Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 25, 1958)
of Pe n n n n n n Hp Tribune Medford 14 Paget MEDFORD, OREGON, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1958 No. 263 wore in mi Candidates Have Eight Days to File for Posts Deadline Is 5 p.m. Friday, March 7 Only eight days remain for candidates to file for election to county and state offices. The deadline is 5 p.m. Fri day, March 7. Only offices to be voted on in Jackson county which so far have no candidates are one of two seats in the Oregon legislature and state senator. Offices in which no contest tias as yet developed are for coroner, district judge, circuit judge (position No. 3) and one state representative seat. Candidates who have an nounced for these are Frank Perl for coroner, a Republi can, City Attorney, Roy Ba shaw for district judge, Ed ward C. Kelly for circuit judge, and O. H. Bengtson for representative, a Republican. Most sought-after post is that of sheriff, with three Republican candidates, Joe Walsh, Vern Smith and Ralph A. Larson, and two Demo cratic candidates, Raymond R. Koch and Larry Sheehan. Commissioner Candidatet For commissioner, the Re publican candidate is the in cumbent, Chester Wendt, and the Democrats are iransuu (Jere) Girard of Ashland and Frank Christian of Talent. For countv clerk. Mrs. Rereth Hopkins is seeking re election on the Republican ticket, and Mrs. Nita Zum wait is so far unopposed for the Democratic nomination. Three men seek position No. 1 on the circuit bench. They are District Judge James M. Main and Medford Attor neys Robert D. Dames and Manville Heisel. State Representative Rob ert Duncan, a-Democrat, and State Sen. Philip B. Lowry, a Republican, have not yet announced their plans. Both terms of office expire this year. $1,713 Collected. In Sunday Drive Hpart fund contributions totaling about $1,713, were collected by volunteers in the march Feb. 23 for Heart Sun day, according to Mrs. man villp Heisel. chairman. A total of $1,200 was col- lrtpH in the 1957 drive. Although Heart Sunday is a major event of the annual Heart fund campaign, the 28 day drive does not end until Friday, John G. Crawford, general chairman, reported. Plastic heart cards and con tainers will remain in the Stores until March 1. Craw ford also stated that contribu tions may still be mailed to Dwight Houghton, United States National bank, or to "Heart" in care of the post- . master. A boxing card of 12 matches and four curtain-raisers has been scheduled Satur day, March 15, in the armory with proceeds going to the Heart fund and the PAL club. DOW -JONES AVERAGES Nw York ( Dow Jones final stock averages: 30 industrials 436.89. off 0.30; 20 railroads 103.70. off 0.45; 15 utilities 72.06, off 0.02, and 65 slocks 149. 26, off 0.19. Sales today were about 1.920.000 shares compared with 1.570.000 shares Monday. Truman Urges Congress To Support Eisenhower's Foreign Aid Program Washington (IP) Former President Harry S. Truman urged the Democratic Con gress today not to "emascu late" President Eisenhower's proposed $4 billion foreign aid program. He said aid spending should be increased. Truman said foreign aid is "absolutely vital" to Ameri can defense and to keeping "countless millions" out of the Communist orbit. The former Democratic President spoke at a daylong rilly in support of the for eign aid program organized at Eisenhower's request. Oth er speakers included Adlai E. Stevenson, 1952 and 1956 Democratic presidential nomi nee. Secretary of State John foster Dulles and Defense "Let'f Face This Squarely Some of You Haven't Been Smiling Enough" Arguments Slated In Wernmark Case Salem (IP) Arguments before the Oregon Supreme Court will be heard here on Friday on a suit brought by K. C. (Swede) Wernmark to enable him to file for the post of Jackson county judge. Wernmark, a Democrat, re ceived a temporary writ of mandamus from the court di- Bradshaw Named Young Farmer Central Point M e r t o n Bradshaw, 33-year-old Eagle Point farmer, has been select ed as the Central Point Jun ior Chamber of Commerce's outstanding young farmer. Bradshaw farms about 1410 acres on which he has about 300 head of Herefords. The Bradshaw farm is a full-time range operation, Jaycee offi cials noted. The farm has a 6,500 acre feet reservoir and Bradshaw is now constructing a 900 acre foot reservoir for addi tional water storage. Jaycee officials said he uses the wa ter for irrigating pastures. Bradshaw has been entered in state competition with 32 other