Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989, June 01, 1958, Image 4

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    4 Sunday, Juno 1, 1958
. MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFORD, ORE.
MEDFORDgTSiBUNE
Everyone in Southern vrregon
Heads The M;i Trlhtina'"
Published Dally except Saturday by
S3 North Fir St. Ph. SP .2-6141
HTRB GREY Advertising Manaref
1RIC ALLEN. JR. Managing Editor
HARRY CHIPMAN Teleg Editer
RICHARD JEWETT. Sporti Editor
f)T.TV"R STAOTOtd c: j
DALE ERICKSON, Circulation Mgr.
Aft TnHnAr)Haint TCAnmo'mA
Entered as second class matter at
Uediord Oregon under Act of
marcn J, ioi
STTRS 1 1 H I K-1 pTVffC
Daily and Sunday 1 year $13 00
Daily and Sunday 8 mos. 8.00
Daily and Sunday 3 mos. 4.23
Sunday Only One year S4.20-
By Carrier In Advance Medford
Ashland. Central Point. Eagle
Point. Jacksonville. Gold Hill.
Phoenix, Shady Cove. Rogue Riv
er. Talent and on motor routes:
Daily and Sunday 1 year $18.00
Daily and Sunday 1 mo. 1.50
Carrier and Dealers copy 10c
All Terms Cash In Advance
Official Paper of City of Medford
vMiiciaj raper oi jaction county
United Press Full Leased Wire
MEMBER OF AUDIT BUREAU
OF CIRCULATION
Advertising Representative:
WEST-HOLIDAY CO.. INC Of
fices in New York. Chicago, De
troit. San Francisco. Los Angeles,
Seattle. Portland. St Louis. At
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rV NEWSPAPtt
.SMSM
PUBLISHEtS
-ASSOCIATION
NATIONAL EDITORIAL
IassowtiQn
U KJ
Flight 'o Time
Medford and Jackson County
History from the files of The
Mail Tribune 10, 20, 30 and
40 years ago.
10 YEARS AGO
May 31. 1948 (Sunday')
Corner-stone or the new
YMCA building on Sixth st,
near Main st. was formally
laid yesterday as officers of
the Masonic lodge of Oregon
conducted ceremonies.
Grants Pass is to adopt day
light saving time Tuesday, it
was announced Friday, fol
lowing a poll. ,
20 YEARS AGO
May 31. (1938 (Tuesday)
Gasoline was the principal
expense item in the campaign
costs four candidates filed
with tfe county clerk today.
From Ye Smudge Pot col
umn: "All is calm on the Ore
gon political front save for a
school district election here
and there."
SO YEARS AGO
May 31. 1928 (Thursday)
, A museum, which includes
wax figures of freaks of na
ture, a Japanese home scene
and paintings .and pictures
opened on West Main st. this
week.
From local and personal
column: "Circuit Judge Or
lando Corkins of Lakeview
will be here on Monday to
hold court."
40 YEARS AGO
May 31, 1918 (Friday)
Probably the biggest social
event of the school year will
be the annual junior "prom"
which will be held tonight at
the natatorium.
From local and personal
column: "Medford police will
hereafter bar hotel runners
and jitney drivers from solic
iting trade along the station
platform."
What's Your I.Q.?
Nina or ten correct is superior;
even or eight is excellent; five or
six is good.
1. Which eastern State is
nicknamed "Empire State"?
2. How many ounces are
there in a troy pound? -
3. The letters F.H-A. stand
for what government agency?
- 4. Which Washington base
ball pitcher was variously
nicknamed. "Big Train," and
"Big Barney"?
. 5. Will hot water crack a
thin glass or a thick, glass
more quickly?
6. The British Royal Navy
gives a daily grog ration;
what is grog?
- 7. What majority of both
houses of Congress is required
to override a Presidential
veto?
8. Which city in Soviet
Russia was formerly called
St Petersburg and Petrograd?
