12
MAIL TRIBUNE, MedforJ, Or.
Business Started
In Chicken Coop
Nets Two Million
By H. D. QUIGG
United Press International
New York-(UPB-Some men
start their own business on
a shoestring. Some start with
an oak-paneled office and
pretty secretary.
- Some don't start at all if
the going looks tough. But
two decades ago George A.
Starbird had such an ache to
be his own boss that-broke
but brave-he started in an
abandoned chicken coop. He
proceeded to run the coop into
a two-million-dollar business.
"I figure my big break
came back there in 1938 when
I decided to be my own boss,"
he said. "I was working in
Los Angeles for $35 a week,
my wife was expecting a
child, and we were living in
a little house in the backyard
of another house.
"One day I found myself
thinking, 'You're going to
start your own business.
You're broke now-things can't
get any worse.'
"There was a little chicken
coop, in the yard, an 8-by-10-foot
shack, and I cleaned it
out and moved in a drill press
that I had and a lathe that
I borrowed $600 to buy. I
started making radio parts."
The firm that grew out of
the coop is the Metetron Corp.
of Hollywood. Starbird, 54, is
its president. It is the only
company in the United States
that makes a specialty of
pressure actuated switches,
gadgets that act as a safety
device on such diverse things
as atomic submarines, escala
tors, airplanes, missiles, oil
pipelines, and surgical irriga
tion machines.
' Starbird thought up the
name Meletron himself when
he found people didn't seem
to remember the firm name
We Give d&l
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at the
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on the Accordion
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Saturday Dining and Dancing
MUSIC BY THE TUNESTERS
Sunday: Stewed Chicken & Dumplings,
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Open Daily 2 P.M. Closed Thurs.
Before the turn of the century, buried treasure was discovered at
the little town of Tumwater in Washington State. The treasure
was water! A most unusual water. A water so fresh and pure that it
was naturally perfect for brewing just as it flowed from the earth.
It was here that the Olympia Brewing Company was founded. And
today, over sixty years later, the water continues to flow in
unlimited quantity from deep artesian wells with the precise character
for perfect brewing. Rarely, in all the world, has such a water
been discovered.
blends
the
Wc4nM4jy, July 29, 1959
he originally had chosen, Electro-Mechanical
Products. He
picked some syllables out of
the old name and shaped them
into the new.
A pressure actuated switch,
probably the most common
mechanical safety device in
use, is sensitive to any liquid
or gas pressure change. It can
be set, for instance, to keep
rocket fuels at the right pres
sure, airplane cabins properly
pressurized, or to make a para
chute pop out of a falling
body automatically at a spe
cified altitude.
Starbird's pressure switch
business is worldwide. He was
interviewed here while on an
Eastern business swing.
A big, affable man with an
easy-going but dedicated per
sonality, Starbird foresees that
through electro - mechanical
science most physical labor
in tthe future will be changed
from production to servicing
the machines, repairing and
maintaining them.
"When I go into a restau
rant and order scrambled
eggs," he said, "I can't help
thinking that someday there
will be a machine back there,
rather than a chef, doing the
scrambling."
Attorney Unopposed
In Board Election
G. W. Kellington, Medford,
is lone candidate from the
fourth congressional district
in the election of four candi
dates to the Oregon State Bar
board of governors.
Oregon's attorneys and judg
es have received ballots by
mail and deadline for return
ing the votes to John Hollo
way, bar secretary, Portland,
is 5 p.m., Aug. 17. Ballots
mailed numbered 2,240. ,
Only in the third congres
sional district is there a con
test with both William M.
Dale Jr. and Paul A. Sayre,
both Portland attorneys, in
the race.
a
Enjoy Our
Lounge
FRIDAY
Try Our
TROUT DINNER
The buried treasure of Tumwater
It is this extraordinary brewing water that
in and brings out the more delicate flavors
of choice hops and grains . . . creating a
. . refreshingly different beer of unchanging
. excellence and rare good taste.
one priceless
Four Babies Still
Critical; Formula
Made of Poison
San Antonio, Tex.-flJPD-Two
infants are dead and four re
mained in' critical condition
today from poison sodium ni
trite mistakenly put in the
babies', formulas at the nur
sery of Robert B. Green hos
pital "
Hospital Administrator
William Foster blamed a
shortage of professional work
ers for the tragic error, in
which the poison tablets ap
parently were substituted for
vitamin C tablets which they
closely resemble.
The poison was mixed into
infant formulas on Friday.
Two baby , boys, sons of Mrs.
Alzada Havard and Mrs. Con
cha Ramos, died Saturday.
Funeral services were held
for them Tuesday.'
The four other babies were
saved - when nurses noticed
they were turning blue and
quickly summdned doctors to
pump their stomachs.
Progressing Satisfactorily .
The surviving infants were
said to be still in critical con
dition "but progessing satis
factorily." They are twin girls born to
Mrs. Jose Riojas, a son born
to Mrs. Fred Campbell and a
daughter of Mrs. Raul Marti
nez. Foster said he had been un
able to determine who had
made the fatal substitution of
poison for the called-for vita
min. He said he had ques
tioned workers in both the
hospital pharmacy and the
nursing department and that
"someone is lying."