farmers selected by their local Jaycee units. The state's outstanding farmer will compete in the national competition. Selection of the state outstanding farmer will take place in March. Navajo Missile Explodes in Flight Cape Canaveral, Fla. IIP) A Navajo guided missile launched from Cape Canave ral nose-dived into the ocean after less than a minute of flight today and exploded with a spectacular mushroom of flame and smoke that re sembled a small atomic bomb. The non-ballistic Navajo, in effect a pilotless bomber, blasted off, then nosed over after engine failure. It ap peared at first as if the 80- foot missile plunged into the ground near the end of the cape. "The engine cut off prema turely after 20 seconds of flight and the missile was de stroyed over the ocean by the range safety office," the an nouncement said. Radio Highlights Two special programs will be heard over station KYJC (1230 kc) tonight. At 9:30 p.m. President Eisenhower will address the national conference on For eign Aspects of U. S. Na tional Security. At 10:15 p.m. recorded highlights of the morning and afternoon sessions of the conference will be heard. Participants will include Vice President Richard Nixon, Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, Adlai Stevenson, Secretary of Defense Neil McElroy, Allan Dulles. Dean Ache son and Former President Harry S. Truman. recting Jackson County Clerk Mrs. Bereth P. Hopkins, to allow Wernmark to file or "show cause" why he should not file. The argument hinges on a decision by Attorney General Robert Y. Thornton tliat the post of county judge is a ju dicial one that runs for six years. Wernmark, a realtor, claims judicial functions have been taken away from county courts and that the post is just another county office with a four-year term. Rodney Keating now holds the position sought by Wern- marK. .His term would run until 1960 if Thorntonls. opin ion is correct. The court, in issuing the temporary writ, scheduled the oral arguments immedi ately, without waiting for the briefs to be filed. Wernmark attempted to file his candidacy for county judge on the Democratic ticket Feb. 13. In refusing to accept his candidacy, Mrs. Hopkins quoted Thornton's opinion that the term does not end until 1960, and the office is not open for election this year. William Dcatherage,, Med ford attorney handling the case, said Justice Hall S. Lusk of the State Supreme Court had ordered the court to take jurisdiction, which means the high court will determine whether or not a county judge has a term of four or six years. The decision will affect 12 counties in Oregon whose county judges do not actu ally serve judicial functions. Presentation of arguments originally was scheduled for Thursday, but was continued for one day until Friday. Churchill May Delay Visit To Washington Roquebrune - Cap - Martin, France (IP) Sir Winston Churchill may be forced to postpone his planned visit to Washington even though he is making steady progress in his recovery from pneumonia and pleurisy, members of his household said today. Churchill had hoped to re turn to Britain this week. That would have given him ample time to prepare for his April visit with President Eisen hower. Secretary Neil H. McElroy. Eisenhower will address the conference tonight. Truman said that "partisan politics ought to stop at the water's edge" in considering foreign aid. The program is facing strong opposition in the Democratic - controlled Con gress. In an opening address to the conference, Dulles said the program is vital to thwart the Soviet effort to "dominate the. world." Stevenson criticized some features of the aid program but said he wholeheartedly supports foreign aid as "an essential weapon in the ar mory of American diplomacy and is an essential tool for ac comc'ishing America's peace ful purposes." Lumber, Logging Claims Decline In Past Month About 5,000 Cut From Unemployed Salem API Employment declined 23,500 during year- end layoffs, but a seasonal recovery in the past 30 days has trimmed about 5,000 from the ranks of the unem ployed. The State Unemployment Compensation commission to day said claims from lumber and logging operators drop ped 4,000 in the past four weeks. Non-agricultural employ ment was estimated at 440, 900 as compared with 464,000 a month before and 455,400 in mid-January of 1957. Above Recent Lows The total . was about the same as for this period in 1954 and 1955 but consider ably above the recent winter time lows in 1949 and 