9. Do spiders have wings?
in WVinm riirt flalvin Cool-
.X V "
idge succeed as President of
the U. S.?
i.cnrc 1. Mew YosIe. 2.
Twelve. 3. Federal Housing
Administration. 4. Walter
Johnson. 5. Thick glass. 6.
Rum., and . water... 7... Two
thirds. 8. Leningrad. 9. No.
10. "Warrerr G. Harding. .
Editorial Correspondence
Rice Mountain Lodge, Paul
Elmer Davis was expected, for
some time, but it came as a
nevertheless, and a deep sense of personal loss. For to this
department that somewhat hackneyed phrase "his place will
be hard to fill" literally applies. As a radio commentator and
writer on current politics, he always stood, as far as we
were concerned, in a class by himself. His special forte was
in exposing the shams, pretense and hypocrisies in public
life. No contemporary writer could take the stuffing out of
"stuffed shirts" with the dexterity and completeness he
always displayed.
As for demagogues, regardless of party, they had the
same dread of his pen that the cobra has for the mongoose.
He simply shook the life out of them politically speaking.
We were particularly grateful to him for his fight against
"McCarthyism" when that type of UN-Americansim was at
its height, the threat of a U.S. "Hitlerism" a real one, and
particularly difficult to combat. Almost single-handed he
started the snowball rolling, that, thanks to his courage
and persistence, ended in an avalanche of awareness of the
danger McCarthysim threatened, and to eventful extinction of
a form of internal subversion, far more dangerous . than the
type Joe McCarthy capitalized for his personal benefit.
The Friendly Southern Pacific can always be depended
upon to be friendly to itself but ft doesn't often admit its
devotion to self-interest as frankly as in an "ad" recenly
received in our mail.
In fact the appeal for public support is captioned in two
column bold-face as follows:
"We are doing our best
To help OURSELVES."
Never a truer word has ever been said in print.
. .
The final plea is not factually so accurate, but it is equally
characteristic for it's based upon the assumption that if the
S.P. is not allowed to do as it pleases and be relieved of all
'effective state and federal controls, it faces bankruptcy
although it chooses the less harsh term of "insolvency."
We quote:
"It should be obvious to regulatory commissions
and to thoughtful shippers and travelers that a
solvent railroad is much better able to serve its terri
tory well than a weak and money-losing one We
operate in large figures but it is the relationship
between income and outgo that counts whether
you are running a railroad or a peanut stand."
,
We would not be so unkind as to suggest the Southern
Pacific, as far as southern Oregon is concerned, does operate
its railroad like a peanut stand but there are certain strik
ing similarities. The similarities are especially noticeable
when baseball and circus peanuts are concerned.
The circus and baseball peanut vendors don't cut out
roasted peanuts entirely as the S.P. does all passenger traffic,
but they do pass out an inferior quality, at the rate of a cent
a peanut whereas competing vendors not only roast their
peanuts nicely but salt them and charge approximately one
tenth as much.
This is a fairly valid comparison between the way the
"Friendly S.P." treats its "thoughtful travelers" from Eugene
to Dunsmuir, and any other railroad that operates in "large
figures" say the Union Pacific
treat them if they enjoyed a
such a prosperous and growirfg
Neither the baseball nor
any attention to good will
service, they are out for all
highest possible profit per capita and that is what they get.
Quite properly Mr. D. J. Russell, who as S.P. president signs
this pronouncement of policy says "running a railroad is no
different essentially from running a peanut stand!"
As for the dangers of bankruptcy and the advantages to
the public of keeping a railroad solvent, this appeal would
be considerably more effective if President Russell had not
also signed his railroad's annual report in which he ad
mitted the net profits not before taxes but after them
were greater in 1957, a partly depression year, than thev
were in the highly prosperous
Somehow we fear it will
and travelers on the Southern
thoughtful ones to get so excited about the dangers of the
S.P. going broke that they will favor dropping all regula
tory measures designed to make public utilities "operating
in large ngures to nave some
ihis hesitation will probably
aforesaid "thoughtful travelers"
iao the s net income was
lhat may be "peanuts"
Pacific," but it is hard to believe any other railroad, or any
other business in the U.S.A.
