3URTEEN MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE
Sunday, December 23, 1957
Starts
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DEPENDABLE TRANSPORTATION Wilbur Gardner, above,
who has operated Gardner's Shoe Repair shop at 612 East Main
St., Medford, for the last 27 years, figures he gets the exercise
he needs by riding a bicycle to work every morning. He esti
mates he has traveled 45,000 miles by leg power during that
time. Gardner's present bicycle is equipped with an electric
generator, rear-view mirror, bell and turn signals, which he
rigged up himself. On his own initative, Gardner about six
month? ago began a one-man campaign to get federal laws
passed to require manufacturers to label shoes as to what mate
rials are used in their construction.
Flood Waters Rising
At East Car mi, III.
By UNITED PRESS
Flood waters Saturday con
tinued to rise at East Carmi,
111., swelled by four hours of
havy rains Friday night. Sat
urday' forecast included yet
mort downpours for the south
ern Illinois city where already
g families have been evacuated.
Pfto boiling waters coursed
through the Southern Illinois re
fgion hit by a series of freakish
ofi?0son tornadoes last week.
Overflowing banks of the Little
Wabftsh river caused the main
highway from Mount Carmel,
111., to Princeton, Ind., to be
closed down, police said.
A band of showers crossed the
Mississippi River from the
PlainS jrea early today, and
thunderstorm . activity continued
into the night along the central
Gulf Coast.
Rains Hit Northwest i
In Washington and Oregon, a
new Pacific disturbance caused
dawnpours to continue, while
the influence of the storm was
being felt in northern California
and in the Rockies.
More than 2 inches of rain
fell at Crescent Ci-y, Calif.,
Friday, and a 6 to 7 inch snow
fell at some of the higher ele
vations of southern Oregon.
Snowfall was widespread
over the Great Lakes region but
fell as slush in the northern sec
tions of Illinois and Indiana.
The U.S. Weather Bureau said
night time temperature changes
over the country were almost a
complete reversal of the pre
vious night. There were lower
readings in he Rockies, the
Crest 1 skes and down to Texas,
in tho northern plains states and
most cf the m'd and north At
lantic states.
Wavming, accompanied by
c-oudiress, was reported in mcs.
o'her regions of the country.
Fis'Wimen S Iron del
, The' recent cold front over the
northern Midwest caused Lake
SIM..- 3sEc
ilATLOAD Three unidentified residents of Carmi, El.,
SBsaye housenoia possessions io mgner gruuna aiier uie
ftUa Wabash River overflowed its banks, forcing 40
gfcilies to abandon their homes. The flood resulted from
SSS7! raiDS foUowinS recent off-season tornadoes.
Winnebago in Wisconsin to
freeze over but not enough
to support the more than 50
fishermen who ventured on the
ice Friday. Authorities set up a
ferry service of rowboats to res
cue the stranded fishermen
when cracks a block long set
them adrift.
At East Carmi, officials said
the evacuation of about 40 fami
lies t'om the fijoded lower scr-:i-n
of the to.v.: by motorboai
had been completed.
Rebels Rounded Up,
Ammunition Seized
Oran, Algeria HP) French
troops rounded up 83 rebels and
seized two large ammunition
dumps in a post-Christmas
crackdown through the Oran
department, the Army announc
ed Saturday.
Soldiers on patrol Friday near
Tlemcen, 66 miles southwest of
here reported 22 rebels guard
ing an ammunition dump sur
rendered after French forces lob
bed tear gas grenades into their
hideout.
v Among the armaments recov
ered were 60 grenades and 4,
000 rounds of ammunition, the
French said.
HOME BREWER FINED
Chicago (IP) Albert Way, 45,
was fined S250 dollars for fail
ing to notify the Internal Rev
enue Service of his home brew
ery, despite his double-barrled
defense. Way said he made 36
quarts, drinking half of it him
self, selling the rest for 25 cents
a quart.
Washington (I?) Since it was
put on sale a month ago, the
Post Office Department said it
has cancelled 778,287 first day
covers and sold 3,421,548 of its
new whooping crane three cent
stamps.
Gardner Receives
Suport of Many
Officials in Move
By BOB VROMAN
Mail Tribune Staff Writer
Wilbur Gardner, who operates
Gardner's Repair shop at 612
East Main st., Medford, is not
by nature a trouble-maker. For
27 years he has been content to
work in his little shop, hammer
ing sewing away at the job of
repairing shoes for Medford
citizens.
