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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 24, 1958)
Pled Voiced Hu m 52nd Year M EDFORD 14 PAGES 'sA " '' ? J V TWO COMMANDERS Capt. Sebastano J. Fagone, com mander of the Headquarters and Headquarters' company of the Medford National Guard unit, shows James W. Grigsby, commander of the same unit in 1940, how to use a sniper scope at Sunday's reunion of former guard members and recruiting drive. Grigsby commanded the unit until it was activated during World War II. He was one of several former National Guardsmen who attended the reunion and open house at the Medford Armory. Preliminary Plans For Organization Of Guardsmen Made Preliminary plans for an organization were made at Sunday's reunion of former National Guard members in the Medford area. Several dozen former guardsmen at tended the reunion. The reunion was held in connection with an open house of the Armory and a recruiting drive by local Na tional Guard units. The group $900 Counted from Heart Sunday Drive . Contributions in the an nual Heart Sunday door-to-door campaign yesterday to taled $900 by noon today, ac cording to Mrs. Manville Heisel, drive chairman. She said there still were some envelopes to be opened. The count, being made by cashiers at the U. S. National bank, continued, she said. About 150 volunteers soli citated contributions though o u t medford's residential areas yesterday afternoon. Mrs. Heisel said it "appears that the one day drive will exceed the total collected dur ing last year's Heart Sunday canvass." Cordy Asks Checks On Themomelers Fruit growers are asked to take their thermometers to the county extension office for checking, according to Clifford B. Cordy, county horticulturalist. Although William J. Roger, meteorologist with the U.S. weather bureau, is not sched uled to arrive in the valley until March 15, Cordy said, with the warm weather there is a possibility that he will arrive sooner. Meter Expected To Be Installed In Sanitary A meter satisfactory to Med ford city officials is expected to be installed in the South Bear Creek Sanitary district sewer by March 1, according to Manville Heisel, attorney for the district. City Manager Robert Duff reported to the city council Thursday night that the con tract with South Bear 'Creek Sanitary district had been terminated Feb. 14 because the district failed to comply with terms of the contract by not installing a meter satis factory to the city. Meter On Order Heisel said the district board of directors since last summer has had on order a meter which would meet city requirements. He said when the district first was notified the current meter was not satisfactory, the board started work to comply with the con tract. Copies of the order, which was approved' by the city. Heisel said, and the shipment invoice were forwarded to the city last November. When the district received notice Jan. 7 that the contract would be terminated in 30 days if MEDFORH f J plans to hold monthly meet ings, the first of which is scheduled March 10 at 7:30 p.m. in the Armory. The group's temporary chairman is Ray Schumacher. Regular officers will be se lected at the March meeting, he said. The group said its purpose is to promote Nation al Guard activities, inform the public of the benefits to the federal, state and local com munities and to see former members on a regular basis. The 8 a.m. to' 5 p.m. open house and recruiting drive of the National Guard at the , Armory was the final event of National Guard month pro claimed by Gov. Robert D. Holmes, commander of the guard. - Schumacher said any other former guardsmen in the area who are 4 interested in join ing the organization can ob tain information by ' calling SPring 3-4437 or SPring 2-9923. Russia Explodes Nuclear Weapon Washington (IT) Russia exploded a large nuclear weapon Sunday, the U. S. government reported Sunday night. Japanese reports led to speculation it might have been an upper atmosphere or out-in-space test of an intercon tinental missile with an H bomb warhead. The official U. S. announce ment said: "Lewis L. Strauss, chair man of the Atomic Energy commission, stated that the Soviets had conducted a nu clear weapons test today (Sunday) in Soviet territory. The yield of the test was in the megaton range." A mega ton is the equivalent of one million tons of TNT. District by March 1 a master meter was not in stalled, the district contacted the H. D. Fowler company, Seattle, the dealer handling the equipment on the west coast. Heisel said the district was assured the meter would be installed by March 1. The meter will be assembled in Philadelphia, and will be in stalled by technicians from Los Angeles, he said. Copies Forwarded Heisel said copies of all correspondence were for warded to the city manager's office. Duff said the type meter satisfactory to the city would be one which would measure the flow of sewage and com pute a daily total. The district will be per mitted to continue discharg ing sewage into the