When it has come to the
often expressed our preference
hot and humid weather.
But of late the Weather Man
We spent a month in Tucson,
March since 1880 to have a blizzard and an average tempera
ture in the 60 s. (Although there was, as noted at the time,
only three days of rain, and sunshine for 21 days.)
Here in northern New York state, May has to date been
the wettest and the coldest since Teddy Roosevelt charged
up San Juan hill. There was a frost last night and there
promises to be another tonight. This is nothing to complain
about, but we wish the Weather Man would not go so FAR
out of his way to answer our climatic prayers.
In motoring from Medford to Portland, and now here
in the Adirondacks, we are interested in the question of
motoring speed-limits if any.
The main highway from New York to the St. Lawrence
project runs by this lodge a very good highway, cement,
not asphalt and the traffic while . not heavy this early in
the season, is noticeable, especially when one takes a walk
as your correspondent often does.
The speed limit posted along the highway is 50 miles,
and the state speed limit used to be 55 in Oregon.
Well neither on the road to Portland nor here is . the
speed limit obse rved by anyone and we mean ANY one.
Trucks, delivery-wagons, small cars and big cars, they
all go by this lodge at anywhere from 65 to 105 miles an
hour. So why establish a speed limit (when no one observes
it, and no one or at least not one in a thousand WILL
observe it? particularly when on this highway at least there
are no speed cops and no effort made to enforce it? Far more
sensible we should say to pay little attention to how fast
a car is going, but a great deal of attention to how it is
being driven.
It is claimed there has never
on this particular stretchy of highway. We find that hard
to believe, but it may be true for several reasons, to wit:
No. 1, there is no heavy traffic even in -mid-season, while
for eight or nine months in the year the traffic is very light.
No. 2, there are no sharp curves or grades, it is somewhat
undulating but for approximately 10 miles is practically a
straightaway.
No. 3, there are no hot-rod addicts, juvenile or adult, in
this part of the state.
No. 4, while excessive speed is a factor in the traffic toll,
on a stretch of highway like this we would be far more
fearful of a poor or reckless driver going 50 or 60 miles an
hour than a good driver going 100.
For a GOOD driver never takes chances. He or she
never "steps on it" except when he can see the highway is
clear far ahead, the car is behaving ok, and he has it under
perfect control.
We don't mean there should be no check on excessive
speeds there should be but we do me?n we refer only
to cross country, not urban driving the great need to make
motoring less costly in lives and property is to pay less
attention to what happens to be
to how the car is being driven,
Smiths, N.Y. The death of
he had been seriously ill for
distinct blow to this department
or the Hill lines WOULD
monopoly or traffic by rail, in
area.
the circus peanut vendors pay
or rendering adequate public
the traffic will bear, at the
year preceding.
be difficult for the shipners
Pacific particularly the
regard for the public service.
be particularly strong when
realize that during the year
approximately $54,000,000.
to the "Friendly Southern
would so consider it.
question of climate we have
for cool, snappy weather over
has been overdoing it a bit.
Arizona, and it was the first
been a fatal motor accident!
the speed and more attention
R.W.R.
Dennis the Menace
U LLi : P9 .VB ALl.-MXS.Ma ur. (g) 3-3'
ST6AK? AV. J DI0USIT WE KEf
Washington Report
By William S. White
THE KEFAUVER ENIGMA
Washington Independent,
indefatigable, indestructible
and inexplicable all these
large adjectives best describe
Senator Estes
Kef auver o f
Tennessee.
He is as in
dependent ' a
politician a s
ever twice
ran for the
D e m o c ratic
Pres idential
n o m i nation.
TIT 1 1
Willam S. White w ii e ii ue
sought it in 1952, he had ar
rayed against him the top
leaders of the two most pow
erful wings of the party the
Northern organization bosses
and every last one of the
Southern elders.