1950. Only 40,900 workers were reported by loggers and saw mill operators, comparing with 45,000 in December and 59,700 last summer. Plywood and other wood products lines continued steady with 14,800 jobs. , Construction dropped to 18,200 from 20,200 the month before and 18,800 last year. Food processing was about 1,000 under last year. Hearing Called On Library Move Petitions bearing 217 signa tures. which requested that the Rogue River branch of the Jackson county library be given ."independent" sta tus, were filed" with the coim ty court yesterday. The court called a public hearing on the matter, and set it at 1:30 p.m. Friday, March 7, in the court's cham bers. Meanwhile, members of the court said, they would re- quest an opinion from District Attorney Thomas Reeder to determine whether thev court has the authority to take sucn action. Rogue River has one of a number of branches of the Jackson county library, which are served by the Medford Public library under terms of a contract first placed in ef fect in 1920. Those presenting the petition stated they be lieve better service to Rogue River and adjacent school dis tricts could be obtained by a library independent of the county system. Later yesterday, the court conferred with representatives of the Medford library boara which administers the system under the contract, and were told the board's only concern is to furnish the best possioie service to all branches. They said they would not object to withdrawal of the Rogue River branch, provided they !) rnnvinced that inde pendent status, without the resources of the "county sys tem, would better serve xne people of the area. 1 . Neuberger Sees Need for Hearings Washington P Sen. Richard L. Neuberger (D. Ore.) said today the Interior department's appraisal of tri bal properties of the Klamath Indian tribe of Oregon at a "realization value" of $121, 659,618 would "necessitate" further hearings on legisla tion to amend the Klamath termination act. Neuberger is chairman of a Senate subcommittee study ing proposed changes in the act. He said he would call Hatfield Chilson, interior un dersecretary, to determine how the appraisal would af fect operation of administration-proposed changes in the act. Chilson, in a letter to Thomas B. Watters, manage ment specialist for the Klam ath termination program, au thorized Watters to proceed with arrangement for a tribal election as provided in the termination statute. Members of the tribe will decide whether to remain in the tri bal organization or withdraw and receive . cash for their1 share of assets. RALPH A. LARSON Announces Candidacy Eagle Point Man Enters Sheriffs Race in County Ralph A. Larson, 37, of Eagle Point, today announced he would seek the Republican nomination for Jackson coun ty sheriff 'in the May 16 pri mary election. Deadline for filing is 5 p.m Friday, March 7. Larson, who was born in Harlowton, Mont., formerly was a sergeant with the sher iff's office in Los Angeles county for 10 years. His as signments there included pa trol and jail divisions and work with the detective bu reau "Which included supervi sion and management. He also served as part time in structor at the sheriff's acad emy. " ' Active Duty He served with the Marines during World War II and was recalled to active duty during the Korean conflict for duty with the. military police as a commissioned officer. He has taken several police courses at various colleges in southern Oregon, and com pleted a police course con ducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. -He is a member of the Ma sonic lodge of Los Angeles and the Eastern Star. Affilia xions aiso mciuae xne ios. Angeles County Peace Offi cers association, California conference of arson investiga tors, and American Legion Post 309. He lived in southern Cali fornia from 1940 to 1951, when he moved .to Eagle Point where he purchased a hardware store, which he and his wife now operate. Kidnaped Racer Released in Cuba Havana (IP) Kidnaped auto ace Juan M. .ianglo was re leased late Monday night, hours after the rae in which rebel gunmen prevented his taking part ended in tragic death for at least four per sons and injury to 28. Cuban authorities assigned more than 50 police- and two prowl cars to the Argentine embassy, in addition to its own four watchmen, to assure that -.the Argentine racer is not molested again during his stay here. The Grand Prix auto race, which Fangio had been fa- fored to win, was called off hours after he had been