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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (March 29, 1959)
Price 10 Cents Subscribers To report Improper or non delivery of the Mail Tribune in Medford phone SP 2-6141. Ash land MU 2-1021, Yreka 841W before 6:45 pjn. daily and 1230 pjn. Sunday If regular delivery arrive shortly after you call pleas notify office thus eliminating special messenger service. Recommended Tribtjn Tie history of the oldest Pro testant church west of the Rocky Mountains is told in a feature article appearing on pace 12 of today's Mail Tribune. The article Is about the Methodist church in Jacksonville where services are now being held weeklv un der the auspices of The Village Church. MEDFORD United Press International Full Leased Wir United Press International Full Leased Wir 52 PAGES ' MEDFORD, OREGON, SUNDAY, MARCH 29, 1959 No. 217 53rd Year m m E V ,SI6S" a J Four Automobiles Reported Stolen From Lots in City Occupants Sought By Local Authorities Jackson county law enforce ment officers Saturday night had crowded two stolen cars off the road and were chasing the occupants on foot while other officers were searching for one other stolen car. City police said a 1957 Chevrolet station wagon was stolen from Courtesy Chevro let, 227 East Ninth st., earlier last night. However, this car did .not have any gas in it. The thieves apparently park ed it in front of the J. Allen Company, used car dealer at Court and Manzanita sts., then burglarized the company of fice, stealing car keys for 3 cars-a 1957 Chevrolet Nomad station wagon, a 1958 Impalla Chevrolet and a 1957 Ford Fairlane 500. City police said they spot ted the parked car in front of the used car company with the keys in it. Further inves tigation revealed it had been stolen and the used car com pany had been burglarized and the three cars -:aken. Still missing Saturday night was the Impala. Msnrubia Held For Using Vehicle Jose Manrubia-Martinez, 27, who had lived at 722 West Fourth St., Medford, is being held in the Jackson county jail on charges of unauthoriz ed use of a motor vehicle, state police said last night. When arrested by state po- lice early Saturday morning, Manrubia claimed to be Jose Fernandez Francisco, an il legal entrant from Mexico. Until arrested, the man first said, he had been subsisting on such things as apples and dandelions and living in var ious barns and shacks in the Medford area. Manrubia is charged with using equipment belonging to Southern Oregon Molding Company, Camp White, with out permission, police said. Investigation by state po lice revealed that the man had been living in Medford, is in this country legally -according to a passport Man rubia produced, and is mar ried, although his wife does not live with him. Until he was observed, Manrubia said, he had been "practicing" driving the lum ber yard equipment at night so he could obtain employ ment as a driver of such equipment. However, a check by state police revealed that Manrubia is employed by the Medford Plywood and Veneer company in the Camp White area. Reason for the first account apparently was that Man rubia was afraid he would be accused of stealing the equip meat, officers guessed. Nicaragua Invasion Reported Imminent . Ciudad Trujillo, Dominican Republic -IUPD- The Dominican military intelligence service said yesterday that former President Jose Figueres of Costa Rica was massing men and weapons for an invasion of Nicaragua. An official communique said Jhat 35 Cuban "barbudos" (bearded followers of Fidel Castro) landed on the Costa Rican coast near the Nicarag uan frontier March 19 from the Panamanian ship White Shadow. It said arms for 500 men also were put ashore. 1958 Traffic Tally In County Reported Salem-A total of 23 deaths and 756 injuries resulted from traffic accidents in Jackson county last year, the traffic safety division of the state department of motor vehicles has announced. There were 2,060 accidents in the county, . with 38,923 motor vehicles registered and " a population of 68,660. Statewide there were 448 killed in traffic accidents. Those injured in the 59,259 accidents totaled 18,055. EMBRACE Mrs. Maxine A. Click, 46, of Ashland, (left) is embraced by an un identified member of the trial audience in Circuit Court Judge Edward C. Kelly's courtroom. Looking on are Otto J. Jury's Verdict 9s Unanimous Mrs. Maxine A. Click, 46, of Ashland, was declared in nocent of murder by unani mous