The story was about the
same in his next try, 1956.
But this time, though Adlai
E. Stevenson won the top
prize from the Democratic
convention, Kefauver got the
vice presidential nomination.
He is thus not quite a two
time loser having been in
1956 in the-"place" position
with Stevenson in the "win"
position.
BUT the real point, on both
occasions, was that Kefau
ver was able to survive such
massive hostility at all.
An even more arresting
point brings this piece to an
other of the adjectives for
him indefatigable. "
His seat in the Senate is
up in 1960 and this, of
course, he simply has to hold.
Thus all his planning must,
and undoubtedly does, center
on remaining in the Senate.
Nevertheless, few of the
general political rules apply
to Kefauver. And none of
them applies to him all the
time. It is, therefore, an en
tirely safe prophecy that one
way or another his name will
be in the 1960 Presidential
reckoning.
Kef auver's . ambition, even
at its height, has been the
sleepiest-looking in the expe
rience of this writer. But de
pend on this: Somebody or
something Kefauver him
self, his friends or some turn
of the wheel of chance will
see to it that he is not alto
gether out of it.
FOR Kefauver and now
the adjective "inexplic
able" is reached defies any
ready analysis or ready un-
Federal Grants Assist
Washington (CQ) Do
high Federal taxes trouble
you?
Consider, then, the advant
ages of living in South Da
kota. Last year, out f every
dollar they paid into the
Treasury, residents of the
Coyote Sate got back 75 cents
in the form of Federal grants-in-aid.
That's the highest
benefits-to - burden ratio en
joyed by any state.. ;
Nationally, Federal grants
to individulas (as in soil bank
payments) and to state and
local governments (as : for
highway construction)
amounted to eight cents out
of every dollar in Federal
tax collections. That compares
with an average return of 10
cents on the dollar during the
second Truman Administra
tion, but is higher than the
6 cent return during the first
two years of the Eisenhower
Administration.
In fiscal 1957 the total
amount distributed jumped 25
per cent to an all-time high
of almost $6.5 billion.
This money was channeled
to state and local govern
in e n t s and to individuals
through 105 different Federal
program. But four programs
alone accounted for one-half
60HHA W&HOTDOGSV
derstanding as a political
force. Though "from Tennes
see, he is not really a South
ern politician and not even
really a typical border-state
politician. So little is he in
agreement with the Southern
ers that for years they exclud
ed him from their informal
but real club in the Senate.
Even now, he only timidly
"pokes his head in occasion
ally." His speech, particularly in
the Senate and to some ex
tent on the stump, is largely
an amiable muttering and
murmuring to most of his au
dience. His memory for first
and last names and a keen
memory is supposed to be a
politician's special require
ment is so bad as to be al
most unbelievable.
Reporters chancing to visit
Oklahoma in the 1956 cam
paign recall that Kefauver on
several occasions spoke
proudly to the crowds of his
friendship for a fellow Demo
cratic senator from Okla
homa "Mike Mansfield."
Mansfield is from Montana;
Senator Mike , Maroney is
from Oklahoma.
THIS correspondent remem
bers crossing the Kefauver
trail in Wisconsin in that
same campaign. There this
tall, gangling, gaping outland
er seemed as alien to the up
per Midwest as one could pos
sibly be. But everywhere he
went, and no matter what he
said or seemed to say, he left
the stolid Wisconsin farmers
in broad, fond smiles.
Kefauver himself at the
very same time usually was
looking unaccountably down
cast and a little lost. If any
man is able to beam sadly,
that man is Estes Kefauver..
As there is enigma in his
personality, there is enigma
in his Senate record. He has
cast, wisely or not, some of
the bravest Senate votes in
its postwar history, particu
larly against frightened acr
tions in the field of subversive
control and immigration.
On the other hand, he has
seemed to have missed a good
many votes altogether. And
nearly always about him
there has been, to one observ
er, a faint, genial confusion.
This correspondent has never
felt sure he understood in the
least where Kefauver was go
ing on some issues, and why.
