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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (May 15, 1958)
Communications Letters to the Editor must bear the name and address of the writer, although under certain circumstances the use of a pen name or initial for publication is permissible. The Mail Tribune reserves the right to edit all letters with a view to clarification and condensation. Letters submitted for publication must not exceed 400 words. The letters printed in this column do not necessarily represent the views of the paper; in fact the contrary is often the case. Litigant Protests To the Editor: "Lets Keep an Experienced. Fair and Competent Judge on the Bench!" Every time I read that byline in the papers nearly have hysterics. I sup pose Judge Kelly will be re elected as many people are goiftg by what the bar asso ciation "thinks." Myself, couldn't care less what they think. Judge Kelly heard a trial of ours vs. the State of Ore gon, last fall, in which the State owed us $4,500. We had a jury trial and the judge gave them the "choice" of giving us either $3500 or the $500, an amount the State wanted to "settle" on us in the first place. So naturally, the jury chose the $3,500, (Right here, let me say that our attorneys blamed Judge Kelly for this, and one of the people sup posed to be "in the know blamed our attorneys, so may be you can figure it out I can't.) But what I am getting at is this why have a jury trial if in the end the judge takes the verdict from them and gives his own. Anyway, we eventually ended up with the $500 don't ask me how, and although we do not have it as yet, seven months later, I sup pose we'll eventually get what the attorneys don't take. We didn't know Judge. Kelly until this trial came up, but we supposed that any judge i i i l i 1 1 wouia near a uiu lainy anu squarely. Incidentally, I know Mr. Walter Nunley, and have always found him to be a man of his word, with lots of good judgment and integrity, and I have a feeling that the only reason he was defeated in the last election was because he could have been doing his job and doing it right, and that seems to be a rarity in our courthouse today. I voted for him in the last election and I will dp so again. I think it's time we get the "long-term blue-bloods" out of the court house and put in someone who will earn what we are paying them for. , 'i Mrs. Mary Wells, 264 Wightman st., Ashland. ' 'Time for a Change" . .To the Editor: I have just read the article in the Ore gonian of May 13, which is just what Mr. Frank Perl has been asking for. I quote Mr. Sweetland who is chairman of the Legislative Interim Commttee on Coroner Quali fications: "It seems to me at this mo- ment that the most exposed link in your chain is the coroner-mortician tie-in. There is general suspicion that the coroner uses his authority un duly to enhance his private business." He further states that it can be expected that the '59 Legis lature will consider drastic changes in the law pertaining to county coroner, perhaps even to the point of eliminat ing the mortician from the office. As Mrs. Mary Jacobs wrote in her communication to your paper, Mr. Frank Perl not only believes in this bill but has worked hard that it might become a law. He offers us the only solution to this problem until the bill is passed. His platform is fair and ethical. He is experienced and qualified as any other fu neral director. I know I voice the opinion of many when I say that after the office has been in one local firm for 16 out of 18 years, it is surely time for a change. Hazel Oppie 110 South Grape st. Medford Unfair fo Judge Kelly To the Editor: The state ments being made about the leniency shown by Judge Ed ward C. Kelly in criminal cases seems most unfair to me. To get the true facts it would be necesary to make a com parison of decisions of all three Circuit Judges on crimi nal cases. I am sure such a comparison would show Judge Kelly to be as just, fair and showing no more leniency than the other two judges. Criminal cases are only a part of all the cases coming before a Circuit Judge and these other cases are just as important to individuals as are the criminal cases. For this reason we should have a judge with experience, knowledge of the law, ability and integrity. For the above reasons my vote is for Judge Edward C. Kelly. W. E. Driscoll Sr. 1120 South Oakdale ave. Medford Judge Kelly Criticized To the Editor: Mr. Nunley was defeated for re-election as D.A., not because he was un qualified or inefficient, but because huge sums were poured into the coffers of the Democratic party to finance his opponents' campaign, and, at the time the lawyers' poll backed his opponent! Accord ing to numerous writeups in the Medford Mail Tribune at the time, large sums were procured from the tavern keepers, locally and county- wide, turned over to three lo cal attorneys who In turni handed them over to uniden- tified individuals for use in the campaign. One of the can didates running for the cir cuit judge post admitted, ac