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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (April 7, 1958)
Small Electronic Fort Holds Key to U.S. Air Defense By Frank H. Bartholomew President, United Presi Copyright. 1958. United Press Offutt Air Force Base, Neb W The mightiest peace :ompelling force in the world is contained in a little elec tronic fort of a room forty- five feet below the surface of winer-bleak Sarpy County, Keb. It is the absolute control center of the ereat fleet of American fighting aircraft rarrying atomic bombs and thermo-nuclear weapons in all skies over the Western world, ready for deadly reprisal against any aggressor. Absolute control, except for the fact that only the Presi dent of the United States can order the release of the first atomic bomb over enemy ter ritory. General Thomas S. Power, commander in chief of the Strategic Air Command, the long range nuclear striking arm of the United States Air Force, can get his bombers into position over enemy ter ritory with unbelievable rapidity. But only the Presi dent can authorize the first airplane commander to touch the first bomb release button. Continually In Flight Today's giant B52, B47 and B 36 bombers no longer carry conventional high-explosives, nothing but atomic and thermo-nuclear bombs. Efficiency of the air cover is such that a jet aircraft is being refueled in mid-air every three and one-half min utes arrund the clock; an American bomber, fully arm ed, may be presumed to have accepted additional fuel from a KS97 or KC135 jet tanker since you started to read this dispatch. Two hundred and fifty mil lion gallons of fuel the jets use a grade gasoline just a cut above kerosene were trans ferred in the skies over your head in the last year alone. "Our mission is to remain on the alert 24 hours a day and to maintain the deterrent posture," General Power, SAC's vigorous, youthful-ap pearing commander in chief, said. Unprofitable Er Enemy 'Wo ro dedicated to making it instantly unprofit able for any enemy of tne United States to resort to that oldest military, tactic known to man the surprise attack. "We are today in position to prevent any sane enemy from testing us out, We can not, of course, prevent an enemy miscalculation or pre vent a madman from pushing a button. "In such case, we fall back upon our second responsibility quickly to destroy the war making potential and the enemy's will for further fight- in" A guided missile, launched within the limits of the U.S.S.R. would take 30 min utes to strike the United States. The North American radar and defense network is such that SAC counts upon having 15 minutes' warning, o that the first flight of jet bombers would be nine min utes on its way toward the enemy's cities before the guided missile struck this country. "But the Soviet's wont launch a single guided missile in our direction," one officer in this quiet underground room observed. "They won't trade a nation for a city." Agree on Attack Route The Air Force command is agreed- that if an attack against the United States is made, it will probably be by the polar route, in force whether by missile or bomb er, and will depend upon sur prise. The military rates a surprise attack as possessing i.trt.1 advantage over the an de- equivalent force on fensive. "It will come from the mad man impulse or from miscal culation," General Power said. "Goering told Hitler that the Allies could never bomb Berlin. Khrushchev says his scientists tell him he is ahead of us in aerial warfare. It is always possible he will mis calculate his own strength and his estimate of our weak ness. "We should never bluff, with the peace of the world at stake. But we certainly should not invite attack by ap pearing weaker than we are. "I think if Khrushchev thinks he can attack us with impunity .he will do it in the next minute." Describes Operation Setup IMPOSSIBLE? Who says you can't walk on air with your head in Xjef clouds? You can, lady, if yoy're wear ing the amazing dalsan Flights shoes. Ask for a test flight. No flight plan needed. Just fly in. EXCLUSIVELY AT Johnston & Stewart The United States Air Force has revealed that it now files approxima tely twenty thousand first line military aircraft of all types, under a complement of 860, 000 officers and men. Some 3,000 of these aircraft are the long-range bombers and tankers of the Strategic Air Command, operated and supported by more than 200, 000 officers and men. SAC's force is grouped into three numbered air forces in the United States and one in Spain, an air division in the Mariannas and another in England. Its planes operate from nearly a hundred for ward bases, with the central control here at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. What is this central con trol room like and is it pre pared at any instant to send to war every American ' jet bomber anywhere in the world? The room itself, 45 feet be low a bluff along the Missouri river, might easily be mis taken for the control room of a broadcasting studio although considerably larger and filled, except for the passageways, with electronic gear. Sees Map Layout Similarity lies in the fact that senior controllers set there abreast, each wearing headphones and facing a mic rophone, looking through a wide-view window down on to a lighted stage like area still deeper in the earth. In this area are great panel maps of the entire world