verdict of a Jackson county circuit court jury Fri day night following 2Vi hours of deliberation. Tears flooded her eyes as the little woman stood up to receive the embraces and blessings of friends and spec tators. The verdict was returned at 6:20 p.m. ' The Jackson county sher iff's office reported Saturday they had received numerous calls from people offering groceries and other aid to the mother and her nine children. Mrs. Click is now staying with Mrs. Mildred Noe, 126 Bush st., Ashland, who has been taking care of six of the Click children since the shoot ing on Jan. 6. An older boy is married and living in Mis souri and two teen-age boys are staying with grandparents in Missouri. Mrs. Click will probably stay with Mrs. Noe until the Jackson county welfare com mission reviews her case and decides what aid can be given her, a friend of the family said. Ashland people have donated money to give Mrs. Click needed dental work. Others have donated furni ture and are looking for a house for the now fatherless family. " In his closing argument Friday afternoon, District At torney Thomas J. Reeder termed the trial "tragic, hard Bids on Rogue Valley A call for bids for construc tion of Rogue Valley Manor will be issued April 6, it was announced lasl! week. The decision to proceed was made at a meeting of the build ing committee of the non profit organization erecting the $5Vi million retirement home. The site, on top of Barneburg hill in southeast Medford, has already been leveled. Plans and specifications, pre pared by Seattle Architect John W. Maloney, AIA, are complete, and were inspected at the committee's meeting Thursday. M. N. Hogan, president of the manor organization, point ed out that trustees decided long ago to have plans com plete to the last detail before construction bids were called. Hogan said: "It is rather difficult for those not closely associated with the planning of a $5V2 million building project such as Rogue Valley Manor to understand why it takes so long to reach the be ginning of construction. How ever a casual examination of just one blueprint, with all its details and specifications spelled out, and one gets some idea where the time goes. There are 91 such prints, sized 2Vz by 5 feet, and in ad dition a book of specifications as large as a New York City telephone directory. "The trustees took the posi tion at the very beginning of this project that they would not spend any member's - ' . ' ' -fx ' , , u -IP? and sad," but asked the jury of five women and seven men to "come to grips with the facts." Defense Criticized He declared that the de fense "tells us that he (Hous ton Click) was killed because he deserved to be killed and if he was not that kind of man, then his killer was in sane." ' ' Referring to the testimony of Dr. James Luce, neurosur geon, who said Mrs. Click had a mental disease, psychomotor epilepsy, Reeder recalled that the physician saw her over two months after she had kill ed her husband. Reeder stated that ' brain damage is not uncommon, adding that Luce's was "the nicest, neatest theory to ex plain a killing that I have ever heard." If she did not know what she was doing and was in an epileptic seizure, he asked, "how could she have picked (to shoot) a husband who abus ed her?" Picture of Stove Reeder showed a picture of the stove, lights from the fire of which allegedly set off the seizure, and declared that there was little chance it would have the frequency of light Dr. Luce had testified was necessary to trigger an attack. . ' After reading from a state ment of Mrs. Click's describ ing the actual shooting, he re peated that Dr. .Luce had a "nicely built theory to ex money for architectural plans unless or until one-half of the Manor apartments were sold. This point was reached last July, at which time Mr. Ma loney was instructed to go ahead ... It is obvious that this cautious approach delay ed the date by about nine months when bids could be MANOR CONSTRUCTION TO START Bids for construction of Rogue Valley Manor will be called April 6. Shown here inspecting the detailed plans by Architect John W. Maloney, Seattle, are, left to right, Walter Higgins, executive director of the manor; the Rt. Rev. James . F. Carman, Portland, bishop of the Epis Frohnmayer, extreme left, and another member of the audience. A circuit court jury unanimously returned a verdict of innocent Friday night. Hi I IBM plain the killing." He repeated what Deputy District Attorney Gerald Scannell said earlier, that references to Click's char acter were not relevant to Mrs. Click's guilt. 