cording "to the Tribune write up, turning the funds to the Democratic bank account, evi dently. The tavern keepers were punished. They could have been ignorant that they had broken a statute and so claimed, but the three attor neys could by no stretch of the imagination plead ignor ance. They knew it was i: -igal for tavern keepers to contrib ute to political campaigns. Is this the type of justice that will be dispensed? Whose rights will be protected? Those of the innocent victim, or just the offender's? Isn't a judge supposed to protect the rights of all citizens? Do the voters want a man who will go all out to "pro tect the rights of the crimi nals" but forget about pro tecting the innocent victims and the homes? Will this bring criminals of all types here from areas which are not so soft? Do they want a man who will protect both the rights of the defendant and the victim? The Grants Pass Courier recently had a potent editorial in which it brought out the fact some criticism had been directed toward Judge Kelly for remaining active in Democratic party affairs aft er his appointment to a non partisan judgeship. The lawyers' poll is puz zling to any thinker. Can it be because Mr. Nunley can not be influenced to be other than impartial? Forget the lawyers' poll. Listen to the ministers and the "common people" who want our courts conducted by impartial fairness. Walt Nun ley has five fine children to raise. He wants a safe, decent place to raise them, so he will strive for that kind of a com munity. What kind do you want, mothers and fathers? Then vote for him! You won't be sorry. And you can' be proud you backed a winner! Mrs. E. R. Gilberson, 1132 Ross lane, Medford. Nunley Has "Guts" To the Editor: I believe in giving credit where credit is due, and I think Mr. Walter Nunley should be given credit for his courage. It takes a lot of courage for a man of his caliber to run against a man of Judge Kelly's proven- abil ity. - . In one respect Mr. Nunley is well qualified to run for po litical office, he has a tremen dous ego, but beyond that he seems to have little to offer. His record as district attor ney was so mediocre that he was soundly 1 defeated in his bid for re-election to that of fice, and now he comes back to the voters and asks us to elect him to an office of still greater importance. Are we to assume from this that Mr. Nunley feels that if a man makes a poor office boy he should be made president of the company? It may be that Mr. Nunley is naive but I think it is des peration. I believe that the salary of circuit' court, judge looks mighty good to Mr. Nun ley. In other words, I think that he is more dedicated to what is good for Mr. Nunley than to public service. Now there is nothing wrong in being dedicated to one's own welfare; however, I think the voters might have been more inclined to take Mr. Nunley seriously if he had been more honest about his motives. However, you have to admit he has guts, lots of guts. Joe A. McCalvy, 559 Hazel st., Central Point. Dr. Waterman States Position To the Editor: Walter Nun ley has attempted to give the impression mat ne nas re ceived the endorsement, in his election campaign, of Dr John Waterman, who many people know as the highly ef fective psychiatrist with the Child Guidance Clinic. In response to a query, Dr. Waterman has stated categor ically tnat I nave not en dorsed Mr. Nunley as a can didate for political office, nor have I specifically endorsed any other candidate for polit ical office." Apparently, Mr. Nunley is attempting to use, for political purposes only, a quotation from a friendly letter written several years ago, and which had nothing to do with this or any other political cam paign. ' 2242 Buena Vista dr., Edith P. Rode, Medford. , Tarcial' Pilfering Charge To the Editor: I have been aseein' a lot about the Miss Samuels case, an' ahearin' a lot more. It sure a lot f labbergastin' wen you stop to think about the thing.v Seems like as tho the man Duff should a been a deteckatif in stead of city manager. He shore -mist his callin' an' that's for shor. Aint no body beleeves his story. Fer wy? Well, f er one thing Miss Samuels was jist about to retire, wen it hap pens. t. . Ifen she was aloud to retire she wouldv got a penshun. So, to maik shor she woodn't get one mightv been the reason she was deteckated. But I want to know wat kind of treetment she got to maik her say she was gilty? I don't be leeve she said it. No matter what allegater made the alle- gatshun. Looks to me like the hole darn thing is a fraimup. Just could be, you know. But I got to admit the alle gater tride to maik a good case. If'n this is true, then there was more than one allegater. VOTE X John W. summ FOR STATE SENATOR JACKSON COUNTY i A Letter To The People of Jackson County From John Snider As a candidate for the Republican nomination as State Senator, it is my sincere desire to serve as a credit to Jackson County and our state. As the head of a family of growing children, I am aware of the increasing tax burden on the average homeowner." Active in, administrative government, I am also aware of the needs for expanding services created by rapidly increasing population trends. Between the NEED for these services and the need for PAYING for them, there is the important function of balance to be maintained by the State Legislature. 