snached when a racer crashed into a wooden overpass, kill ing four spectators and in juring 28. WEATHER FORECAST: Variable cloudi ness with showers of rain occasionally mixed with snow in valley, snow showers above 3,000 feet tonight and Wednesday. Valley fog patches Wednes day morning. Cooler. Low tonight 32; high Wednes- day 48 Temp. Highest Yesterday 59 Lowest this Morning 35 Prec. to 10 a.m. Today i.44 Our Skies Tonight Sunrise Sunset 5:56 p.m- loonset Wednesday 12:57 a.m. First Quarter .... Wednesday PROMINENT STAR Reculus, in the east 6:52 p.m. VISIBLE PLANETS Jupiter, in the south east i:05 a.m. Saturn, low in south east 4:n a.m. Mars, low in south east 5:42 a.m. Venus, in the southeast at sunrise. rower Service Off; Windows Broken by Wind Chiloquin Man Killed by Tree By UNITED PRESS A swift-striking storm, pack ing winds up to 70 miles an hour, caused at least one death and widespread damage and power outages over Ore gon late Monday. Decreasing winds, showers and cooler temperatures were forecast today. Walter Ray Prowell, 51, Chiloquin, a State Highway department employee, was killed at 9:30 p.m. Monday on Highway 97 just north of Spring Creek when struck by a tree blown down by the gale. Police said he was try ing to remove another tree blocking the highway when le was struck. Highway Blocked Highway 97 was blocked for 2Vfc hours. Power was out for varying lengths of time at Merrill, Malin and Tule lake in the southern part of the Klamath basin. The Portland area was be sieged with downed power lines, snapped trees, broken windows, and floods of calls to firemen and police be tween 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. Rainfall totaled more than two inches at Roseburg and North Bend. The barometer in Portland reached 28.92 at 10 p.m. Mon day, its lowest reading in five years. At 11:30 p.m. a gust of wind of 70 miles per hour was recorded. At midnight, the wind began to quiet do.wn and the barometer began to rise again. The storm carried thunder and lightning and some hail throughout the Northwest. The storm swept , in from the Pacific and caused dam age along the entire coast. Winds up to 60 miles per hour flattened a large bairn on the Tom Smith ranch about 12 miles east of North Bend. Thirty of the 70 head of dairy cattle inside were either killed or had to be de stroyed. Several others were injured. The ocean-going tug Colum bia Queen was driven ashofe on a sandbar near the mouth of the Siuslaw river at Flor ence but was pulled free at high tide early today. None of the seven crewmen was hurt. Power companies in Port land said thousands of cus tomers were without service Monday night as trees snapped wires- and utility poles blew down. Windows Broken Oregon City also reported plate glass windows broken and Gladstone was without power for two hours. Tele phone service ' was disrupted between Albany and Sweet Home. Stayton southeast of Salem also was without pow er and telephone service for several hours. Astoria had outages, high winds and heavy rain. Postal Franking Charge Dropped Seattle (IP) A charge against John Patric, Snoho mish writer, of unauthorized use of the postal franking privilege to avoid payment of postage on a private letter was dropped Monday. Patric protested he didn't want the government to dis miss its case against him and that he has several hundred franked envelopes and will continue to use them. "The next move is up to the government," he said. U. S. District Court Judge William L. Lindberg granted the government motion to dismiss the charges. He said he took the action because Patric's mental competency could not be determined. Patric would not answer questions' of a government psychiatrist and would not allow the government to choose any other psychiatrist to examine him. Patric said he violated the privilege deliberately as a protest against "junk mail" advertising and unauthorized use of the franking privileges by federal officials. OTD REACHES 69 WH HERE Winds ranging up to 69 near miles per hour and record low barometer reading accompanied a storm front which moved across the Rogue valley area early last night. The storm caused power failures, blew down power poles and trees, and damaged the new National Guard arm ory south of Medford. The fast-moving front was caused by an inversion of cold air, which brought the snow level to low elevations. Ashland officials reported it was snowing there just before noon today. Forecast for Area The forecast , for Medford and vicinity