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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (May 26, 1959)
I 54th Year' Medford 2nd SECTION Is Maff5a B7 United Press International Is the Mafia at last to be brought to justice? Is its own code of silence to the death, "omerta," to be the means of crushing the sinister brotherhood of Sicil-J ian origin? There is no longer any doubt that the Mafia exists. It has had its stealthy hand on organized crime in the United States since the days before Al Capone. When pro hibition's lush profits were cut off, it moved into the nar cotics traffic, prostitution, gambling - and now labor racketeering. The law has been poking at the edges of this shadowy blood fraternity for years. Dewey Getting Warm Then Prosecutor Thomas E. Dewey was getting warm when he busted the multi-million dollar prostitution and white slavery racket and sent Charles (Lucky) Luciano to jail. The shocking exposure of Murder, Inc., would have been even more shocking had it been revealed the hired killers were the enforcement arm created by three. "Dons" of the Mafia. Sen. Estes Kefauver had one of the Mafia kingpins, Frank Costello, on the spot before a national television audience in 1950 and Sen. John McClellan brought more of the brothers before his committee last year. But the federal govern t ment made the grand haul last week when it indicted 63 ' men as conspirators or co-con-' spirators to obstruct justice. In keeping with "omerta," they had lied or refused to tell about their famous meet ing on Nov. 14, 1957, at the Apalachin, N.Y., home of Jo seph Barbara. Italian Names It was no coincidence that every single one of the 63 who gathered at Barbara's home bore names of Italian descent. James W. Basker, C.P.A., and Edward T. O'Connor, C.P.A., partners in B. K. Herndon & Co., announce the purchase of Mr. Hern don's interest in the Grants Pass office of the firm. The practice will continue with Mr. Herndon"' as an associate under the name of BASKER, o'connon 6 CO. Certified Public Accountants 404 Wing Building, Grants Pass, Ore. Yv lilt I H you are tee busy working in your garden er chasing after the fish to dree by our store to discuss your air condition ing problems, drop us a card or call SP 3-6241 for your free copy of "How To Choose the Air Conditioner That's Right for You!" To Be brought To Nor that most of them had long criminal records. For this was another of the grand meetings of the Mafia. But this time they made what was for this secret so ciety the astounding mistake of congregating in a tiny com munity instead of melting into some metropolis like New York, Chicago, Miami or Los Angeles as they had in the past. Nor was it an accident that agents of the Federal Narcot ics Bureau were assigned to round them up. Head of the narcotics bu reau is Harry J. Anslinger. He is one of the nation's few top law enforcement officials who for years had never displayed the slightest doubt about the Mafia's existence. He has been tracking it since 1930. The Mafia has been laughed off as the stuff sensational ized crime fiction is made of, complete with trappings of the "Black Hand." Officials have been reluctant to single it rout lest it stigmatize millions of decent Italo-Americans. Exposure May Destroy But now the Mafia is out in the open and the very light of exposure may be a means of destroying it. It will not be easy for the Mafia preys on man's human weakness - drug addiction, prostitution,, coun terfeiting, bootlegging, organ ized gambling, loan sharking and extortion. Frederic Sondern Jr.; in his book, "Brotherhood of Evil: The Mafia," has bared the 'whole story of the society and named its leaders after long research and conversations with American and European police. There is the list of the grand "Dons" - Lucky Luci ano, Vito Genovese, Frank Costello, Joe Adonis, John Ormento, Joseph Profaci, Jo seph Maggilioco and, before their murders, Albert Anas tasia, Frank Scalise and Eu genio Giannini. t-s- -rrmr , nii i ' MEDFORD, OREGON, TUESDAY, The Mafia goes back more than 200 years to the island of Sicily off Italy's coast. Sicily was occupied by the French and, in a death struggle against the foreign oppres sors, the Sicilians founded a blood society that fought with terror and secrecy. When the French left, the Mafia found it had the means of extortion and profitable crime among its own people. Members Migrated With the mass migration of Italians and other Europeans to the new world at the turn of the century came members of the Mafia. Among the be wildered and ignorant immi grants, they soon were oper ating as they had in Sicily. Benito Mussolini sent another wave to America in 1935 when he made a violent at