4 I believe in the encouragement of industry through sensible taxes and workable legislation". I believe in providing our children with the best possible education from, grammar school through col lege. N I believe in good recreational facilities for folks of all ages. I believe in the future of Jackson County and of Oregon it's fruit, it's lumber, it's agriculture, ifs tour ist potential. I would consider it a privilege to represent Jack son County in the State Senate. If you feel that my background in business and government meets your qualifications, I shall appreciate your vote and would ever strive to be worthy of it. Pd. Adv. Snider for Senator Committee Tom Wray, chairman, 36 So. Barneburg Rd., Medford Whether he lide or not may be known some day. But wat about Miss Samuels? Is she goin' to hafto taik all that yap about her? And 'yap' is what I think it is. An a hole lot of people think as I do. Wat is this I hear about a Gran' Jury'? One charge is $17.50, and a one of $50. Wich is right? Er is neither one? I fer one, want to see Miss Samuels come "cleer" and, I mean ciear; oi an mua on her charackter, or rep'tation. I want to say right here and now that, to me, the hole thing smells to High Heaven A woman works for the city till time to retire and then has to face a contemptible pil fering charge. It is too farcical to meet with credence.. Any Grand Jtiry should see "it so, And rebuke the said - allega tors and squash the allega shun. Andy L. Unger, v 634 Pennsylvania ave.;-: Medford. MAIL TRIBUNE, Mtdfarrf, On,. Thursday; May 1$, 1951 5 Legal Secretary for Nunley To the Editor: I was a legal secretary for 33 years; 26 years of that time as secre tary for Porter Neff, and Neff and Frohnmayer, and the last four years as secretary for Walter D. Nunley, while he was District Attorney. I have known every lawyer who has practiced in Jackson county during the last 30 years, ex cept for some of the younger lawyers now practicing here, in the last two years since my retirement. Although Walter Nunley is a young man in years and in his years of practice, it is my opinion that he is much above average : in his ability as a lawyer, compared to all the lawyers I have known. As district attorney I was con stantly amazed by his mature judgment, his knowledge, of law and his knowledge of people. Walter Nunley is one of the kindest men I have ever known, but he is not a soft man. He makes his decisions carefully, arid once they have been made, he cannot be pres sured or pushed into changing them. He will change them only if he is shown to be wrong. Many parents arid young men whom Walter had helped were always coming into the office to thank him for what he had done for them. On Nov. 22, 1956, I receiv ed a letter from my friend Dr. John Waterman, who helped set up our Child Guidance Clinic. Dr. Waterman express ed his own and my feelings in that letter. He said in part, "Walt represents something that has never yet been ac complished. It is the integra tion of law and human rela tions. I mean the sort of thing that was first discussed by Shakespeare in the Merchant of Venice when Portia won her case against Shylock." Walter Nunley is well quali fied to be Circuit Judge. Elsie M. Grove, 301 North Peach st., Medford Judge, Kelly Defended To the Editor: We have just read the letter signed . by Corabelle Dailey. We were as deeply shocked as anyone over this murder; however, we do feel that Mrs. Dailey's criticism of Judge Kelly is unjust and would not have been made had she had full knowledge of our criminal procedure. The constitution .of this state provides that no person shall be charged . with any crime in any circuit court of this state except upon an in dictment found "by a grand jury. The grand jury is a group of seven persons drawn by lot at the commencement of each term of court from the jury panel. The district attorney presents the evi dence to the grand jury and explains the nature of the charges which may be found by the grand jury. The delib erations of the grand jury are secret and not even the dist rict attorney may be present when the grand jury is delib erating or voting upon the matter before it. Judge Kelly had absolutely no control over the grand jury and it would have been im proper for him to tell the grand jury either what crime it should have charged or in vestigated insofar as Ayers was concerned. ' He would have infringed upon the con stitutional duties imposed upon, our grand jury had he done so. When the grand jury re turned an indictment charg ing second degree murder and not first degree murder, and when Ayers pleaded guilty to this charge, Judge Kelly imposed the only and maximum" sentence permitted Reeder Says Judges Exercise Functions With Responsibility Jackson