calls for variable cloudiness with showers of rain occasionally mixed with snow in the valley tonight and Wednesday. Some fog is North California Rivers Threaten To Leave Banks By UNITED PRESS Severe flooding threatened along major Northern Cali fornia rivers today in the wake of gale force winds and torrential rains that battered the West Coast. At least two deaths by drowning were blamed . on Monday's storm in California, and residents in a dozen areas were forced to evacuate their homes due to floodwaters. .The storm pounded North ern California with up to a five-inch deluge of rain. Wind gusts occasionally exceeding 60 miles an hour buffeted the San Francisco area. A forecast of clearing weather today brought hopes of easing flood threats alorp rain-sodden levees of the Sac ramento river south of Red Bluff; the Feather river near Oroville; the Feather and Yuba confluence of Marys ville and Yuba City; the Rus sian river in Sonoma county; the Eel and Trinity rivers in the Northwest and the San Lorenzo river in Santa Cruz county. " River Crests Due The Sacramento was ex pected to crest at 26 feet as it rolled in the lowlands toward San Francisco bay. The Feath er river hit 73 feet Monday night, seven feet below flood stage, and the Russian river was was expected to crest to day at 36 feet, four feet above flood level. Four counties, Tehama, Co lusa, Glenn and Yolo de c 1 a r e d themselves disaster areas in preparation for the critical flood period expected today or Wednesday. The com munity of Grimes in Colusa county was ordered evacu ated for the second time in less than a week. The storm lashed the Sierra Nevada with a blizzard which cut visibility to zero for a time on U. S. 50 over the Si erra to Nevada. . ' 1 Mt. Shasta had 4.85 inches of rain between 4 p.m. Sun day and 8 p.m. Monday and traffic was cut to one-way at the bottom of 99 hill north of Weed at 4 a.m. today when the Weed approach to the Shasta river bridge was washed away to the center of the roadway. Four Alarm Fire At Portland Plant Portland OP) 1 A four alarm fire broke out today at the Portland Gas & Coke Company plant at Linnton in north Portland, sending huge columns of black smoke into the air. The fire was located toward the south end of the plant and a company official said nat ural gas lines were not in ser ious danger immediately. ' A company spokesman said the fire was being contained in a poly pitch unit. Some 7,000 gallons of creosote were reported ablaze and flames shot high into the air. GOAST . expected tomorrow morning, along with cooler tempera- F" The. low is ex About 6 p.m yesterday, the barometer reading at the Medford weather bureau sta tion was 29.10, compared to the lowest reading on record of 29.06 in December, 1940. Wind gusts reached 69 miles an hour during the storm, and weather bureau officials said there could have been light ning. Whether valley resi dents saw lightning or power lines shorting out -early last night still was not determ ined. Accompany Storm Weather bureau officials said lightning and thunder did accompany the front, but no thunder was heard at the airport. The average wind velocity during the storm was 46 miles an hour at the airport. The wind blew down sev eral California Oregon Pow er company poles in the coun ty, and disrupted power in Central Point, Gold Hill, Jacksonville and Ruch areas for as much as an hour. Frank Benesh, district man ager, said a power pole at the north Medford substation, blew into the substation, dis rupting service on a transmis sion line serving the areas. He said about 10 poles in the county blew over because of wet ground conditions. Power Lines Burned ' ' ' Several power lines made contact and burned, he said. ine orunt of the storm moved into the area about 7:45 p.m and about half the Copco service crews were out all night. Repairs had been com pleted in this area this morn ing, Benesh reported. A tree blew down and blocked traffic on Highway near Hilton rd. No damage was reported by city officials Two trees on Kirkland rd were removed by county crews this morning, and Wheeler rd. in the Sams Val ley area , was temporarily closed because of high water, according to Paul Rynning, county engineer. Other county roads are in normal condition, he said. He planned to make a further check later today. Roofing Blown Off Several sections of corru gated aluminum roofing blew off. the office section of the new National Guard armory aDout h:jo p.m. yesterday. During the past 24 hours, rainfall at the airport totaled 1.44 inches to 10 a.m. today. Up until midnight last night there were 1.18 inches of rain in the 24-hour period. The to tal for the month is 4.46 inches, 2.78 above normal. The total for the agricultural year since Sept. 1, is 18.73, 6.12 inches above normal. Byrd Changes Mind; To Seek Reelection Washington-4lPl Sen. Har ry F. Byrd (D-Va.) reversed himself today and decided to run for reelection in Novem ber. Just two weeks after he had announced that he would not seek another Senate term, Byrd yielded to appeals from Democratic leaders and the General Assembly in his home state. 