'In Lawful Manner' Her problems "could have been dealt with in a lawful manner," Reeder declared. He discounted testimony about Mrs. Click's having been beaten by her husband, since only one witness saw such in dications. "How likely is it that a woman who had been beaten three or four times a - week for 20 years never told any one about it?" he asked. Closing the hour-long argu ment, he said to the jury, "You have got to decide in that room whether in Jackson county a man who- does not measure up ... a man like Houston Click ... deserves to be put to death in his sleep." The seven possible verdicts in the case" were explained by Judge Edward Kelly in his lengthy instructions to the jury. They ".were: guilty of first degree murder or guilty of first degree murder with recommendation of life im prisonment, both requiring a unanimous verdict; guilty of second degree murder, 10 members or more; guilty of manslaughter or involuntary manslaughter, 10 or more; not guilty, not less than 10; and not guilty by reason of insanity, not less than 10. Manor to called. Now, as far as is fore seeable, there appears to be no reason for further delay." Walter Higgins, executive director for the manor, re ported that more than 2,000 inquiries have been received in the last several, weeks, and that they are 'now being re ceived at the rate of more New Clues Lead Search for Hunt To Eugene Area Truck Believed Stolen Is Found Abandoned . Eugene-flfffi-A pickup truck believed stolen by an armed fugitive Friday at nearby Junction City was found abandoned yesterday after noon in front of an apartment building in downtown Eu gene, touching off a search in the city last night. The search for Richard A. Hunt, 26, began Tuesday when the gunman shot and wounded the police chief of the community of Browns ville near here and briefly abducted the police chief of Harrisburg who stopped Hunt for questioning about the car he was driving. Hunt is an ex-Montana state prison in mate wanted in several states by local authorities' and the FBI. Loaded Rifle Found State police said a loaded M-l rifle was found on the seat of the truck. Officers said Hunt had been armed with an M-l but was also be lieved to have at least one revolver and ammunition with him. Earlier yesterday the search for the man centered in the western Oregon counties of Benton and Linn where searchers were aided by three bloodhounds and two helicopters. Two earlier leads proved futile. Bloodhounds were taken to the Van Buren street bridge over the Willamette river at the east end of Corvallis in Benton county after a mem ber of a posse, Dick Eisen brandt, reported seeing a man answering Hunt's des cription in the area. The hounds worked the bridge area and the east section of Corvallis with no success. , Early yesterday afternoon the dogs were taken to a ranch ( near-. Peoria near a ranch "where Hunt had been employed, and authorities said the bloodhounds picked up what appeared to be a "fresh scent" along the river. The dogs led searchers about two and a half miles along the river and then to a county road north of Harrisburg, near Eugene, where the scent ended. More Timber Receipts Anticipated This Year Jackson county will re ceive an estimated $421,784 for the fiscal year 1959-60 from the Rogue National For est timber receipts, Super visor Carroll Brown reported to the county court Friday. 1 Receipts for the previous year were $314,874, he said. This, he said, is due mainly to more timber sold, 177 mil lion board feet during the current calendar year com pared to 107 million board feet during the 1957 calendar year. be Called than 300 each day, as the re sult of information in current issues of two church publica tions. He said that life-occupancy rights in the big apartment type manor will apparently all be sold long before con struction Is completed. copal diocese of Oregon, a member of the board of trustees; Maloney; M. N. Hogan, president of the manor organization; the Rev. George R. V. Bolster, rector of St. Marks Episcopal church, Medford, and George Flanagan, Medford lumber ex executive, other members of the trustees', building committee. (Kenn Knackstedt photo.) REDS OVER HELPING HAND Children swarmed across the Hawthorne park greensward yesterday morning in the quest for some 10,000 candy Easter eggs. Adults, anxious Commission