While he has known for some
time that people were not al
ways getting their money's
worth when they bought a pair
of shoes, he never figured he
could do anything about it at
least not until one day about six
months ago when he suddenly
got "fed up" and decided to take
matters in his own hands.
Pair after pair of children's
shoes that were being brought
into his shop didn't have enough
solid leather anywhere to make
a repair. They were paper from
one end to the other, which was
all covered up with a veneer of
leather and probably cost the
buyer from S8 to S10.
Public Duped
Gardner reasoned that if cloth
ing, bedding, food stuffs and
other commodities had to be
labeled as to their contents or
construction, why not shoes? He
figured that the public is being
"duped" by not having laws to
compel manufacturers to label
shoes as to what materials are
used in their construction.
The first thing Gardner did
was to correspond with congress
men in Washington, D. C, to
stir up interest in getting shoe
label laws and to find out what
he could do to help get them.
Gardner has written to govern
ment heads of other countries to
find out what laws are in ex-
istance on the labeling of shoes
and he has had several articles
published in. trade journals on
the subject.
He recently received a reply
from Prime Minister Robert G
Menzies of Australia, along with
a copy of the laws that control
shoe labeling in that country.
Although the laws are not as
comprehensive as Gardner would
have them, , Australia's regula-
tions are the best of any coun
try in the world, and may serve
as,a pattern for setting up such
laws here.
More Expensive
Not only are they more ex
pensive m the long run, but
cheaply-made shoes do not give
proper support to the wearer's
feet, Gardner said, and that after
they have been wet once they
are apt to loose their shape com
pletely. He said this is particu
larly harmful to children's feet
and he added that foot doctors
claim that 65 per cent of the
shoes on the market today can
not be rebuilt for foot correction
purposes because of the cheap
materials used in their manu
facture. He also said that one
third of the children's shoes to
day are not even repairable
Paper is the most common of
the "cheap" materials used in
shoe construction and lately it
is being found in even the better
grades of shoes. Gardner said
that 75 per cent of the children's
shoes made today have wooden
shanks instead of steel, or else
no shanks at all.
In some women's shoes, he
said, a manufacturer will import
expensive leather and do a fine
job of styling to make a hand
some shoe, but inside there will
be found paper insoles, heel
counters and toe caps. The cus
tomer pays a high price for the
shoes, which may actually "fall
apart" if they get wet. This is
particularly true of summer
shoes, Gardner said.
Gardner's complaint isn't so
much the fact that paper fiber
is used in shoe manufacture, but
that if it is used the shoe buver
should know what he is getting
for his money.
Sends Petitions
Right now Gardner is in the
process of sending out hundreds
of petitions to cities all over the
United States to aid , in getting
legislation passed. This was sug
gested by Sen. Wayne Morse,
along with other information, in
a three-page reply to Gardner's
inquiry. Gardner has picked 12
cities in each state to send the
petitions, which he is doing en
tirely on his own.
On the petition in his own
shop Gardner has about 200 sig
natures, a good many of which
are Medford doctors and shoe
retailers, who recognize the
trouble caused from poorly-made
footwear.
The petitions read: "National
Petition to Label Shoes To
state on a label what shoes are
made of for your protection, due
to the use of paper fiber and
imitation leather in their manu
facture. I believe I could buy
better shoes if they were labeled.
I believe I could buy better shoes
by label and better foot health
would result. I believe a great
savings m money would result
if I could buy shoes' by label." i
. 1
EXAMINES SHOE Above, Wilbur Gardner,
who feels that buyers are being "gypped"
when they pay high prices for shoes that are
made of paper, examines a typical child's
shoe that couldn't even be repaired because
of cheap construction. Gardner is trying to
get federal legislation passed to compel man
ufacturers to tell on a label what shoes are
made of.. Upon the advice of Senator Wayne
Also, at the suggestion of Sen.
Morse, Gardner is collecting spe
cific evidence of the use of paper
,iber in particular brands of
shoes, and on his counter for the
public to see are cut-away sam
ples of shoes made with paper
that could not be repaired.