city sys tem, Duff said. The sewage will be received and the con tinued connection will be per mitted at the sufferance of the city, and the city may at any time hereafter without notice cause ax disconnection to be made and reject any and all sewage of the district," according to the letter notify .rtv 1'" f.O oy Flying in Fog Blamed for Crash Hellicopter Pilots Not Trained for Fog Red Bluff, Calif. UPU-An Army investigator suspects the reason three big Army helicopters crashed near here Saturday with a loss of six lives was that the pilots got dizzy flying in dense fog. This was the opinion of Col. Frank G. Forest, who re turned here late Sunday after a day-long investigation at the crash scene 15 miles east of Five Army helicopters, one of the three flights transferring from Ft. Riley, Kan., to Ft. Lewis, Wash., left Medford airport about noon Sunday for Ft. Lewis after refueling. The planes arrived Fri day afternoon, but were de layed here because of bad weather conditions. The helicopters are not equip ped for bad weather fly ing, according to Army of ficials. , The helicopters attracted many valley residents, and a large crowd was on hand when they left yesterday. Red Bluff. Forest belongs to the Sixth Army's aviation section at the San Francisco Presidio. "It is a distinct possibility that the pilots got vertigo and lost their sense of direction and speed," Forest said. "That's what happens when fliers are not trained to operate under conditions of fog or dense cloudiness. "There were no blind fly ing instruments on the heli copters and the fliers were not . trained or equipped to. cope with such conditions." Enveloped in Fog The H-21 helicopters were part of a flight of seven com prising the 57th Helicopter Company, which was trans ferring from Fort Riley, Kans., to Fort Lewis, Wash. At the time of the crash, they had just taken off from Chico, Calif, and were heading for Medford, Ore. They were apparently fly ing at 200 to 300 feet when a thick fog bank enveloped them "before they had a chance to avoid it," Forest said. Two of the 'copters struck a hillside, caught fire im mediately and trapped their three-man crews in the flam ing wreckage. The third 'cop ter hit a fairly flat area. The three men crawled out with only minor injuries. Oregon Highways May Receive White Lines Salem - HP) Oregon may have white center lines on its highways yet. The state Highway Depart ment said today it had re ceived information that a code of uniform signs for the fed eral interstate system had been approved by 41 states. The sign standards include use of white center lines. ing the district of the contract termination. Charges Continued The district will continue to be charged, "based upon a fair apportionment of the cost of maintaining, operating and expanding the city sewage disposal system, but in no event less than the schedule provided for in the contract which has been terminated." There are 57 connections in the South Bear Creek Sanitary district and a con tract between the district and the city of Phoenix bring the total connections to about 250. Duff said. The original contract, dated Sept. 6, 1955, was for a 10 year period. A previous story indicated that the district had been notified the matter would be considered at Thursday night's council meeting. Duff said the district was not notified that he would report the con tracts termination to the council. Reference to the dis trict's board of directors being notified was in connection with a letter from Duff to the board's secretary notifying the district of the termination. Tribune 24, 1958 MISS SANDRA BUXTON Selected for Elks Award Medford, Crater Students Selected For Elks Awards Miss Sandra Kay Buxton, Medford High school senior, and Gerald R. Kime, senior from Crater High school in Central Point, have been se lected for the Medford Elks lodge most valuable student scholarship awards, Galen R. Knox, exalted ruler, an nounced today. Miss Buxton is the daugh ter of Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth R. Buxton, 2478 Sunny View, Medford and Kime is the son of Mr. and Mrs. G. E. Kime, 1614 Scenic-ave., Cen tral Point. Honorable mention went to Johanna M. Dobert, Crater Soil Districts Set Elections Two soil conservation dis tricts in Jackson county will hold annual meetings and election of supervisors next month. The Rogue Soil Conserva tion district will meet at 8 p.m. March 13 in the Cen tral Point Grange hall. A re port on work accomplished during the past year is sched uled. Supervisors will be elected for four years to fill posi tions now held by Chester. W. Jensen of Rogue River and Delmar Smith of Central Point. Qualified land owners of the district are eligible to vote. The Sams Valley - Beagle Soil Conservation district will meet at 8 p.m. March 17 in the Eagle Point Grange hall. The annual report will be given. . Supervisors will be elected to fill positions now held by George A. Loftin, route 2, box 582A, Central Point; A. T. Wattenberg, route 1, box 74, Eagle Point; and