May Reduce Payments To State's Needy Portland-(UPD-The state wel fare commission indicated yes terday it would cut payments for old age assistance, aid to dependent children, the blind and the disabled as well as general assistance in order to stay within available funds. The decision came Friday at the regular meeting of the commission here. The Joint Ways and Means committee of the State Leg islature has approved an ap propriation of $1,200,000 for the remaining three months of the present biennium. The commission has asked for $1,- 900,000. The approved cuts would include at least a 5 per cent reduction beginning May 1 for old age assistance, aid to de pendent children, aid to dis abled and aid to the blind. A series of cutbacks begin ning April 1 was approved by the commission. Senator Criticizes Opposition to Park Portland-(UPD-Sen. Richard L. Neuberger (D-Ore.) said yesterday he planned to go ahead with plans for a na tional park on the Oregon coast respite opposition in the Florence area. Neuberger, home for the Easter recess, said: "It would be tragic if we allowed a few short-sighted commercial in terests to block this oppor tunity to establish a park on our coast that would be a highly valuable tourist attrac tion and of great benefit to all the state." The Oregon lawmaker ad ded: "The opposition is from a highly vocal minority that wants to exploit the area for commercial purposes." There never has been a na tional park established which did not meet with strenuous opposition from local inter ests, Neuberger added. He said he had asked Neal But terfield, director of . the na tional park service in Port land, to go to Florence to ex plain the advantages of the type of park planned. WEATHER FORECAST: Cloudy this morn ing becoming partly sunny this afternoon. Increasing and thick ening cloudiness tonight. Rain-beginning- late tonight. Partial clearing with a few showers Monday afternoon. High today 58. Low tonight 40- High Mon day 55. TEMP. Highest Saturday 57 Lowest Saturday 40 ' PRECIP. To 11 p.m. Saturday .06 Our Skies Tonight Sunset today 6:33 p.m. Sunrise tomorrow 5:59 a.m. The Moon rises 12:31 a.m. tomorrow and rides low. Elnath is the second magnitude star now seen a few degrees to the right of the planet. Mars. Bluish white In color, this star Is about 300 light years from the Earth. mil TilETM R Leaders in Germany Given Secret Orders Washlngton-(DPD-U.S. mili tary commanders in West Germany have been given se cret orders on what to do if Russia or East German com munists try to blockade allied traffic to West Berlin, in formed sources said yester day. The sources. , also said the United States probably would be willing to let East Ger mans control access to West Berlin if it was understood they were doing so as agents of the Russians. This was viewed as an interim solution to the Berlin crisis stemming from Soviet threats to give the East Germans full au thority and control. Any final solution to the situation may have to await a possible summit conference this summer. Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev has. demanded that allied troops get out of the free sector of Berlin, which is encircled by the Reds, by May 27. President Eisenhower has declared the United States "will not yield an inch." The dispute tops the agen da for a big four foreign min isters meeting May 11, in Geneva. The United . States, Britain and France have noti fied Khruschchev they would be willing to attend a summit conference if the foreign min isters reach "constructive" agreements on Berlin and a German peace treaty. U.S. officials appeared to be increasingly optimistic yesterday that no early blockade attempt will be made. This was based large ly on recent public statements by Khrushchev who . has ex pressed a willingness to start negotiations at the foreign minister's level. Khrushchev also said recently that he didn't intend May 27 as a rigid deadline for allied with The White T W to assist the toddlers or perhaps just un able to resist, joined in the search. The hunt was sponsored by the Medford Ki wanis club. drawal from Berlin. West German Foreign Min ister Heinrich Von Brentano, arriving in Washington for allied conferences this week, said the German people fully support President Eisenhow er in his stand in the crisis. However, he said, "there is no other .way but free elec tions" to achieve German unification although he ack nowledged the west might "take psychological