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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 30, 1958)
12 Miners Trapped for Six Days Brought To Surface in Good Condition Springhill, Nova Scotia-aTD Twelve coal miners, trapped for more than six days in a blood-strewn cubicle 100 foot long and not high enough to stand in, were brought to the surface today in good condi tion. Wilfred Hunter, 48, one of the men found Wednesday, when rescue workers pushed a pipe through the debris that imprisoned them, said 24 miners in his section were killed outright when a "bump" rocked the mine last Thursday night. "I heard a 'boom' and then there were dead people all around me, including my twin brother Frank," he said from a hospital bed. "I remember. . .1 remember . . .the 13th level (13,000 foot level). Everything went black. I woke up lying on my back in the dark and I remember those groans. . .1 was beside Frank, my twin brother. I came to and when I reached up I touched a body pinned to the rocks and hanging above me. . .there was nothing I could do." Hunter said that after the initial shock the living group ed together amid the 24 bodies they had counted- The surviv ors spent their time praying and singing hymns. "We had only a two-quart can of water among the 12 of us," he said. "We rationed it, but it lasted only three days . . .we .had no food, but we never gave up hope." Joe McDonald, 38, a sur vivor whose leg was broken by falling rocks when the mine collapsed, said "the pain was terrific." "All around me I could hear others in pain," he said. "I knew some of the boys were dying." McDonald said the miners started calling to each other until they established 12 were alive. Women arid husky mine workers wept with unabashed joy as the men were hauled from the depths of the con tinent's deepest coal mine on slope - climbing carts called "rakes." . But mine officials said there was no hope for 56 more miners still unaccount ed for today. A total of 174 men were working in the col liery when the earthquake like bump sent tons of rocks tumbling down the main shaft and side-galleries or tunnels. During the next few hours, 81 were rescued or made their way out of the shaft and 25 bodies were recovered, includ ing one early today. The men were discovered alive at 1:45 p.m. Wednesday, but it took rescue workers more than 12 hours to break through to the life-saving pocket where the men had been entombed since 7:10 p.m. last Thursday. The pocket kept poisonous gases from the men and trapped with them enough air to keep them alive, rescue workers specu lated. The first miner brought out was Gorley Kempt, 37, the man whose voice broke through the pipe like a call from the dead to inform the world the men still were alive. He was on a stretcher wrapped in a blanket, and was taken immediately to a hospital. Eldred Lowther, 46, Joe McDonald, 38, and Theodore Michniak, 59, were the next to reach the surface. Bowman Madison, 42, the fifth man out, was talking rapidly to his ambulance at tendant. The sixth man freed was Levi Milley, 47, who sat up on his stretcher and wav ed wildly to the crowd. Caleb Rushton, 35, and Hunter were the seventh and eighth to be brought up. Both were talking and smiling and waved to the crowd while be ing carried the six feet to a waiting ambulance. Hugh Guthro, 31, and Har old Brine, 22, were next and. the final two were Joseph Halloway Jr., 35, and Harry Leadbetter, 22. It took from 2:40 a.m., when the imprison ing wall was broken, until 4:04 to bring the men to the surface in relays. The dramatic sign that the men were alive came when three rescuers inched their way through rockfalls and debris in a tunnel where about 50 men were believed working when the bump hit "Come arid get us for God's . sake," a muffled voice echoed through a broken ventilation pipe. It was the voice of Kempt. The bare-faced rescue work- ers stared at the pipe in, amazement. "At first we thought it was some of the workers," said Earl Wood, one of the men on the scene. "But the men trapped at the other end must have seen the reflection of the light of a helmet and called for help." 53rd Year Medford 30 PAGES Pope John Again Receives Homage Of Cardinals Vatican City - (WD - John XXIII returned today to the Sistine Chapel to receive again the homage of the car dinals who elected him to the throne of St. Peter. The ceremony was the final homage of the cardinals be fore the 76-year-old Pontiff is crowned next Tuesday, Nov, 4, on the balcony of St. Peters Basilica before a throng thousands. It was a farewell for many of the cardinals as they knelt to kiss the papal ring for many of them took leave of the Pontiff today and prepar ed to return to their native lands without waiting for the coronation. The Pope himself was pressing ahead with his swift takeover of the Vatican gov ernment and called in key officials of the secretariat of state, this morning. Heading the list of those reported -called into audience was Msgr. Domenico Tardini. The new Pope named him Wednesday as chief executive in the state secretariat. . Tardini, who served as pro secretary of state for extra ordinary affairs under the late Pope Pius XII, was given