extended through a false ceiling in the northeast corner, a sheet metal ceiling and through asphalt arid paper covered wood roof over the front part of the building, fire men said. Nina Lines Used Firemen fought the blaze from the aerial ladder truck, the ground and rooftops of nearby buildings. Nine lines were used in controlling the fire, and one in mopping up operations, fire men said. At its height, flames and smoke were visible for several miles. Several hundred specta tors watched as firemen con trolled the blaze. Firemen said there was no extensive fire damage to con tents of building, but water and heat damage was extensive. Jack Creager, local manager of PT&T, estimated damage to trucks be tween $2,500 and $3,000, but pointed out it was a "rough estimate." Power Wagon Damaged He said a power wagon for transporting personnel was ex tensively damaged, and glass in three service trucks was broken, paint was scorched and ladders charred. Little damage was done when the roof fell in, he said. Four trucks were removed with minor damage, Creager added. All the damage to trucks is repairable, he said. The first fire truck returned to the central fire station at 9:01 p.m., and the last truck left the scene about 9:49 p.m.", firemen said. Klamath Falls W "Mrs. Richard M. Smith of Klamath Falls has bee nappoiited to the Klamath County Welfare com mission. ly settled was quiet. Reps. Al Ullman (D-Ore.) and Gracie Pfost (D-Idaho) made Mountain Sheep, Pleasant Valley Washington (W A Fed eral Power Commission examin er Tuesday recommended a 50 year license to Pacific Northwest Power Co., Portland, Ore., to build two dams on the Snake river in Idaho and Oregon. , The dams, Mountain Sheep and Pleasant Valley, would have a combined installed capacity of 1.002,000 kilowatts of power in itially, with an ultimate installa 52nd Year United Press Full Leased Wire 18 Pages Alley Closure Adds Emphasis to Slump In Lumber Market A higher than average level of unemployment and a fairly wide closure of small mills in southern Oregon were indicated today in a survey of lumber of ficials and the Oregon state em ployment service. Emphasis to the situation was added this week with announce ment that the 150-employee Al ley Brothers mill at Phoenix will close Aug. 2. R. H. Alley, president, said the large plant is expected to shut . down after a two-week period to prepare for ending the operation. Alley and his brother, Frank (Bob) lley Jr. Los Angeles, began operation of the mill about 1940. Unable to Compete The president, who is in Los Angeles to study the firm's re manufacturing plant there, was quoted as saying the local clos ure resulted because "it has Injunctive Powers 01 Civil Rights Bill Voted Out Washington W The Sen ate today killed a provision of the civil rights bill that would have given the attorney general sweeping injunctive powers. The action was by a roll call vote of 52 to 38 for the amend ment knocking out the injunc tion provision. The action cut out of the bill what some supporters of the civil rights bill called the "heart" of the measure. Defeat for Eisenhower The vote was a major defeat for President Eisenhower. It left the bill primarily a voting rights measure. Administration forces, fearful that the provision would be kill ed otherwise, had tried unsuc cessfully trying to soften it so that part of its provisions would be retained.' Dixie foes of the legislation had made the injunctive provis ions of Part III one of their main targets. The other was a failure to provide for 'a jury trial for persons held in contempt for dis regarding civil . rights injunc tions of federal courts. Project short speeches before the com- mittee voted. . ' Ullman said that the campaign tion of 1,240,000 kilowatts. Esti mated cost of the project ranges from about $167 to $172 million. The application to build the two dams was opposed by the National Hells Canyon Associa tion and other public power groups which also opposed build ing of the three Hells Canyon dams by the Idaho Power Co. They wanted a high' federal dam at Ncz Perce instead of the ...vi.cri t 3- - come to the point where log-buying mills are unable to com pete." Hunter and Best Mills, Applegate, shut down May 13 affecting more than 100 workers in the industry. Other industry spokesmen confirmed Alley's explanation that the cost of logs and the cost of preparing them for market exceeds the marketing price. One mill operator estimated that less than half of the 70 mills enploying between 10 and 30 men which were operating in southern Oregon last year are now in business. He said the effects of the clos ures reach thousands of workers locally. Larger mills with large holdings of cheap stumpage are able to continue operation, he maintained. Unemployment Doubles John J. Patton, manager of the Medford office of the Ore gon state employment service, said unemployment for July while still not serious is about double that of last year. At the end of June, the coun ty had an estimated 1.150 unem ployed compared with 505 last year. Although a large number of those seeking work are experi enced in logging and lumber oc cupations, Patton said most of the unemployed represented a general lack of work which might be related to the lumber shutdowns. Speaking of the Alley mill closure, the firm's president said every effort will be made to re locate workers who become job less. Patton said the number of un employed, while lower than past years, is not alarming. Employ ment has just failed to rise as high as it usually does when seasonal work is at its peak In the valley he stated. Fish Screen Bid Opening Postponed Bidj for constructing a fish screen structure at Savage Rap ids dam have been postponed from 10 a.m. July 25, to 10 a.m. Aug. 14, according to the bureau of reclamation. Figures will be received In the office of the bureau at Camp White. Officially for the Hells Canyon dam was "one of the most sincere grass roots fights ever waged on be- two proposed dams by Pacific I Northwest. But Examiner Ed I ward B. Marsh, who handed down the decision, said further development of this reach of the Snake river "should not be undertaken by the United States itself." Marsh