Attached to Shoes
He believes that the label
should be attached to the shoes
themselves and if they contain
paper fiber, wood or plastics, or
any other product besides genu
ine leather, the label should say
so in plain language and not call
the material by some high
sounding name.
In this way Gardner feels that
buyers will be able to judge
better for themselves whether or
not a particular shoe is worth
the price.
Shoe retailers seem to be m
accord with Gardner's ideas too,
because they often get "kick
backs" from customers who find
that a pair of expensive shoes is
cheaply made.
Almost every shoe repairman
in the nation is aware of the
problem, Gardner said, and it's
about time something was done
about it.
Receives Commendation
Gardner has already received
commendation from Parent's
magazine for his investigations
and he has received endorsement
from various organizations local
ly. He also received a letter from
Gino Prato, the Brooklyn shoe
repairman who , became known
nationally after his appearance
on $64,000 Question, commend
ing him on what he has done.
Prato said he would visit Gard
ner in Medford soon to see if he
can do anything to help get a
shoe label law passed.
Gardner now has the ball roll-
i i i
ing on a nation-wiae scaie ana
the time may not be far off
when a , person can go into a
store and buy a pair of shoes
and at least get what he pays
for, putting to an end to what
Gardner calls the deceptive prac
tice of our shoe industries.
Austrian Advisor
Dies After Session
New York Dr. Egon F.
Ranshofen-Wertheimer, 63, form
er advisor to the Austrian dele
gation to the United Nations
General Assembly session which
ended here Dec. 4, died Friday.
He apparently suffered a heart
attack while waiting for a plane
to return to Astoria.
Ranshofen - Wertheimer was
appointed a member of the Sec
retariat pf the League of Na
ns in 1930. He served as a
consultant for organization of
the United Nations with the U.S.
Department of State from 1945
to 1946.
Many Left Homeless
After Bandia Raid
Tokyo (IP) A bandit raid
on a small village on West Java
on Thursday left seven dead and
more than 1,000 homeless, the
Communist New China News ag
ency reported Saturday.
The agency, quoting an Antara
dispatch from Djakarta, said ele
ments of the "Islamic Army"
plundered the village of Kunin-
gan, West Java, killed seven
villagers, wounded two others
and then set fire to 301 homes.
Use Tribune Want Ads
AUTO-TRAIN CRASH INJURES 16 Railroad workers repair track near Oakley, CaL,
where the crack Santa Fe streamliner Golden Gate smashed into a stalled car and de
railed, injuring 16 persons. The driver of the auto, who tried to flag down the on
rushing train, was uninjured.
NATION'S FIRST This is the elaborate control room at . Shippingport, Pa.' as the
nation's first full-scale atomic power plant went into operation. Pittsburgh began to
use electricity produced from the atomic power. Three operators man the con
trols around the clock to keep tab on the distribution system, the turbine-generator
section and the nuclear reactor furnace.
Oil Company Exec
Dies In Denver
Denver OP) Edward T. Wil
son, former president of the Con
tinental Oil Co., died here Friday
at St. Luke's hospital. He was
88 and had been ill only a short
time.
He was president of the oil
firm from 1912 until his retire
ment in Denver in 1932. He also
was chairman of the board at
the time of his retirement.
Wilson is survived by four
children, Mrs. Isabel Johnson of
Portland,, Mrs.- Elsie Blackwell
of Short Hills, N.J., Laurence R.
Wilson of Portland and Robert
D. Wilson of Denver.
Funeral arrangements were
pending.
GERMANS VISIT FORMOSA
Taipei, Formosa (IP) The
first West German goodwill mis
sion to visit this Nationalist Chi
nese island stronghold will ar
rive early . next month, it was
announced Saturday.
The Foreign Ministry said the
10-member group, most of whom
are members of the West Ger
man rarliament, will make a i
two-week tour.
Morse, he is now in the process of sending
petitions, similar to the one in his own shop,
to other shoe shops throughout the United
States. Gardner feels that if shoes were la
beled a buyer could judge better for himself
if a pair of shoes is worth the money or not
and would know what to expect from the
shoes as far as wear is concerned.
MINI 1 1 1 1 1
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v3 WEST MAIN AT SIXTH fT
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KBES-TV Monday Thru Friday I anj g Streets .and .