with the changing status of the force continuously indicated. Like every Air Force map this correspondent has seen in the war room at the Penta gon or here at the solar plex us of the Strategic Air Com mand, these maps are based on polar projection; looking down on the earth from a point above the North Pole. The Air Force obviously be lieves the great invasion route of World War III will cross the pole, coming or going. High on one wall is a small closed-circuit television set, showing every person ap proaching or leaving the area through the concrete corridors overhead. On the opposite side of the room is a device for firing shut with a powder charge each of the approach doors to the whole underground com plex, in event of an enemy at t a c k, and for showing the amount of radiation or pois oned air outside. Drawers of War Plans Elsewhere there are draw- ere of war plans each slide when unlocked has a large placard in front marked "open" and most of them re main so, for instant reterence teletypes and telephones. The communications . sys tem is complex and impres sive. In a cubbyhole of a room outside this central control point, this correspondent stood behind a Negro sergeant at a small switchboard and heard him check every ad vanced Air Force base in the world, from Thule through Africa to Hawaii, and heard their voice responses "loud and clear." This within a span of less than five minutes. The metallic communica tions circuits radiating from SAC run underground for fifty miles before emerging to connect with the conven tional overhead circuits. The United States if at tacked will go to war by tele phone. Dewline Detects Attack Any transpolar invasion by missile or bomber will be picked up by the "Dewline" distant early warning in Can ada and flashed to the Air Defense Command Head quarters in Colorado Springs. The Key Question At the same time, another controller would simultane ously lift a second telephone from a small container and dial not a series of digets but one of three colors red, yel low or blue. This would start an alarm throughout the vast SAC headquarters establish m e n t and summon General Power and key officers to the control room.. The color dial ed would indicate the urgency of the initial alert. At the same moment Wash ington would be notified that SAC's bombers were on their way. A three-way evaluation of the alarm by Washington, SAC and ADC would begin. Key question to be deter mined: "Is the enemy attacking?" Thus far there have been numerous alarms and alerts, numerous dispatch of bomb ing stories, but always and in time the final negative answer; "no enemy attack." Theyll Do It Every Time By Jimmy Hatlo CUME Jk'kSm- MD WHO PRACTICALLY W? fT Pilfc S5V j&& LIVES ON THE SCHOOL lSV?; XVi'iWV DOORSTEP WHO'S ALr gCr 4? J&bl5 M7E FDR CL4SS- ' S JrJAS y TK4NX AHD A TIP OP THE " An &YtA Afysr V-OV? H4TLO OUNCE CAP TO ASf 4-1 tXAPStAr ljCmM YZA .Ifo Lmar Davidson. S32 Ml. KING rCATVIES SYNDICATE y wijblp EIGHTS KgSEBVEP Don't Delay Do If Today Mail That Income Tax Now! Washington (IP) If you've night, April 15, a week from put it off this long don't de lay further in filling out your 1957 income tax return. Per sons who wait until the last minute often make costly mistakes. That is the advice of the Internal Revenue service to taxpayers who still haven't faced up to their - annual reckoning with Uncle Sam. This year more than 60 million persons are filing re turns. Officials estimate that more than two-thirds of them have already mailed their re turn. The deadline is mid- Tuesday. But taxpayers who wait too long often slip up in their haste and pay more than they have to. Or they may under state their tax and later have to pay 6 per cent interest and possibly a penalty for negligence. And the longer you delay in filing, the later you will get a refund check if you have one coming. Common errors made by those who file hastily the last day or so are: mistakes in arithmetic, failure to take all Two Replaced in Mutiny on Vessel London IIP) The captain and executive officer of the mine-laying cruiser Apollo were replaced today in a sur prise follow-up to a "mutiny" aboard her two weeks ago. An Admiralty announce ment shortly after midnight said Capt. Stuart Lombard Hobson and his first lieuten ant, Lt. Cdr. Percy Brown were being replaced "after due consideration of all the circumstances." Both were transferred to other commands. The Admir- ATTENTION OLDER RESIDENTS I would like to belong to a recreation club of men and women aged SO years or more. I (can cannot ) attend the party and program of the Rogue Valley Council on Aging Friday, April 11, 2 to 5 p.m., at the Red Cross auditorium on Hawthorne it. I will bring friends with me. I am also interested in your work on better low-cost housing, part time employment after retirement, or anything that makes life better and happier for elder people. ' Please keep my name,on file and notify me of council meetings. Name -- Address Telephone ( Jo (J0 not . need transportation to the April 1 1 party.) Clip and mail to: FRANK GLONNING, Chairman Rogue Valley Council on Aging Camp White, Oregon alty announcement said the transfers were not a disciplin ary matter. The Apollo, flagship of Britain's Home' Fleet, sails from Portland Naval Base to day for maneuvers in the Eng lish Channel. Her departure was twice delayed after crew men complained she was a "hell-ship" with too much