the full responsibility as pro-secretary. It was taken for grant ed he would be made cardi nal and elevated to secretary of state in the consistory the Pope is expected to call in January. ' Since his' accession to the papal throne two days ago Pope John, jovial and ener getic despite his age, has im pressed Vatican officials with the brisk and business-like way in which he has set. about the task of putting the Vati can house in order. One Person Reported Injured in Accident One person was reported injured in a three-vehicle ac cident on Highway 62 in front of the Desert Service station about 11:50 o'clock this morning, state police re ported. Involved were a car, a log truck and a school bus, ac cording to reports. One girl suffered a cut lip and a boy suffered scratches, but there were no other injuries, ac cording to early reports. Details of the accident and extent of the person's injuries were not available at press time. 'Do Not Disturb' Signs Available "Do not disturb" signs for Halloween are available for ill persons in the Howard school district, Harold . F. Boner, principal, announced today. The signs may be obtained by telephoning the school, SPring 2-8912, Boner said. Make Medford Beautiful ' -l JfeStM Fit nfiffityp ii If ii i 'i r " i" ft if "H'iiii in in iiiiirrtirrTTf"'Tinrti'iti WILD WEST-This building would look more suitable in a TV western than on a main thoroughfare in Medford. It needs a coat of paint and some new windows, to say the least. This picture is another in the Mail Tribune's inventory of eyesores which could be rectified to help "Make Medford Beautiful." MEDFORD, OREGON, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1958 Garbage, Waste Ordinance May Be Recommended A county garbage and waste disposal ordinance may be recommended to the coun ty in the near future follow ing routine preliminary steps, it was indicated at last night's meeting of the county plan ning commission. Commission members agreed that a complete and corrected copy of the preliminary draft should be submitted to the district attorney's office for legal examination. On Nov. 12 the commission will consider further steps which may be necessary prior to making its recommenda tion . to the county court. These steps may include a public hearing or hearings. Ordinance Preamble The ordinance proposed is to designate, regulate and re strict the location and manner in which garbage and waste shall be disposed of, according Voter Turn Out Sought by Demos James Redden, chairman of the ackson county Democrat ic .Central committee, Wed nesday cabled for Democrats to concentrate their efforts on a large voter turnout in the general election, Nov. 4. Redden said by concentrat ing on a large voter turnout the "men who seek victory through intimidation and in nuendo will be repudiated." He said "we can expect an in crease in the quantity and vic iousness" of the Republican campaign. "The attacks made on the congressman from the fourth district, and on the greatest governor in 20 years, are born of fear and desperation," Redden said. "The Republi can campaign of lies, slander and McCarthyism has less than a week to go, and we can expect an increase in the quantity and viciousness of their campaign," he said. "Senator (Philip) Lowry, in his rabid partisan attacks on Governor Holmes and Con gressman Porter has waged his friends had thought be neath him. Through dema goguery. he has infuriated thinking Americans of both parties, and it is for us to en courage those thinking Amer icans to vote Tuesday,. Nov. 4," Redden said. H added that "Democrats can point with pride to their slate of candidates, and have no reason to wage a gutter campaign which is apparently all the Republican party has to offer." I to the preamble of the ordi nance draft. The ordinance, if enacted by the county court, would prescribe places and methods of disposal and would establish a maximum penalty of $100 for its vio lation. Purpose of the ordinance, as defined in the preamble, is to protect the public health, safety and ganeral welfare of the people of Jackson county and to prevent fires, rodent infestation, water and air pol lution. ' The blanket provision of section 1 immediately drew caustic criticism from Com missioner Stuart V. (Duke) McQueen. Methods should be used in garbage disposal which prevent "disease vector breeding or sustenance," the section states. Such garbage should not be allowed to pro vide food or nests for rodents, insects and other vermine. It should be handled so as not to bring disease to man or animals, prevent air pollution by smoke and odors and nuisances. Potential Fire Hazard It should not provide poten tial fire hazard or pollution of surface and ground - wa ters, according to the section. The second part of the' first section states it is unlawful to dump or "litter on any lands whatsoever with gar bage, refuse, offal, rubbish or waste within a prescribed distance from any human habitation or in any manner other than prescribed here." - "Any lands whatsoever" is too inclusive, McQueen said. The proposed ordinance is a restrictive sort of thing re quiring a full time garbage inspector and adding more ex pense to the tax rolls, Mc