County District At torney Thomas Reeder said to day that in all criminal cases in circuit court Judges H. K. Hanna and Edward C. Kelly "exercise their judicial func tions with the utmost respon sibility and integrity." Reeder issued a statement yesterday in connection with what he termed, "some un warranted statements made by Mr. (Walter) Nunley con-: cerning the disposition of cer tain criminal cases by Circuit Judge Edward C. Kelly." The district attorney point ed out that "inasmuch as the ethics, high standards and tra ditions concerning the judici ary in this country prevent a judge from entering into the political arena and engaging in political warfare, a judge is vulnerable . to the type of compaign Mr. Nunley is wag ing, regardless of the unfair ness of such an attack." Judge Kelly and Nunley are candidates for circuit judge, position No. 3, which includes Jackson and Josephine coun ties. Acquainted With Cases Reeder pointed out he is personally acquainted with every .criminal case handled by circuit courts over which Judges Hanna and Kelly pre side. His statement continued: f T ' wish to emphatically state that in all of these cases both Judge Hanna and Judge Kelly exercise their judicial functions with the utmost re functions with the utmost responsibility and integrity. Their burden, responsibility : Plane Crashes Keep Navy Busy China Lake, Calif. (If) The Navy had its hands full here Wednesday . with the crash of two jets and a heli copter within a few hours; but the pilots escaped serious in jury. ' First, a jet piloted by, 1st Lt. Matthew B. Peck Jr., 29, of Squadron 431, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, -El Toro, Calif,, developed engine .trouble about 30 miles south of here. Peck parachuted to safety and was picked up by helicop ter pilot Lt. Cmdr. P. W. Nich olas. Later, Lt. Cmdr. S. J. Prenselaar, 38, ejected at 20,- 000 feet when his F-49-1 Sky ray developed trouble. He also was picked up by Nicho las. On the way back to the hos pital for a checkup. Nicholas' j 'copter was forced down. Nicholas and Prenselaar were picked up by another helicop ter. . Both Peck and Prenselaar suffered minor injuries, but Nicholas was unhurt. and judgment is a heavy one and they carry it, in my opin ion, honorably arid well. .. "Judge Kelly has, in most instances wherein he is being criticized, requested pre-sentence reports by the Oregon board of parole and proba tion. This is a common prac tice of the enlightened judi ciary of this state. Based upon these reports, the rec ommendations of my office and the facts of the crime, Judge Kelly imposes sentence. Unfortunately this careful and realistic method of sentencing is., being discredited as 'soft justice.' ' Callt Attention "Mr, Nunley has called at tention to the. few cases wherein the few individuals placed upon probation have failed to meet the obligations imposed upon , them. These have either been' revoked or are in the process of being revoked, except one case wherein the individual has been sentenced to the peni tentiary from another juris diction. He fails to call atten tion to the majority of persons placed upon probation by Judge Kelly who have suc cessfully lived up to those stringent requirements. Nei ther does he . call attention to those persons before the bar of . justice whom Judge Kelly has sentenced to the penitentiary. "To illustrate, Mr. Nunley has of ten. cited the Lessman case. This riian was charged with the unlawful possession of a narcotic, specifically marijhuana. He pleaded guilty and received a three-year sen tence in the state penitentiary, "The executton of the sen tence was suspended and he was placed on probation un der supervision of the Oregon board of parole and probation. In- this case. Judge Kelly re quested a pre-sentence " re port. Based upon this pre-sentence report, the recommenda tion of a prominent protestant minister, a psychiatric report, and' the recommendation of this office, Judge Kelly placed Mr. Lessman upon probation. Prisoner of War "I believe one of the rea sons these various people made their recommendation to give Mr. Lessman another chance was the reason that he began to use marijhuana while a prisoner of war of the Chinese Communists. He was a Marine, fighting in the Korean War, and was cap tured. It was during the time he was a prisoner of the Chi nese Communists that, along with many other prisoners, he began to use marijhuana in its natural state. "Unfortunately Mr. Less man was not able to live up to the terms of the probation granted to him and the same was revoked and the order to show cause why his proba tion should not be revoked was signed by Judge Kelly long before Mr. Nunley began to use the same as a campaign issue. 