tempt to wipe out the Mafia. Its members have remained of Sicilian heritage, inter married and suspicious of out siders. They can be warm, hospitable hosts to their friends, usually unostenta tious and, on the surface, good family men with a plen titude of children. They are bound to a loyalty to the Ma fia above all else. Sondern writes: "To understand the Mafia, one must realize that this Khrushchev Offers Hand of Friendship To Russian Writers Moscow-(UPD-Premier Nikita Khrushchev has offered an olive branch to Soviet authors who have been criticized in the past for unorthodox writ ing. The Soviet Premier did not mention the name of Boris Pasternak, who has been in disgrace since his novel "Dr. Zhivago" won the Nobel prize last year, during his concilia tory and significant speech to the Soviet writers congress. (However, observers in Lon don speculated that Pasternak might also be "rehabilitated." Pasternak was drummed out of the Soviet writers union and invited to leave the coun try as a result of the storm arising over' his novel.) Writers 'Rehabilitated' Khrushchev attended, the opening session of the con gress Monday .when three former leading Soviet writers were "rehabilitated." They in cluded Novelist Ilya Ehren bourg, Novelist Konstantin Simonov and Poetess Margar ita Alliger. (Khrushchev himself had denounced Miss Alliger two years ago for deviating from vmmmmm tea. NO MSTAUATKM COST! DO IT YOURSELF M MMttTES! R0 TOOLS NEEDED! Slip frsmo ka window it adjusts hke a windowscreen. SfkSo MobHosro Into frMt it glides m. locks in place. Pine: in any adequatelywirod 7Vi amp. 115-volt cireait. Tribune MAY 26, 1959 Just See? unique society of lawbreak ers is not a rigid, monolithic organization. There is no pres ident, no formal roster; there is no initiation or oath. They are unnecessary. A Mafioso selects one or more of his sons, or perhaps a favorite nephew, trains and guides him in the traditional philoso phy and methods, introduces him to the right people and another Mafioso is gradually created." Their women, as well as the men, adhere to the code of "omerta." Deals With Others The Mafia limits its fratern ity to the blood brothers-but it deals with and through others. Meyer Lansky, " the New York gambler, was picked to exploit the jwide open gambling in Cuba before the Batista regime fell. Jimmy Hoffa of the Team sters Pnion found it necessary to deal with Johnny Dio in his organizational drive in New York, ..Louis (Lepke) Buchalter was an ally as dic tator of the garment center rackets. Abe (Kid Twist) Reles was picked as head of Mur der, Inc. But when the Mafia met at Apalachin, only the brothers were there. , . the party line on literature. Ehrenbourg fell from grace for his post-Stalin novel "The Thaw" which allegedly spark ed revival of free literary criti cism. Simonov "retired" after the magazine he edited pub lished sections of the novel "Not By Bread Alone".) Khrushchev took up the case of Vladimir Dudintev, whose novel "Not By Bread Alone" has been published in, the West and denounced in the Soviet Tnion, where it has also been printed. "I read this book and I must say that there " are certain pages which deserve atten tion," the Soviet Premier said. "(First Deputy Premier Anas tas) Mikoyan, who read this book, told me to read it." Generalised Too Much Khrushchev said Mikoyan told him that there were cer tain passages in the book which the author literally took from Khrushchev. "Yes," he said, "Dudintev has skillfully noted certain negative phenomena, but he exaggerated them and gen eralized too much. But I have already said and I still think rvntav 0 ,1 TOKSEQJF CISlAasnunOEE3ir3JTESK0T00LSlffl0! 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Report io Congress Pearl said the study would be completed in compliance with a resolution passed May 19 by the Senate Interior and Insular Affairs committee. Conclusions will be reported to Congress not later than July 15 of this year. The Senate resolution, Pearl said, calls for the study to" be made in consultation with governors of California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana. Also represent ed will be the Federal Power Commission. Northwest Pow er Pool designees and organi zation of public and private utilities in California. Pearl was optimistic about the northwest's power out look. Commencement Set Tonight in Phoenix Phoenix. Commencement exercises at Phoenix High school will be held tonight at 8 o'clock at the gymnasium. Dr. G. Burton Wood, profes sor of agriculture economics of Oregon State college, will be principal speaker. Sunday baccalaureate serv ice was held for the 35 high school graduates. It was held at the First Presbyterian church. that Dudintev