(Copyright, 1958. by United ,
Feature Syndicate. Inc.
of the total: old-age assistance
($973 million), highway con
struction ($995 million), vet
erans readjustment benefits
($787 million) and soil bank
payments ($496 million).
There is no particular cor
relation between a state's
population and its share of
total grants. On"' a per capita
basis, grants in 1957 ranged
from an average, of $16 per
resident in New Jersey to
$121 per resident in Wyom
ing. On a state basis, Calif
ornia topped the list with
$532 million in grants, fol
lowed by Texas with $454
million both ahead of more
populous New York with
$412 million.
These three states together
collected $227 million in high
way grants, or 24 per cent of
the total. By contrast, farm
ers in Kanass alone picked
up $78 million in soil bank
payments, or 15 per cent of
the total distributed under
this program.
In 1957, Oregon received a
total of $89,407,000 in Fed
eral grants-in-aid to indivi
duals and to state and local
governments. With a popula
tion estimated in 1957 at
1,769,000 this amounted to
$51 per capita, compared
Today Or Tomorrow
By Walter Lippmann
REGULATING THE
LABOR UNIONS
The principle is now set
tled, particularly since the
testimony last week of Presi
dent George Meany, that la
bor unions are like all other;
powerful , in
terests sub
ject to public
inspection and
public regula
tion. It . is a
very good
thing that
this principle
is not in dis-
W alter Lippmann pute. For if it
' were, if or
ganized labor were making
the claim so often made by
other interests, that it is pri
vate and immune, there
would be serious trouble
ahead.
For no special interest can
exercise . the kind of power
which the unions possess and
then deny that there is a pub
lic interest in the way it con
ducts its affairs. Mr. Meany
has had the wisdom and the
public spirit to recognize that
if labor unions are not regu
lated by thos i who mean well
by them, they will be wide
open to the assault of those
who wish to destroy them.
The question of regulating
the unions has, i of course,
been brought to a head by the
sensational exposures before
Sen. McClellan's select com
mittee. While these exposures
dealt only with seven out"of
nearly 200 hundred national
unions, with unions whose
membership is 2,000,000 out
of the national total of 17,
000,000, they demonstrated
clearly that the actual abuses
have been very serious and
that the potential abuses are
enormous. It has been shown
that given the existence of
powerful and rich unions, the
opportunities and the tempta
tions to racketeering and cor
ruption are so great, that pub
lic remedies are necessary.
-
THE abuses which have
been exposed are, it might
be said,-; the normal result
when great power and wealth
are suddenly acquired by an
human institution, and there
is no body of law and custom
which regulates the 'conduct
of its affairs. The labor
unions in this1 country have
become ,big in the past . 25
years, but only after long de
cades of bitter and often
violent struggle for recogni
tion and legal sanction.
In the past 25 years they
have been fostered by privi
leges created and protected
by, Federal statutes. No other
kind of private association ex
ercises so "'much power over
the livelihood : of its indivi
dual members, over their op
portunities . and over the
routine of their daily lives.
Individual employees may not
lawfully negotiate with their
employers and they are legal
ly bound by the terms and
conditions of employ ment
which a union, certified as
the sole official bargaining
agent for a . given shop or
company, may negotiate. Fur
thermore.in the case of many
contracts the law in effect
requires the compulsory pay
ment of initiation fees and
dues into the union treasury.
This legally granted power
of the unions to set the terms
and conditions of work also
affects the rights and irtterests
of management and of the
general consuming public.
Unions are also granted spec
ial immunity from the anti
trust monopoly laws and, as
non-profit voluntary organiz
ations, they have exemption
from the income tax.
There is, therefore,, no
States
with $38 per capita for the na
tion as a whole.
Total 19 5 7 allocations to
Oregon compare as follows
with the state's allocations
for the preceding three years:
1956, $70,803,000; 1955, $64,
977,000; and 1954, $59,424,
000. , i
Federal taxes collected in
Oregon in 1957 amounted to
$514,746,000. This amounted
to .6 pet cent of the: $80.1 bil
lion in total tax collections.