Queen added. It is only neces sary to set up operating pro cedure for .garbage dumps, he stated. "This thing is like prescrib ing an appendectomy for a man with a mere tummy ache," McQueen snorted. "Once a law gets on the book's it's pretty hard to get it off. This thing could be approached by the county court asking for the coopera tion of the persons con cerned." Believe Good One . . Asked his opinion, Dr. A. Erin Merkel, county public health officer, said he and Orie Moore, chief sanitarian, believe the proposed ordi nance is a good one. Not much authority exists now to pre vent dumping of garbage next to a house or regulating it otherwise, he added. Pres ent state law only regulates pollution of streams, rivers and other waters. Commissioner John Nieder meyer emphasized that last night's meeting was called to consider a garbage and waste disposal ordinance. It is up to the county court to imple ment it, he said. In answer to pointed ques tioning by Commissioner Ed Bolt, Dr. Merkel said he thought the ordinance "will take care of a bad situation." (Continued on Page 14) WEATHER FORECAST: Generally cloudy tonight and Friday. Chance of light showers Friday. Gusty southeasterly wind over moun tains and in exposed valleys. Warmer tonight with low 38 42, except near 55 in windy spots. High Friday near 65. Temp. Highest Yesterday 7g Lowest this Morning , , 31 Our Skies Tonight Sunset today 5:08 p.m. Sunrise tomorrow 6:43 a.m. The Moon rises 7:24 p.m. tonight between Aldeharan and Elnath. Last Quarter Nov. 4 VISIBLE PLANETS Saturn, low in south west . 6:17 p.m. Mars, in the east at 8:57 p.m, will be in the west in the morning twilight. Price 10 Cents Tribune No. 189 Western World Rallies Around Boris Pasternak Stockholm, Sweden -WW -The Western world rallied to day to the side of Soviet au thor Boris Pasternak whose angry government forced him Wednesday to reject the Nobel Prize for Literature. The Swedish Academy which chose him for the world's highest literary ac colade called a meeting to day and it was believed it would ask the Swedish For eign Office to intervene on Pasternak's ehalf . Secretary of State John Foster Dulles said in Wash ington the forced renuncia tion showed that Communism demands conformity in both deed and thought. The United States Informa tion Agency is preparing to issue cheap reprints of Past ernark's book, "Dr. Zhivago," if it can get publication rights, and sell them throughout the world. The book is banned in Russia on the ground it is anti-Communist. Reconsidering Agreement Norway announced it was reconsidering its cultural agreement with Russia-because "the case of Pasternak has revealed the Soviet Union and Norway have totally dif ferent conceptions of the meaning of the word culture." Not since the days of Adolf Hitler has a foreign govern ment forced one of its nation als to reject a Nobel prize. Hitler forced three Germans to refuse prizes in the 1930s after an anti-Nazi was given the Nobel peace award. Nobel prize winner Bert rand Russell said he was "dis gusted" with the Soviet au thorities who forced the 67-year-old Pasternak to reject the honor. The Voice of America began broadcasting reviews of the book and excerpts from it to persons behind the Iron Cur tain. Ten thousand copies of the book placed on sale in Stockholm Wednesday sold out in a few hours. Writers Draft Protest The Swedish Writers Asso ciation drafted a protest to Moscow as did other groups throughout the world. Jap anese writers and civic lead ers were angered and Tatsuzo Ishikawa, an outstanding Jap anese novelist and director of the Japanese Professional Literary Artists Association, said it meant good literature would be stifled in Russia. Vladimir Semichastny, head of the Communist youth or ganization Komsomol, sug gested in Moscow that Past ernak "try the capitalist air for which he longs so much." Soviet Premier Nikita Khrush chev and other Soviet leaders were present when Semi chastny denounced Pasternak as a "mangy sheep" and "worse than a pig." "Did I Hear Somebody Knock?' Three American Scientists Win Medicine Prize Stockholm, Sweden - (UPD Three American scientists won the 1958 Nobel Prize for Medicine today for their pioneer work in genetics -studies that could lead the way to a cure for cancer. One-half of ' the $41,250 award went to George Wells Beadle, professor at the Kerckhoff Laboratories of Biology, Pasadena, Calif., and Edward Lawrie ' Tatum, pro fessor at the Rockefeller In stitute, New York, for their discovery "that genes act by regulating definite chemical events." Wisconsin Professor Wins The other half of the prize went to Joshua Lederberg, professor at the University of Wisconsin, for his discoveries concerning "genetic recom bination .and the organization of the genetic material of bacteria." The awards were made by the staff of Sweden's medi cal research center, the Karolinska Institute, which said the American discoveries would have a strong influence on the search for a cure for cancer. The Nobel Peace Prize, if one is awarded this year, will be announced later in Oslo, Norway. " The .experiments that won Beadle and Tatum their award confirmed that ' genes control enzymes and that