was never an enemy, was never opposed to the Soviet system." v He added that he would like to meet Dudintev except that whenever he was ready to receive him he had to talk to some ambassador or other. "Not By Bread Alone" was published in Russia three years ago. It is critical of Sov iet bureaucracy and dealt with the frustrating experi ence of an inventor in trying to get his invention accepted. The official criticism was that the characters were "all negative." The Family Council Editor's note: The Family Council tonsists ot a Judge, a psychiatrist, three clergymen, a newspaper editor a women's editor and two writers. Each article is a summary jf an actual report. The Family Council does not give advice; it merely report; on problems that have been dealt with by responsible agenctet a counselors. Pearl S. - I love to play bridge - and he won't learn. Harold S. - Cardplaying is an obsession. Pearl S. - My husband and I have been married a year and are quite happy except for one problem. It may sound silly, but it has been causing a lot of trouble. It is simply that I love to play bridge and Harold re fuses to learn. Bridge is my one great relaxation. I would rather spend an evening over the card table than any other recreational activity. I begged Harold to learn, but he thinks it's a waste of time and says he was never good at card games anyway. I gave -up the game for a while, but now some of my New York (DPD Debbie Reynolds did the town Sun day night with Texas oilman Bob Neal but dodged questions about any plans for marriage. The nation's movie theaters in March, 1958, scored the first monthly year-to-year at tendance increase since June, 1957, rising 2.7 per cent above the like month of 1957 FACING mob violence in Graham, N. C, Jesse Graves, accused of assaulting white woman, is taken to Raleigh jail by authorities. 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Harold S. -1 told Pearl that I wouldn't mind if she played cards with a group of women, but she says she doesn't en joy that as much. To me this means only one thing that she enjoys the company of this particular man. She has admitted that they were seri ous at one time. It annoys me the way this man or Pearl's married friends call and ask for her as though she were a single woman. They never think of inviting me just to sort of hang around. I am left alone all evening. To me cardplaying is just an obsession and people should try to cure themselves of it. There are much better things to enjoy - like reading or listening to music. When I try to get Pearl to do a little of that, she just starts to yawn. But she says she'd like to play cards every night of the week. The Council. Many mar ried couples have widely dif ferent interests, yet this never becomes a cause of dissension between them, s, Pearl and Harold seem to use their interests to hurt one another and drive a wedge in their relationship. They make a point of insulting one an other by expressing disdain for the other's interests. Pearl- knows that Harold will be left out of her card playing evenings, yet she ex presses the desire to play every night of the week. Har old is completely unreason able when he complains of be ing left alone, yet refuses to make an effort to find some interest in Pearl's activities. He makes the assumption that his highbrow interests are far better, but we believe that if he enjoyed them with real en thusiasm he would be less re sentful of his wife's interests. Harold's jealousy of the other man appears to be part ci M of this whole picture. He feels somewhat cast off and neg lected by Pearl and the rea sons for this undoubtedly go deeper than her cardplaying. Pearl's rather overint'ense in terest in cardplaying suggests that she feels she is missing something that would give her life a little more meaning and excitement. The answer here cannot be concerned with playing or not playing cards. Pearl and Har old must seek and find a warmer, more meaningful life together and the card prob lem will disappear - whether or not Pearl continues with the game. Is cardplaying an obses sion? Only when it consist Always -J j . a hit! Jv OCentucJui STRAIGHT BOURBON Hill C m CO., lOOISYlUE, It, BISTMBUTEB BT: RMIOMU BISTMRS rUBBCtt COMPANY, KEITICKY STMIGHT BQBRBOI WHISKET 86 PROOF (MM Ittskte sad out the quality of the new D the sensible price tag. Choice of engines. ently takes the place of real social and emotional relation ships. ' (Copyright 1959, General Features Corp.) Electrical Wiring & Repair Industrial Commercial Residential , Call Jack Henbest ROGUE ELEC. SERVICE SP 2-6603 961 Shafer Lane Chimneys & Furnaces Cleaned Oil Burner Service-Ph. 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