By contrast, the state's share
of total 1958 grants of $6.5
billion amounted to 1.4 per
cent r . "
The nine largest grant pro
grams in. 1957, on a national
basis j-accounted for 71 per
cent of the total amount dis
tributed to rindividuals and to
state and local governments.
Amounts allocated to Oregon
under these programs were
as follows: highway construc
tion, $20,871,000; old-age as
sistance, $7,056,000; aid to de
pendent children, $2,765,000;
unemployment compensation,
$3,122,000; conservation pro
gram, $3,064,000; soil bank
program, $1,516,000; veterans
readjustment benefits, $6,
820,000; Air National Guard,
$1,236,000; and Army Na
tional Guard, $4,547,000.
longer any argument that
Federal regulation is justified
in principle and necessary in
practice. The question is what
kind of regulation is most
likely to work well. Broadly
speaking, there are two types
of regulation. The first, on
which there is now very gen
eral agreement, is that the
financial affairs of the unions
shall be made public, and
their officers legally made ac
countable for the honest ad
ministration of these affairs.
This is the principle of the
Douglas-Ives - Kennedy .bill,
dealing with welfare and pen
sion funds only, which has al
ready passed the Senate and
it is not in any serious 'sense
opposed by anyone concern
ed. If a similar bill applying
to union funds i& passed, it
should mark a great reform,
not only in protecting the
union members from xorrupt
leaders but also in laying the
general conduct of union busi
ness open to public scrutiny.
THE other type of regula
tion, now under considera
tion, is aimed at regulating
labor unions by compelling
them to adopt more democ
ratic procedures. The theory
is that if there were more
democracy inside the unions,
they would be better gov
erned. That may be. But it is
a question whether in fact the
Federal government can
make democracy compulsory
in private associations, and
whether, if it were to try to
do so, it would not be biting
off more than it can chew.
There are in this country
some 200 national unions and
some 60,000 local unions, and
it is not probable that the
Federal government can real
ly superintend their charters
and regulate their internal
elections. There is not much
value in attempting to do
what almost certainly can
not be done. It is likely to
lead only to disrespect of
the law.
My own view is that the
compulsory disclosure of the
financial affairs of theunions
is a possible", though not an
easy kind of law to enforce.
Insofar as it is efficiently en
forced, it may help to do
many of the things which are
supposed to be,, accomplished
by compulsory democracy.'
Matter of Fact
THE ARMY'S ROLE
Paris Many are groping
for a key to present events in
France and their probable fu
ture meaning.
They might
well ponder
the following
remark able
and well-
attested story
of the begin
ning of the
present agon
izing crisis.
It concerns
the moment
Joseph AIsop
when the infuriated crowd in
Algiers had already attacked
the great building of the Gou-
vernment General; and the
French Commander in Chief,
Gen. Salan, had given the task
of restoring order to his para-
troop commander, the famous
Gen. Massu.
At this terrible moment, as
his men were forming up,
Gen. Massu telephoned Paris
to ask his masters in the civil
government the key question.
Should he or should he not
fire on the crowd? He pointed
out that the odds against re
storing order by any other
means were very heavy in
deed, and he added that this
was essentially a political
choice.
AT that time, of course,
thpre was an interreenum
in Paris. Felix Gaillard, who
has hastily consulted, replied
that , he had already ceased to
be Prime Minister and was
therefore unable to answer
Gen. Massu's question. And
Pierre Pflimlin, consulted
with equal haste, replied that
he had not yet become Prime
Minister and was therefore
unable to answer Gen. Mas
su's question. In sum- the civi
lian politicians refused the re
sponsibility of making the
crucial decision. So Gen. Mas
su restored order in his own
mariner; by joining in the
formation of the Committee
of Public Safety.
Consider this episode. Then
remember the experience of
the French professional Army
in the last ten years, first in
Indochina and then in Alger
ia. Many dark places of the
present situation are thereby
illuminated.