1 Passenger in Car "It should also be pointed out .that.' Henry Foster -was a passenger in the vehicle Mr. Lessman was driving at the time .they were arrested. There were no facts upon which to charge Mr. Foster with the same crime. That it the reason the charge against Mr. Foster was reduced to resisting arrest, and he was under the jurisdiction of the district court. At no time was he before Judge Kelly. I cite this merely as an example-of the distortion of a case which1 can be ' very misleading to the public. . ' ., . "As the prosecuting attoir ney for the state of Oregon and being far more familiar with these cases . than the critics of Judge Kelly, I wish to assure the people of Jack son county that both Judge Hanna and Judge Kelly deal with the criminal matters be fore them" with fairness and firmness .and are a credit to our judiciary." ',,.- Trujillo Willing To Explain Gifts To Film Actresses Hollywood (IP) -Free, spending Lt. Gen. Rafael Tru jillo Jr., 29, today was re ported eager to meet with the press to explain the whys and wherefores of his lavish gifts to actresses Kim Novak and Zsa Zsa Gabor. Victor Sued, secretary to the Dominican Republic offi cer, said Trujillo- still was recuperating from a sinus adenoid operation but wanted to meet the press when he was able. Young Trujillo's gifts of cars and furs to Miss Gabor and Miss Novak still were creating a stir today, both here and in Washington, D.C., where legislators wanted to know where the general got his money. Aid Fund Questioned - Specifically, they wonder ed if any U.S. aid funds to Trujillo's country had been squandered in . buying rich presents for the film stars. Trujillo, married and the father of six, is in this country to- study military; science at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. He came to Hollywood on leave, granted for. "medical reason." '' Members of his staff and relatives left Wednesday by chartered , plane, producing speculation that Trujillo soon may head back to Kansas and his studies. Traffic Safety Awards Announced by Council Chicago (W Awards to 18 individuals and organiza tions for outstanding contri butions to traffic safety in 1957 were announced Wed nesday night by the National Safety council. The annual awards are de termined in part by the assis tance and support given offic ials in placing the action pro gram for . traffic safety to work on the community and state level, -the council said. Navy Constellation Crash Fatal To Five; Taft. Calif. (IP) A four- engined Super Constellation Navv nlane. trying vainly to make the Taft airport, crashed and burned five miles norm- east of here Wednesday night, killing at least five' persons aboard. The plane took off from On tario in southern California bound for Moffett Field, near San Jose. Names of the dead were withheld pending notification of relatives. 'Sheriff's denuties and fire men worked by searchlight, pouring water on the smoul dering wreckage to coor it enough for a check of the fuselage. Five bodies, believed to be members of the crew, were pulled from the forward sec tion of the plane. by the laws of the state of Oregon, namely life impris onment. Judge Kelly had nothing to do with "letting this murder er get away." He acted strict ly in accordance with the con stitution and the laws of this state. Again, we express our sym pathy to Mrs.-. Dailey, and write this letter only in the hope that it will explain the criminal procedure, Ben T. Lombard, William M. Briggs, Ashland ELECT Judge JAMES 1.1. MAIN Circuit Court Position No. 1 Pd. Pol. Ad. Ben Day, Chmn., Gold Hitl ' IT IS NOT TRUE . . . that when Frank Perl is elected County Coroner there will be fire coroners and five coroner's xrff ices. Frank Perl will be the only Coroner and all records will be kept in his office. Those he appointed in the other four funeral homes would be only deputy-coroners, and fully responsible to him. IT IS NOT TRUE ... that under the "rotation plan" proposed by Frank Perl the families would have no choice of the funeral ' director or mortuary desired. The main basis of the rotation plan is that families would be consulted FIRST regarding their choice of funeral home. Only when there is no family or they have no preference would other funeral directors be involved, and then on a basis of rotation between the five mortuaries. IT IS NOT TRUE - e ... that most funeral directors have reversed the position they took in 1956 that there is a better arrangement than the present mortician-coroner system. We are merely waiting for the Interim Committee of the State Legislature to take the whole thing out of politics and set up the. qualifications or structure for a different system. This was requested by the people in the general election of 1956 by a majority vote of three to one, but has not yet been established. IT IS NOT TRUE .1 . . . the present Coroner has not performed his duties satis factorily. He has; and the funeral directors of the other mortuaries would be the first to deny any statement to the contrary. It Is merely that his firm has held the office for 16 out of the past 18 years', without sharing either the benefits or the responsibilities with the other mortuaries, and it is time for a change from this monopoly. FOR Political advertisement paid for by Chapel Mortuary, Frank Morgan and Harold Snodgrass, 1 King Street, Medford .; X ' 1