said none of the altern ative projects considered in the proceeding have -ever been rec ommended for federal construc- i tion by U. S. responsible agency. TPUCKS SAVED Although covered with a mass of charred lumber and tin roofing materia! a number of trucks belonging to Pacific Telephone and Telegraph company were only moderately damaged when the roof of the Palm building collapsed during MEDFORD, OREGON, WEDNESDAY, JULY Sailor Takes First Flight in Plane Stolen in Medford Sheriffs deputies at Ukiah, Calif., are holding a 17-year-old Navy seaman for the theft last night of a 1957 Cessna single en gine light plane from the Med ford airport. Ukjah officials said that Charles Wheeler Highsmith, who is AWOL from Hunters Point in San Francisco, had never flown an airplane before. The plane clipped the tops off two trees while landing at Ukiah airport, they said. Medford police were notified, by Ira G. Parish, control tower operator, of a plane flying low over the city shortly after 10 p.m. yesterday. Investigation Conducted An investigation which fol lowed at the airport showed the $10,000 Cessna 170, owned by the Rogue Flying Service, Inc., had been removei. from a han gar, officers reported. Entrance was made after a window pane had been broken on a locked hanger door, police said. -Officers were told that a sailor had been seen around the airport during the afternoon. The plane had enough gas for about four hours' flight, the fly ing service told police, and landed at Ukiah with the fuel in dicator registering "empty," re ports from there said. Met by Sheriff Highsmith, a native of Fort Worth, Tex., was met by the Mendocino county sheriff. The Ukiah report said that High smith hitchhiked to Medford with a friend, who suggested they steal a car. When Highsmith decided a plane would be better, the "friend dissolved the partner ship when he found Highsmith would be making his first flight," officials said. Medford police said they did not know if or when Highsmith might be returned here. Baseball AMERICAN LEAGUE Kansas City 5 8 2 Boston J. 6 10 1 Terry, Urban (4), Cox (7) and Thompson; Brewer and White. ' , NATIONAL LEAGUE New York 2 7 0 Chicago 2 8 1 Antonelli. Grissom (8) and Wesirum; Elston and Neeman. Killed by half of a peoples' project." "Regardless of the outcome of this morning's vote .1 am sure Dams OK'd The EPC staff in a brief filed -last March recommended that Pacific Northwest's application be denied. It said that there was an urgent need for flood control storage by a high dam at Nez Perce. Marsh's decision is subject to review by the commission or re peal by the parties within 30 days. If no review is started by then, the decision becomes final. - -v . rife-v Tribune 24, 1957 'Look I'll Let A Few Of You Have Dates With Her" Ninth Nuclear Device Exploded in Nevada Atomic Test Site, Nev. "Kepler," the ninth nuclear de vice fired by the Atomic Energy Commission in its summer ser ies, was triggered atop its 500 foot steel tower at 3:50 a.m. (p.s.t.) today and the earth was shaken from a yield estimated at more than 10,000 tons of TNT. Tower Disintegrated The resulting thunderbolt dis integrated the tower and unlock ed new secrets of nuclear fission for AEC scientists. Some 700 military observers got first-hand experience in atomic warfare as they crouched in trenches some 3,000 yards from ground zero. The AEC had been holding up announcement of the test pend ing last second weather briefings and at shot time the AEC head quarters in Las Vegas, Nev., some 70 miles to the southeast still had not been notified Kep ler would be fired. Reporters did not know the test was going off until they heard the count-down signifying all was ready. Observers in Los Angeles and San Francisco saw the flash from the explosion in the dark Vote of that this will go down in history as one of the greatest battles for full development of a public re source," he said. Mrs. Pfost said that in killing the Hells Canyon dam the com mittee was "strangling the life blood of the Pacific Northwest." Ullman said that killing the federal proposal would give Ida ho Power "an economic strangle hold" on the Northwest. "This is a sad day, a sad day," the congressman said. Ullman and Mrs. Pfost were sponsors of separate bills which would have authorized the Bu reau of Reclamation to erect a high dam in the deepest river gorge in North America. Democratic supporters of the federal project, who had sue cesslully headed off. a vote al i "1 , x JL A last night s fire. Above, a fireman disconnects a hose beside one of the trucks after the fire had be.n extinguished. All of the vehicles are repairable, according to Jack Creager, man ager of the telephone company. (Bob Vroman Photo). Price 10c United Press Full Leased Wins No. 107 sky, lighted only by a thin silver of the new moon. The fireball from Kepler re sembled that of the famous dud bomb "Diablo," which failed to fire June 28. A group of daring scientists scaled Diablo's tower and removed its string. Diablo finally was fired on July 15. Court Discusses Park With Civic Group The county court met with a civic group this morning and ap proved plans to rehabilitate a grove of maple trees at the fair grounds as a public park. The project is sponsored by the Kiwanis club, with coopera tion of city and county govern ments. The county will construct a foot grade road at the site. The Kiwanians will now have the trees trimmed and the ground prepared for seeding with grass in early fall. The grove adjoins the exten sion of Stewart ave. on the east side of South Riverside ave. Tree were planted shortly after World War I as a memorial to servicemen. Donated funds made the grove possible. 16 to 14 the previous two meetings, made no attempt to delay the action today. Weafher FORECAST: Fair tonight nJ Thursday. Low tonight High Thursday 94. Temp. HI chert Yesterday , 99 Lowest this Morning - z Our Skie Tonight Sunrtse 4:5S a.m. Sunset 7:40 p.m. Moon rise Thursday .... 3:2J am New Moon Friday nirht PROM INK NT STARS Square of Pegasus, in the east pjn. VISIBLE PLANETS - Venus, low in west 1:45 p.m. lupitcr, low In west w 9:36 p. ml Saturn, low in west ..9:36 p.m, Saturn, low in south west n:34 p.m.