1 Reclamation Said Being Reconsidered Washington rtPvi- Repub lican congressional leaders said after a conference with President Eisenhower today that the administration is re considering its ban on new reclamation projects. 'Complet Study' Seen The GOP leaders, meeting with the President for the first time in nearly three weeks, discussed the business reces sion and next fiscal year's budget with the President and Dr. Raymond J. Saulnier, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, for nearly two hours. Senate GOP leader William F. Knowland (t-aiii.) said he thinks there will be "a com Increased Prices For Vegetables, Fruit Gef Blame Meat Prices Said Up 4 Per Cent Washington (IP) The cost of living jumped six-tenths of 1 per cent in January to set a new record, the government reported today. The main factor in the general increase was record high prices for fruit and vegetables caused by freezing and rainy weather which ruined southern crops. The Bureau of Labor Sta tistics said its consumer price index hit. 122.3 per cent of 1947-49 prices. This was 3.5 per cent higher than a year ago. It was the 15th time in 17 months that the index climb ed to a record peak. This was the largest monthly increase since a seven-tenths of 1 per cent rise in July, 19,56. Five Million Jobless The latest advance was dis closed as economists predict ed five million , Americans would be out of work this month. Ewan- Clague, commission er of labor statistics, said the price of all meats, from ham burger to rib roast, increased 4 per cent in January because of reduced livestock market ing. Food prices generally were up 1.8, per cent, . reflecting sharp rises in the price of fresh fruits and vegetables. The rise in the index meant pay b o o s t s . for 1,350,000 workers whose wages are tied to the cost of living.' Clague said 'about one mil lion, auto workers would get three cents an hour pay boost while 350,000 others in the aircraft, farm equipment, and electrical machinery indus tries would get . about two cents an hour more. The wage boosts will take effect March 1. Prices to Stay High Clague said the next few months "don't promise much in the way of lower prices." He said the index has not yet felt the full effect of the crop destroying freeze. But he said the price of such raw materials as wool, leather, lumber, rubber, and metals is declining in whole sale markets. - . . These reductions should be felt by the consumer in the form of lower prices some time this summer or fait Clague predicted. By that time, he said, the shortage of fruits, vegetables, and meat should be alleviated by sum mer crops and more slaugh tering of livestock. Warren Gill Files For Governor Race' Salem IP) Warren GilL Lebanon, filed today for the Republican nomination for governor. He is seeking the Republi can nomination along with State Treasurer Sig Unander, Secretary of State Mark Hat field and George N. Living ston, Boring. Gill explained my filing at this time is to stop any ru mors that my announcement was an attempt to help any other Republican candidate. . "I am in the race to be elected governor. I believe I am better qualified than the other candidates to carry-out the duties of governor and to serve all the people' of Ore gon," Gill said. Gill is a state senator from Linn county. . Project Ban plete study" made of recla mation projects which have been held back by the admin istration's economy orders banning hew starts on such public works under the 1959 budget. Won't Be Trapped Pressures for recession combatting federal projects are growing in both parties. - The President said Monday that the administration has in reserve plans for federal projects for "doing things that need to be done" in "this time of slack employment." "- But the President insisted that he will not be "trapped" into making expenditures which have no useful purposes. v