What is revealed, aboveall,
is the relative freedom of
choice that a serious and firm
French government can still
enjoy and exercise if it wish
es to do so. It is true that the
crisis was precipitated by ex
tremists of the Right, like
Massu's civilian colleagues on
the Algiers Committee of Pub
lic Safety.
IT IS also true that some
sort of plot was already on
loot when he fierce atmos-
(By M-T Staff and Contributors)
Circuses today, with , few
exceptions, are merely pale
shadows of the circuses of
earlier days. Competion of
television, movies and other
forms of entertainment, plus
high operating costs, have
nearly spelled the demise of
the "big top" that used to play
at nearly every town every
summer or at least, every
other summer.
And, as a result, a true,
dyed-in-the-wool circus fan is
a rare bird. But we know of
at least one, hereabouts. He is
Graham Dean, editor of the
Ashland Tidings, whose pas
sion for circuses goes far back
into his childhood.
The circus which played in
Medford last week was "a
clean little show," Editor
Dean reported after attending
it Wednesday evening. And
so much did he enjoy it that
he drove clear to Grants Pass
the following evening so he
could see it a second time.
If there were more Graham
Deans around, the circus as
an institution of entertain
ment would have a glorious
rebirth.
Which probably would be
a good thing for everyone, in
cluding the performers and
the youngsters of today,
whose acquaintanceship with
wild animals, sideshow freaks
and skilled aerial performers
is limited mostly to those seen
over the. antiseptic electronic
box in the living room and
who have never known, and
thus cannot miss, the smell of
the menagerie, the excitment
and the color of the big top,
and the inexplicable taste of
cotton candy.
A member of our staff
comments lhat the most
deliberate flatterer in the
world it the barber who
spends 30 minutes trimming
the few strands of hair re
maining on the head of a
balding man.
Bette Hoskins, the M-T's
Jacksonville correspondent.
returned not long ago from
an automobile trip to Black-
foot, Idaho, and reports she
was fascinated by a series of
signs she saw along the desert
highway between Burns, Ore
and Boise, Ida.
Here are some of them:
Ain't This Monotonous?
By Joseph AIsop
phere at . Algiers suddenly
clotted into total crisis the
code messages of the Algiers
radio are proof of that.
But there is no truth in the
widespread impression that
rightwing extremists have
been able, singlehanded, to
challenge and subvert the
legitimate government of
France. Without the Army,
The Soustelles, the Delbec
ques and the others of the
same kidney would count for
very little indeed, even in Al
giers. Furthermore, if you con
sider the history of Gen. Mas
su's telephone call and a'1
that preceded it, you cannot
properly argue that the civil
government of France was
abandoned by the Army. At
any rate, it is just as accurate
to say that the Army was
abandoned first by the civil
government. What, then, will
the Army do now, this Army
which was and is the key fac
tor in all this grim affair?
The best answer one can
give is at once simple and
complex, disturbing as well as
reassuring. There are of
course plenty of right-wing
extremists in the French
Army. The officers who
joined in the Corsican opera
tion, the officers of the para
troop outfits that quietly
moved into the military air
dromes of metropolitan
France in the first days of cri
sis, can hardly have included
many persons with liberal or
leftwing views. In fact they
no doubt included a good
many with- downright anti
democratic tendencies.
But .this element in the
Army is first of all a minor
ity; and secondly, even the
extremists of the Army will
accept orders from any civil
government firm enough and
decisive enough to give or
ders. On this head, consider
again the episode of Gen.
Massu, asking whether he
should do what must have
gone so violently against his
grain. -
I
T IS a terrible thing that
the legitimate government
of France should have foun
dered on a double abandon
ment an abandonment first
of the Army by the civil au
thorities, and then, one must
add, an abandonment of the
civil authorities by the Army.
But this drama of France's
parliamentary government
deserves the bitter tag-line of
one of Moliere's plays: "You
asked for it, Georges Dandin!"