Lester E. James( route 2, box 540, Central Point. Two 'supervisors will be elected for a four-year term, and one fpr a three-year term. Knowland Favors Election of Nixon Washington OP) Sen. William F. Knowland (R- Calif.) has come out for Vice' President Richard M. Nixon for the GOP presidential nomi nation in 1960 with an im portant qualification. Knowland, also a possible presidential candidate, says he's for Nixon in '60 provided he himself is elected governor of California and serves his ful four-year term. . Last Oct. 3 Knowland an nounced his candidacy for the GOP nomination for governor of California. This step was viewed by some as a prelude to a bid for the presidential nomination in 1960 or in 1964. Knowland has declined to say whether he, might seek the GOP presidential nomina tion. He has taken the position that he is running strictly for the California governorship with . no thought beyond the governor's mansion, at least for now. Roquebrune - Cap - Martin, France W Sir Winston Churchill's doctors today re ported he is maintaining prog ress in his recovery from at tacks of pneumonia and pleurisy. Price 10 Cents No. 262 GERALD R. KIME Most Valuable Student Award High; Alma Lou Stovall and Charles Swingle, Phoenix High; Dean L. Weitman, Eagle Point; Dayle E. Hawkins, Butte Falls; and Gladys M. Beddoe and Jon A. Thomp son, Medford High. Complete f-r Awards Miss Buxton and Kime will compete for $50 cash awards for the top boy and top girl in the south district of Ore gon judging, which will be at the Ashland Elk club Sun day, March 2. District judging includes winners from Coos Bay, Coquille, Brookings, Roseburg, Myrtle Creek, Med ford, Grants Pass, Ashland, Klamath Falls and Lakeview. Winners in the district competition will be judged in the state contest and an $800 scholarship . will be p'royided the first place boy and girl. State winners will compete for more than $30,000 in cash awards at the national level. Student applicants are judged on the basis of scholar ship, 60 per cent; financial need, 10 per cent; extra cur ricular and out of school ac tivities, 10 per cent; per serverance and resourceful ness, 10 per cent; and per sonality and ' leadership, 10 per cent. Miss Buxton and Kime, as well as honorable mention students, will receive awards from the MedforB Elks lodge as part of the lodge's obser vance of National Youth Day, May 1. Gill Gets Offer Of Plane Service Lebanon (IP) Sen. Warren Gill, candidate for the Repub lican nomination for govenor, said today air-minded local businessmen have offered him their airplanes and services as pilots for his campaign. Gill, who has reported a lack of political machinery and funds for his campaign, called it "operation fair play." Mayor Ralph Scroggin, him self a veteran flier, said "our job is to put the senator any where in the state in less than two hours." Gill planned to fly to Klam ath Falls Thursday. The veteran legislator not ed that almost half of the pilots were Democrats. "If they are thinking of bailing out and leaving me up in the air it won't work," he quipped. "I'm a pilot, too." DOW-JONES AVERAGES New York IIP) Dow Jones final stock averages: 30 industrials 437.19, off 2.43; 20 railroads 104.15, off 1.16; 15 utilities 72.08. up 0.15, and 65 stocks 149.45, off 0.76. Sales today were about 1,570,000 shares compared with 1,700,000 shares Friday, j WEATHER FORECAST: Rain, windy and warm through Tuesday. ' Low tonight 45. High Tues day 55. TEMP. Highest Yesterday 65 Lowest This Morning 51 Prec. to 10 a.m. Today 48 Our Skies Tonight Sunrise 6:56 a.m. Sunset 5:55 p.m. Moonset Midnight First Quarter Feb. 26 PROMINENT CONSTELLATION Orion, in the south 7:29 n.m. VISIBLE PLANETS Jupiter, rises 10:53 p.m. Saturn, rises 3:22 a.mi Venus, rises 5:11 a.m. Mars, rises well south of Venus 4:58 a.m. Scheduled to Die In Gas Chamber at Prison March 28 ' Governor to Review Case Immediately Billy Junior Nunn, 29, Qon victed of the murder of Alvin William Eacret, 14, Klamath Falls, in April of 1956, was re-sentenced in Jackson coun ty circuit court this morning by Judge H. K. Hanna. He was sentenced to die in the lethal gas chamber Fri day, March 28, of this year. Nunn, who was represented by Attorney A. E. Piazza, was found guilty of the first de gree murder charge last year and was sentenced to death. He later appealed to the state supreme court on the grounds that an oral confes sion made by the defendant to .. police officers was not properly admitted. The ap peal also questioned whether the court gave a complete definition and explanation to the jury of the crime of sec ond degree murder in its in structions to them, and the admission of photos of the body of the murdered youth as evidence was questioned. The state supreme court af firmed the conviction of Nunn Jan. 27; and also upheld the judgment of death in the case. The victim's body was found near Tub Springs on the Ashland-Klamath Falls highway. Nunn was arrested in Alturas, Calif., on May 3. Gov. Robert D. Holmes was notified of the state