en zymes control the chemistry of life. ' Gives First Clues - The discovery gave science its first clue as to how genes -which transmit heredity in plant and animal reproduc- tion-actually work. Their work now forms part of the foundation of modern gene tics. Lederberz and his co workers at the University of Wisconsin discovered that bits of genetic material, in troduced into , the body of bacteria, will be accepted by the bacteria and combined with its own into a new type This process is termed "trans duction," one form of re combination. Transportation to Polls Offered by GOP Free transportation to the polls will be provided any re gistered voter in Jackson county Tuesday, Nov. 4, Mrs. Frank Bash, chairman of the Republican transportation committee, announced today. The service may be obtained by calling SPring 3-7313, Re publican headquarters. Cars have been volunteered by members of the Young Re publicans club, Jackson Coun ty Republican Women's club and the County Central com mittee. DOW-JONES AVERAGES New Y o r k (BPD Dow Jones final stock averages: 30 industrials 543.31, up 0.59; 20 railroads 148.83. off 0.27; 15 utilities 82.97, up 0.05. . and 65 stocks 188.28, up 0.06. Sales today were about 4,360,000 shares compared with 4,790,000 shares Wednesday. POWERFUL EXPL0SIOM GEDDES IN MEDFORD-Paul Geddes, Rose burg ' Republican candidate for congress man from the fourth- -district, is shown above shaking hands with Glen Gerrard, 1329 Coghill lane, Medford, yesterday. Geddes Says Ad Demand is Last Paul E. Geddes, Roseburg Republican candidate for con gressman from the fourth dis trict, said today he considers the demand that he repudiate newspaper advertisements run by his congressional commit tee "ridiculous, last-minute, desperation politics." Keith Skelton, chairman of the Reelect Porter to Congress committee, yesterday asked Geddes to repudiate the ad vertisements, declaring they were "in the character assas sination tradition of Nixon, McCarthy, and Deadwood Dave Hoover, and are an in sult not only to Congressman Porter but to all of the ration al and reasonable people of the State of Oregon." Based on Record Geddes, in Medford today on a campaign visit, said "ads which he (Skelton) objects to are based on Porter's record as it actually is, not as Porter and Skelton wish the voters thought it was." "If they have evidence that the facts in our ads are wrong, let them present this evidence. For example, Skelton objects to our statement that Porter has consistently voted 'for high price supports on basic crops. Let him name one high parity, bill which Porter voted against. I have named the dates and the bills which he favored according to official records," Geddes said. ' He continued, "As to any political ' ads . sponsored and controlled by others, I do not adopt but repudiate any im plication that my opponent is disloyal even though his acts are not always in our best in terest.' Not Examined Facts "On the other hand, I have not examined the facts of ads published by committees over which I have no control, but defend, the right of others to publish anything which is factual and in accordance with the record," Geddes said. Geddes said he has for warded his statement to the Fair Campaign Practices com mittee, along with his protest of a press release published in an Albany newspaper Oct. 10, in which Skelton "calls me pro-iranco, pro-aictator, and charges that I would have supported Hitler and Musso lini." - . Geddes was scheduled to speak on water resources at a no-host luncheon at the Med ford hotel this noon. Small Forest Land Owners Meeting Is Slated in Salem Portland A statewide meeting of small forest land owners and others interested in getting better management and production from small forest land owners and others interested in getting better management and production from small forest properties will be held in the capitol building in Salem at 10 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 6. The Salem meeting follows five regional meetings which were conducted by the forest service and the state depart ment of forestry. Regional meetings were held to advise small forest owners of the pressing need for a greater flow of wood material 'from small forest holdings. Announced Jointly The Salem meeting was an nounced jointly by Dwight L. Phipps, state forester, and J. Herbert Stone, regional fores- Calf Dies, Hay Destroyed in Fire Ashland A two-month old calf burned to death and two barns containing -several tons of hay were destroyed by fire at the Charles Hodgins farm, 192 North Mountain ave., Ashland, yesterday after noon. Ashland firemen said sev eral spot fires on roofs of sur rounding sheds, another barn and a house were extinguished before they spread. Wind ve locity was estimated about 15 miles per hour during the fire, firemen said. One thousand feet of irriga tion pipe in one barn was de stroyed, but other farm equip ment was not damaged, they said. No estimate of the dam age was available this noon. Firemen said six regulars and 12 volunteers were on the fire about six hours, and a crew was standing by this morning with a' connected hose to check a smouldering barn. - " Firemen received