For Gen. de Gaulle, in con
tra, there will be no danger
of abandonment. He can give
his orders, to control of even
to suppress the rightwing ex
tremists, for instance, and
Cattle Country Watch Out
for Bum Steers.
Sage Brush is (JYee; Stuff
Some in Your . Car,,
Danger Skunk Crossing.
Methodists Watch Out for
Mormon Crickets.
Thirsty? Drive at Night,
Plenty of Moonshine.
Unlawful to Spear Salmon
or Shoot Craps in This Area.
If You Lived Here, You'd
Be Home Now.
Skunk Bomb Fall-out Area;
Close Windows.
Let There Be a Silent Mo- '
ment While We Change Back
seat Drivers.
Grizzly Bear Feeding
Grounds; Count Your Chil
dren, Hide Your Honey.
Idaho Skunks Are Not To
Be Sniffed At.
Site of Polecat Massacre,
Idaho's Biggest Political
Stink.
A minor accident was in
vestigated by Medford po
lice officers the other day,
and it developed lhat two
cars scraped fenders while
the respective drivers were
attempting to talk to each
other. The drivers, it de
veloped, were husband and
wife, each driving a differ
ent car. One of the two
was cited for failure to op
erate in the proper lane of
traffic. Which one? The,
husband, of course.
."''
We are . glad to welcome,
from time to time, groups of '
students, ranging from little
shavers up to high school
journalism classes, who tour
the Mail Tribune to see how
a newspaper is produced.
These visits are fairly fre
quent, and are conducted by
Business Manager Jerry Lath-
am, who explains the opera-
lion of each department.
We have received a report
on one such recent trip, writ- ;
ten for her class by Patricia .
Lindsay, of the sixth grade .
at Griffin Creek school. Here
are pertinent portion of her
story.
"... The first department
we visited was the circulation
department. On a small metal
plate the name of each sub- :
scriber of the paper was print
ed. A machine . . . printed
these addresses on a strip of
of yellow paper. These str.os -
were separated so that er "1
slip had one address on it
This slip was attached to each ,
paper for properly addressed
delivery. ,
"In the morgue was a large
bookcase full of huge albums,
each containing papers de
livered in a certain year, dafc
ing back to 1917.
"The third department was
the Linotype department,
where the type was set for
further steps in' making an is
sue. "We visited the newsroom
next, the department in which
news from all over world is
gathered by teletypes.
"Last was the pressroom,
in which the type is develop
ed into a circular lead cast
that is placed on a cylinder,
which revolves with the de
sired amount of ink on it,
placing print on the news
print that continously rolls
over it. Then the printed pa
per is folded in the desired
way, and placed m the cor
rect sequence.
"Then the papers are rolled,
addressed and delivered."
Patricia is going to become
a good reporter one of these
days.
A woman we k n o w is
employed by a bank, and
each week gets one day off
in addition to Sunday. The
day off changes each four
weeks. As a result, she is
used to a hop, skip and
jump type of employment.
But this week is special.
She had last Wednesday off.
and next week her day off
is Tuesday. So she worked
Tuesday, had Wednesday
off, worked Thursday, had
Friday (Memorial Day) off.
worked Saturday, had Sun
day off, will work Monday, -have
Tuesday off, and work
Wednesday. She sort of
likes this working every
other day.
they will be carried out by
the Army. Furthermore,, those
who think that de Gaulle is
likely to be the "prisoner" of
such men as Soustelle and
Delbecque can hardly have
rread much of the history of
the last war. The man whom
Roosevelt and Churchill could
not make a prisoner, is hard
ly likely to become the pris
oner of such a one as Jacques
Soustelle.
In sum, the choice will be
up to Gen. de Gaulle and up
to him alone. What one can
not predict is whether he
will be content to restore san
ity and order in France or
whether he will imitate Fran
co or Salazar. The signs are
encouraging. But no one real
ly knows the inner mind of
this looming, remote and
enormous figure who now
dominates the scene in this
strife-divided country.