supreme court ruling and said that his legal counsel would review the case immediately. The governor, who opposes capital punishment, said he will announce- his decision on pos sible commutation soon. MSH Commended At Model UN Eugene Medford High school's delegation to the model United Nations session at the University of Oregon Friday and Saturday was one of five dommended as out standing. . Woodrow Wilson High school of Portland, which rep resented Pakistan, was named the best of the session. Medford High represented U.S.S.R. During the session, a "belligerent" Soviet deleg ate, Eric Eitreimi was ousted for "undiplomatic," conduct. Other members of the delega tion from Medford protested, and Eitreim returned. About 415 delegates from 45 high schools participated in the mock UN meeting. The model UN is part of the Ore gon International Relations league annual conference, and is sponsored by the Oregon Education association and the University of Oregon. Jacksonville High school also participated in the ses sion. Other schools which were commended include South Eugene, Klamath Falls, Beav erton and Lebanon. San Francisco OP) Federal mediators have renewed their efforts to find a formula that will end a three-week-old sugar strike in Hawaii. Washington (IP) Rep. Edith Green (D-Ore.) has announced she will file this week for.her third term as congresswoman from Oregon's third district. "This Will Keep Out RE-SENTENCED Billy Nunn, left, who was re-sentenced this morning in Jackson county circuit court after being sen tenced last August to death in the lethal gas chamber for first degree murder, is shown above in the custody of Sher iff's Deputy Joe Walsh. Gov. Robert D. Holmes, who opposes capital punishment, said his legal counsel would review the case immediately and will announce his decision soon on pas sible commutation of the death sentence. Republicans Rally To Defend Ike oh Truman's Charges Washington (IP) Repub licans today trumpeted a massive retaliation against former President Truman's "give 'em hell" denunciation of the Eisenhower administra tion. They charged that Truman in his Jefferson-Jackson Day speech here was guilty of "dime-a-dance oratory," for getful about flaws in his own administration, insincere about civil rights and callous toward the unemployed. President Eisenhower had no comment on Truman's at tack. His press secretary, James C. Hagerty, said when told by a reporter that the Presi dent seemed to be the only Republican "with nothing to say: "We let other people com ment on it." Avalanche Coordinated A spokesman for the Rep ublican National Committee confirmed that the almost un precedented a v alanche of mimeographed anti - Truman broadsides was somewhat co ordinated from committee headquarters. "We decided we should not stand for being belabored," he said. "We felt we couldn't just take this we should answer him." Led by GOP. National Chairman Meade Alcorn, the Anti-Peron Lawyer Wins in Argentina Buenos Aires (IP) An arrti-Communist, anti-Peron- ista lawyer today became Ar gentina's president-elect in the country's first free elec tions in 30 years. With approximately half the votes counted, Dr. Arthur Frondizi, intransigent radical, led Ricardo Balbin by 3,951, 000 votes to 2,560,665. Totals were complete for the entire federal district of Buenos Aires. Despite the fact that Fron dizi once ran against a Peron ticket as a vice presidential candidate, and. is an avowed anti-Communist he received support from both groups in Sunday's balloting. Foreign Salesmen' Republicans charged Truman with raising a "red herring" and with uttering typical Truman claptrap . . . wild and reckless charges . . . carping, petty criticism." Many chided the former Democratic President for making his "untruthful" speech on the birthday of George Washington, the man who never told a lie." Eisenhower Defended All defended President Eisenhower's defense, domest ic and foreign policies. Most compared economic conditions in the past Roosevelt and Tru man administrations unfavor ably with conditions even in the current business, slump. In his best Republican-bait ing form, Truman accused' the administration of leading the nation into a Republican recession" that threatens economic disaster, of weak ening U.S. defenses, and of damaging the. Free World al liance in its handling of for eign policy. Klamath Tribal Property Appraised Portland (IPl The Interior Department said; today that properties of the Klamath In dian tribe of Oregon have been appraised at a "realiza tion value" of $121,659,618. The properties include the 694,000-acre tribal forests which contains pine timber. Hatfield Chilson, undersec retary of interior, in a letter to Thomas B. Watters of Klamath Falls, management specialist supervising the Klamath termination program under a 1954 law, authorized Watters to proceed immedi ately with arrangements for a tribal election as provided in the termination statute. In the election, adult mem bers of the tribe will decide for themselves and their