the call about 2:29 p.m. yesterday. SHED FIRE City firemen were Celled to a shed and grass fire Li the rural district on Jacksonville highway about 12:30 p.m. to day. Details on the extent of the blaze and exact location weer not available at press time. C- nuclear TRIG They are standing near the Republican party's "Voteswagon" loaned ' by Morse Motors, Medford. Geddes was in Jackson county yesterday and today on a cam paign tour. . ' ter for the forest service. They noted that regional meetings, one of which was held 'in Medford, were "for the purpose of stimulating thinking in preparation for the state wide meeting." . "Unlike the local area meet ings, which were informal, the Salem meeting will be conducted so that all state ments, both oral and written will be recorded," they said. Stone and Phipps said they hope small forest land own ers, and others interested, will express their views or present written statements of their ideas of what needs to be done to improve forestry measures on small woodlands. Nationwide Study Findings of a nationwide study of the timber situation revealed that productivity for the small forest land owner ships generally does not mea sure up to that on larger holdings, they said. Phipps and Stone said "Owners of unmanaged forest lands are needlessly losing out in profits. It is predicted by the year 2000 that the na tion's population will nearly double, with twice the de mand for wood products. We hope that "the small forest land owners who are closest to the problem will openly discuss the situation at the statewide . meeting. Out of this and similar meetings in other states should come the ideas leading, to better forest management on our small for est ownerships." Meeting Called to Talk Festival Fund Campaign Ashland A citizens meet ing will be held at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 4, in Britt Me morial student center at Southern Oregon college to discuss and review plans for the fund raising campaign for the Oregon Shakespearean Festival's new theater. - . The meeting was called, to answer questions by local res idents about the campaign, which- is scheduled to start Nov. 12. Goal for the fund raising drive is $275,000.' Speakers will discuss var ious aspects of the Festival's impact on this area and will encourage direct questions from the floor, according to Mrs.- John C. Cotton of Ash mm Man's Largest Underground Shot Jars Instruments Atomic Test Site, Nev.-(UPD-The most powerul under ground explosion ever fired by man, a Hiroshima-sized nu clear device, was touched off today beneath a lonely desert mesa and recorded on scores of seismographs in the United States and Canada. Like Earthquake The shot rumbled like an earthquake across the test site near Las Vegas with the force of 20,000 tons of TNT. It was triggered deep in a mesa, 850 feet beneath the earth's sur face, at 7 a.m. (p.s.t.) and first reports said it registered on seismographs 2,300 miles dis tant at Fairbanks, Alaska. Experts said it may have been recorded around the world. The University of California seismograph atJ3erkeley read it as a magnitude of 4.75 to 5 on the Richter scale used to measure earthquakes. . Huge Plume of Dust "That's a pretty good-sized shock," said UC seismologist Dr. Don Tocher. The quake that caused some damage to San Francisco last year was slightly on the plus side of 5. Dr. Charles Richter said the device Blance was recorded at his Cal Tech Laboratory in Pasadena as a shock compara ble to past experiments in Ne vada. Opening Closed When Blance was fired a plume of churning dust soared high into the morning air. A test spokesman said "it had every evidence of having a vent," but moments later a tide of tumbling rock and rubble closed the opening be fore the fiery blast from the explosion could escape. The Atomic Energy Com mission said it was the largest known manmade artificial underground explosion. Morse to Speak , In Medford Friday Senator Wayne Morse (I Ore.) will speak at 12:30 p.m. tomorrow at the Esquire theater, Democratic party headquarters, while on a brief pre-election swing through the state. Senator Morse will speak on the importance of voting in the general election next week at tomorrow's public meeting. Jim Redden, Democratic party chairman, said the pub lic was invited to hear Sena-f tor Morse, and suggested those attending make, ar rangements for lunch prior to 12:30. There wil be no charge, and coffee will be served. The senator is expected to arrive here from Klamath Falls and continue to Jose phine and Douglas, counties later in the day. land, who is in charge of the meeting. Ashland - Attorney Harry Skerry will serve as master of ceremonies. Speakers will include Dr. Elmo Stevenson, president of Southern Oregon college; A. C. Fries Jr., Ashland, presi dent' of the" Festival's board of directors; Glenn Jackson, Medford; cochairmah of the Fund Raising committee; Clarence BelL . president of the Ashland Chamber of Commerce; and the Rev. John L. Thompson,. Ashland, a member of the Festival board. In addition to emphasizing the cultural and entertain ment values, the meeting will seek to show the role played by the Festival in the valley's economy.