Year-End Rally Marks
Stock Market Trends
By ELMER C. WALZER
United Press Financial Editor
New York (IP) Stocks en
joyed a miniature year - end
rally during the past week with
steels and building shares lead
ing. Utilities gained 0.70 point on
the week in thier average which
closed at 68.65. That left it 0.11
point above the 1956 closing,
in contrast with the industrials
which were down 66.57 points
from the 1956 close and rails,
down 55.84 points on the year.
Industrials closed this week
at 432.90, up 5.70 points. Rails
closed at 97.39, up . 0.47. The
market gained in three of the
four sessions and met weekend
realizing and evening up opera
tions on Friday.
During the week the cumula
tive sales total for 1957 moved
above the 1956 figure. With two
days left in each year the totals
stood at 551,124,580 shares for
1957 against 549,800,708 shares
in 1956. In the last two sessions
of last year, sales totaled 2,
790,000 and 3,680,000 shares re
spectively. Gains Outnumber Losses
Of the 1,397 issues traded dur
ing the week 660 gained, 560
declined, and 177 held unchang
changed with news of the bus
iness world more1 drab than in
many a week. About the only
bright spot was retail trade that
apparently set a record high for
the Christmas holiday and indi-
MAIN AT SIXTH
4tn and c streets
Morticians by Invitation
cated a record for all of 1957.
Big industries had more than the
seasonal shutdowns and all of
them declined.
Trading in the market brought
out a daily average of 2,476.978
shares, against 2,634,644 shares
daily in the previous week. The
decline reflected a reduction in
tax loss selling and an absence
of many traders for an extended
Christmas holiday.
Steel issues showed gains on
the week ranging to nearly 3
points in Armco. Republic Steel
rose more than 2 and U. S. Steel
and Bethlehem rose nearly 2
points each. The steel group got
a lift from a statement by Re
public that it was relighting five
of its closed furnaces in the
Youngstown district sooner than
anticipated because of better de
mand for steel.
Housing Outlook Improved
Various agencies told of im
proved outlook for housing next
year. The increase projected,
while less than 100,000 units,
was seen as highly significant.
Better demand for new homes
is expected to be helped along
by easier money and improved
terms for purchasers.
A long list of issues in any
way connected with building
moved higher. U. S. Gypsum
gained 33,4 points and gains of 2
points or more were set by Best
wall Gypsum, Corning Glass,
Pittsburgh Plate Glass, Crane
Co,. Masonite, Minneapolis Hon
eywell, Trane and Georgia-Pacific
Corj. Celotex rose nearly 2
points and so did Westinghouse
Electric. General Electric rose
more than a point.
Several of the railroad shares
made a good showing despite
the 19th successive weekly de
cline from a year ago in car
loadings. Kansas City Southern
and Western gained 2.
"T I il T 5 -
W,M WBUB W.VUJf
Zenith ran up 5'i points in
the television group. General
T7- i o : - . T-i 1
ruuus ruae & in its sec lion, r i
delity Phenix gained 4? and
Thompson'Products 31- points in
the special issues. Caterpillar
iracior rose ana lngersou-
AmAA 111 11C X VnKJL
builders. Aircrafts and tire
shares moved irregularly as did
oils. Motors eased on a reduced
output and predictions the new
year would bring sales of 5.5
million units against 5.8 mil
lion in 1957. ..
Drug issues met demand along
with many other consumer goods
item. American Home, Products
rose 4 points and gains of more
than 2 points each were set by
Parke Davis, and American Cy
anamid. General Motors topped the
list in volume with sales of 135,
500 shares. It closed the week
at 33VS, off V point. A year
ago the stock sold at 44. Stan
dard Oil NJ., with sales of
125,600 shares, was in second
plane. It rose 3A point to 4934
North American Aviation,
Pennsylvania Railroad, and
Bethlehem Steel were in third,
fourth, and fifth places respec
tively. Michigan Governor
To Be Chief Speaker .
Los Angeles (IP) Michi
gan Gov. G. Mennen Williams
will deliver the keynote address
at the opening session of the
California Democratic council ,
endorsing convention Jan. 10 in
Fresno, Calif., it was announced
Saturday.
The Democratic governor will
arrive in San Francisco Jan. 9
and drive to Fresno. He'll return
to Michigan the mornini? after
'the speech.
I I I I mi l -fiiari