minor dependents whether, to remain in the tribal organiza tion and participate in a plan of management of their share of the tribal assets or to with draw and receive cash pay ment for their share. The law provides for' sale of a suffi cient portion of the . tribal property to pay off the with drawing members. Basin Streams Rise With Recent Rain Rogue river basin, streams were rising from appreciable rainfall over the "entire area but the Medford station of the U.S. weather bureau reported that as of this morning "nothing dangerous is in sight." The station said, however, further heavy rain could change the picture. Weather men are "keeping an eye" on the streams and will issue ad visories when and if they are necessary. Rainy, windy and warm weather is forecast through Tuesday for the Med ford vicinity. Rainfall from midnight up to 10 a.m. today totaled .48 of an inch. Total for Medford for the season up to that time was 18.03 inches. Normal for an entire agricultural year (Sept. 1 to Aug. 31) is 18.15. ' Rogue river measurement at Dodge bridge at 88 a.m. to day was 3.8 feet and rising. Flood stage is nine feet. , Life Sentence Is Given for Second Degree Murder Also Enters Plea To Second Charge Hugh D'Autremont, 54, who is serving a life sentence for murder in one of Oregon's most notorious crimes, made another bid for possible ev entual freedom here this morning. D'Autremont, youngest of three brothers sentenced to the state penitentiary for life for the killing of train crew members during the attempt ed robbery of a Southern Pa cific mail car near Ashland in 1923, pleaded guilty to. second degree murder. The ao tion was taken in Jacksoa county circut court before Judge H. K. Hanna. He hopes the action may result in pa--role. Convicted of first degree murder in 1927, D'Autremont entered the plea of guilty to second degre murder today to one of the remaining out standing murder indictments against him, and also to stop ping a railroad train with the intent of robbery. Three pencU ing first degree murder indict ments against him were dis missed by the court on the recommendation of the" dist rict attorney, Thomas J. Reed er. Would Be The Sams In accepting D'A u t r e- mont's plea of guilty to. sec ond degree murder- indict ment, Judge Hanna explain ed that since the goverrior does not approve of capital punishment, the maximum sentence in either case would be the same. D'Autremont, as a result of his new plea, re ceived a life sentence in the state penitentiary to be serv ed consecutively with the life sentences he is now serving. Prior to the entering of the plea of guilty to the attempt ed train robbery indictment D'Autremont had to be ar raigned on the charge. The judge sentenced him on this complaint . to . not more than 20 years in the state peniten tiary to be served consecu tively with the two life sen tences. D'Autrement, who ' . was represented by Miss Noreen Kelly, pleaded guilty to the indictment for the murder of Elvyn E. Dougherty, postal clerk on the ill-fated South ern Pacific train. . The other three first degree murder in dictments held against him were dismissed, according to the district attorney, due to the lapse of 35 years since the incident took place. He explained that prosecution of the indictments would be ex tremely costly. Unsuccessful Tries D'Autremont has tried un successfully several times for parole. He had also attempted to have the five pending in dictments dismissed, but his request was turned down in an opinion written by State Supreme Court Justice Hall S. Lusk last November. ' : Parole Possibility : Questioned about parole possibility for D'Autremont following his new plea this morning, H. M. Randall, Salem, director of the state board of parole and proba tion, said, "As far as the board is concerned, the sentence will have no effect on Hugh D'Au tremont's chances for parole. He has been before the board on numerous occasions, and presumably will be again. His case will be considered on its merits, as is the case with all the ' other men in the state penitentiary." ; - Hugh and his twin brothers, Roy and Ray D'Autremont, were sentenced to life im prisonment in 1927. They were convicted of the train hold up and murder of four trainmen and a railway postal clerk in the Siskiyou tunnel south of Ashland on Oct. IT, 1923. They were caught after a three-year search. - Hugh, who was arrested first, was charged with a hold up and four murders. How ever, it took two trials be fore the guilty verdict was finally returned. A juror died nine days after the start of the first trial and another trial had to be scheduled. After, a 17-day trial the jury returned a verdict of guilty of first de gree murder. Arrested in Ohio Several months later Ray and Roy were arrested in Steubenville, Ohio. After their return to Jacksonville postal inspectors assigned to the case recommended to the court that the twins . be permitted to enter pleas of guilty to second degree murder on one of the outstanding murder indict- (Continued on page 9) i