spit and polish. allowable deductions, omis sion of special sources of in come, and failure to include W-2 form estimate of 1958 in Last year there were mis takes in arithmetic in 1,705, 000 personal returns. Of these, 1,090,000 taxpayers shortchanged the government and had to pay later. Officials estimate from last year's experience that the IRS is helping one taxpayer in six this year to make out his re turn. To provide this service some 8,400 regular IRS em ployees spend part of the "tax season" Jan. 1 through April 15 'assisting taxpayers who telephone or visit one of more than 1,000 IRS offices throughout the country. To cope with the seasonal tide of mail and paper work, the 64 district offices put on more than 4.500 temporary employees. They open and sort mail and perform book keeping and other clerical operations. On the average they earn about $1.50 an hour and are employed from 15 to 90 days. Many are assigned to the big job of getting out refunds to taxpayers who overpaid. Last year some 33 million tax payers received the checks for an average refund of $95. As in the past.the IRS tries to make refunds within 30 days and hopes to have all refunds in the mail by May 31. Officials ask the taxpay ers not to write in if they do not get their checks within a month. They invariably get the check before the IRS can answer the letter. Photos Seek Clue ry- In Death of Agent MAIL TRIBUNE, Medford, Oregon, Monday, April 7, 1958 S DIEFENBAKER FISHES Hamilton, Bermuda OP) Canadian Primp Minister Tokyo- IR -Thirty-thous- John Diefenbaker today pUm. ned some aeep-sea fishing as he enjoyed a brief vacation following his victory in last week's elections. Diefenbaker arrived here Saturday with his wife. and photographs of U.S. Army intelligence Agent M.Sgt. Emmett E. Dugan, 39, were distributed today to hotels, bars and restaurants fre quented by foreigners in an attempt to obtain information about Dugan's death. Dugan's body was found floating in Tokyo Bay March 2. He had been missing since Feb. 4. Japanese reports said the agent was investigating Communists. The U.S. Army confirmed only that his work was investigative. The Army said the cause of Dugan's death "may never be known." CHIEF IN QUANDARY Rio De Janeiro (ff) Rio Police Chief Danilo Sunei said on Sunday that a court order overruling the arrest or der against Brazilian Commu nist leader Luis Carlos Prestes has made it impossible for police to combat Communism. Malaya became the 82nd member of the United Na tions on Sept. 17, 1957. Twenty-six countries signed the original UN declaration in 1942. Open 24 Hours Every Day SELF SERVICE 20c per 8 lb. Washer Load Drying 1c Per Minute) COIN OPERATED rvn UUJ ogam 516 W. Sixth St. Large 50-Lb. Dryers LAUNDRY Agitator Supplies Type Washers Available 516 W. Sixth St. Really Hot Water ','5'' -' ' L ' ' x ' r 7 yj pfc with Johns-Manville Fibretex Acoustical Ceilings. Easy to install. Cost as little as $28.56 for average room Each panel is drilled in uniform or random patterns with - hundreds of noise-trapping holes that soak up to 75 of room noise that strikes them. Pre-painted in white, they're ready to use and so easy to put up on an old ceiling or new wprk. Why not stop in today? Celebrating our 50th Anniversary frfi 32 West 6th Phone SP2-6251 A significant anniversary . . . and a word about moderation OLYMPIA BREWING COMPANY, Olympia, Washington, U.S.A. m Mu m April 7, 1958 Twenty-five years ago today beer returned to America. By an act of Congress, the brewing and consumption of beer became legal and millions of temperate people could once again enjoy the true beverage of moderation. Since the dawn of recorded history, beer has helped fulfill man's desire for . refreshment and pleasure. As civilization developed, beer accompanied the migration to the new world and arrived in this country aboard the Mayflower with the early colonists. Samuel Adams, George Washington, Thomas Jeffer son, James Madison, and many others prominent in our early history en couraged the formation of a brewing industry. Beer soon assumed the same role of moderation and refreshment in the culture of the New World that it had enjoyed for centuries in Europe.1 As our country grew, the brewing industry served and grew with it. Then, for thirteen dark years, tradition was broken. An ugly, unwanted period of prohibition was thrust upon the American people. On April 7, 1933, common sense again prevailed. Today the brewing industry is observing the 25th anniversary of the day beer returned to America ... 25 years in which age-old traditions of brewing have been fully restored ... 25 years of sound, sensible operation under Federal and State laws which were wisely conceived and equitably administered . . . 25 years in which the brewing industry has generously contributed to the growth and the economy of our country. ' The Olympia Brewing Company and our 550 employees are proud of the part we have played in this quarter century. On this anniversary date, we repledge our adherence, not only to the laws of the land, but equally important, to the business precepts established by our founders to maintain the highest stand ard of qualify, service and square-dealing with everyone be they customer, buyer, seller, employee, government or competitor. Sincerely, OLYMPIA BREWING COMPANY MM M PEESIDENT Since 1896... "One of America's Exceptional Breweries' Main & Central Medford