measures in order to "reduce interna tional tensions." American officials refused to discuss details of the or ders to military commanders. But they made clear the west ern powers are determined to maintain their access rights gy land as well as air. Vote Slated May 4 For School Budgets The Jackson county school superintendent's office has tentatively scheduled the vote on the rural school budget and non-high school budget for the annual school meeting May 4, according to Alf Mek vold, county school superin tendent. The non-high budget now includes seven existing non high school districts. If con solidation removes any of these districts prior to July 1 the non-high board will ad just the budget downward ac cording to the number -of high school students removed, Mek vold explained. The rural school levy is not affected the same way, he said. It covers the entire county. County school offi cials are assuming each of the districts involved in consoli dation will still get the esti mated share of the equalized county levy. However, Mek vold's office is awaiting legal clarification on this point. Man's Burden Other Dispatches Claim Tribesmen Still Fighting Back Chinese Communists Establish Puppet Rule New Delhi, India-flJPD-Com-munist China said yesterday it has "completely smashed" the freedom revolt in Tibet and has installed a puppet gov ernment under the pro-Communist Panchen Lama. But rebel tribesmen were report ed still fighting on. A communique and state ments by the Peiping govern ment indicated a blood purge was in the making in the re mote Himalayan country seiz ed by the Reds in 1950. The broadcast statements indirect ly confirmed that the Dalai Lama, god-king of the nation, had escaped Communist wrath in the capital of Lhasa and was safe with rebel forces in the countryside. The Reds claimed prisoners in the thousands in crushing this "Hungary in the Hima layas" and vowed that those who persist in fighting "will be punished strictly." They promised leniency to any de serters from the rebel cause. Martial law was imposed in all but the apparently loyal province of Houtsang (Tseng). An "order of the state coun cile" signed by Chinese Pre mier Chou En-Lai in Peiping toppled the old government headed by . the 25-year-old Dalai Lama and replaced it with a new "preparatory com mittee" head by the rival Panchen Lama, 22, who wa chosen as spiritual leader by Chinese Buddhists over Tibet an protests in 1949 and assert ed authority under Red Chin ese control. Fighting Still Dispatches from the inde pendent border state of Sik kim and reports from traders reaching the Indian frontier said fighting still was going on in outlying areas. The rebels, led by tough Khamba tribesmen who have been up in arms for three years, were said to hold as much as a quarter of the 475,000-square mile country. Apparently, the rebels were well - armed. The Chinese boasted that their forces be tween March 19, and March 23 had taken 4,000 prisoners in Lhasa as well . as "8,000 small arms of different kinds, 81 light and heavy machine guns, 27 81-millimeter caliber mortars, 6 mountain guns and 10 million bullets." The communique broadcast by the new China news agency specified that the re volt was "completely smash- . ed" in Lhasa, apparently with heavy casualties since it was there that the 4,000 Tibetans allegedly surrendered. Reds Claim Control The Reds claimed control of numerous cities west of, Lhasa. They specified tha -they held Gyantse, a trading center which the rebels were said to have seized after the heavy fighting in Lhasa last week. The Communists charged that the "Chiang Kai-shek clique" air-dropped arms to the rebels and that the free dom fighters had set up a "'commanding center" in the Indian border town of Kalim pong. The rebels, in a handbill carried over the border to India, boasted that in their hit-and-run attacks on the Chinese last August and Sep tember they killed 2,350 Reds including "two lady officers." Thorpe Is Reported Doing 'Quite Well' Medford Public Works Di rector Vernon Thorpe was re ported doing "quite well" at Sacred Heart hospital last night, but one hospital attend ant said he would remain there "for at least a week." His physician said a definite report on his ailment could be expected tomorrow. Thorpe was taken to the hospital by ambulance Friday morning, and has been under observa tion" since that time. He was placed in an oxygen tent at the hospital, attendants reported.