"I don't know who, but dis
covery of the person respon
sible - won't solve the prob
lem," Foster said.
"We just have too many de
partments and two few pro
fessional workers."
Foster said the hospital has
at present only one registered
pharmacist to dispense $180,
000 worth of drugs a year. He
said that two years ago the
hospital had two pharmacists
to handle only $10,000 worth
of medication annually. "
Naval Air Corps
Program Needs Men
Qualified men are needed in
the Naval Air corps, accord
ing to the local recruiting sta
tion. Candidates for the Naval
Air school, Pensacola, Fla.,
must be between the ages of
18 and 25, unmarried . and
must have successfully com
pleted 60 semester or 90 quar
ter hours of work at an ac
credited college or university.
They must also meet certain
physical, mental and moral
standards. .
. College and university stu
dents must make application
three months prior to comple
tion of educational require
ments. For more information
contact the Navy recruiting of
fice in the post office building.
;l
The U. S. postal system han
dles more pieces of mail a
year than the rest of the
world combined.
ingredient . .
UC BARS BLIND GIRL'S DOG Sharon England, 19, of
Los Angeles, completely blind for the last 10 years,'
kneels beside her guide dogr Sirius, as she tells newsmen
in San Francisco she has been refused a room in a. Uni
versity of California residence. University officials insist
the dog is a pet and that if Sharon were permitted to
keep the dog with her in a dormitory, the university
would have to permit others to keep their pets with them.
9 i
The 'Mysterious' Night-Hawks
Are Beneficial Birds
It was early evening. Trees
and bushes were rapidly los
ing their shape as the light
failed. The summer night was
soft and warm. The sky be
came freckled with stars.
They winked on, one by one.
The air was peopled with
countless black dots that hur
tled back and forth; night-flying
insects, busy at whatever
it is insects seem to be so
busy doing. The, noise of their
combined movements swelled
in volume.
. There were other creatures
a-wing too. Across the sky
bird-forms passed on silent
wings, each bird in pursuit of
a night-flying insect. The
birds were night-hawks, ap
pearing for a second before
disappearing in the outer
darkness. With a swoop and
a swerve they came and went,
from every direction and at
various levels, each searching
for flying insects.
Apparitions'
"Will - of - the - wisps" these
birds have been called, rapid
moving forms in the semi
darkness seeming to have no
substance or solidarity-more
like an apparition or a mirage,
more like a "spirit" than a
real creature of flesh and
blood, Suddenly they come,
out of the darkness, then as
suddenly disappear. A watch-J
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1 '"'"""-"", PURE GLACIAL WATER j
H Y DEERt '
. "Its the Water
Small Worlds
Around Us
By Lynn tA. Watkins
er wonders if he really is see
ing a bird or a shadow. This
rapid, silent flight probably
suggested the name "will-of-the-wisp."
It might be easy to under
stand why superstitions were
built up around this bird. Oth
er folks, less superstitious but
no better informed, called the
night-hawk a "bull-bat" be
cause they fly mainly at night
and folks thought only bats
would be abroad in the dark
ness. The bird does spend the
daylight hours sitting on a for
est tree in some secluded spot.
The night-hawk builds no nest
but lays her eggs on the open
ground or even on a bare rock
or neglected sidewalk. Some
of the birds that live near
large cities often lay the eggs
and hatch the young on the
flat, gravel roofs of tall build
ings. Sharp Squawks
Often, while in full flight,
the night-hawk utters sharp
squawks, as if in fright. At
some seasons of the year the
bird emits a loud booming
sound, not unlike the roll of a
distant drum, at the same
time swooping toward the
ground in a wide spiral from
a great height.
The booming noise sounds
mysterious and unreal in the
darkness and lends an atmos
phere of mystery to this
Visitors are always welcome to "One of America's Exceptional Breweries"
Olympia Brewing Company, Olympia.Washinglon, U.S.A.,
very day between the hours ol 8:00 and 4:30. 'Oly e-
Unions, Maritime
Association Reach
New Agreement
San FranciscoOPD-The In
ternational Longshor emen's
and Warehousemen's union
reached agreement with the
Pacific Maritime association,
Tuesday on a new three-year
contract.
The agreement, still subject
to ratification by both organ
izations, will provide wage in
creases for about 17,000 work
ers. Men working On a six
hour straight time basis will
receive an 11 cents per hour
wage .boost, while those on an
eight-hour day will receive
12 Vi cents.
The new contract, which
will run until June 15, 1962,
also provides for the first time
a $1,500,000 mechanization
fund to distribute the profits
of increased mechanization to
the dock workers.
Provide Compensation
The fund will provide com
pensation to men who fail to
earn a specified annual in
come. How it will be distribut
ed has not been decided.
A joint release said: "The
fund will be contributed by
the employers during the first
year of the contract as pay
ment of the men's cash share
of increased productivity up
to Junel 5, 1960. The fund
applies to fully registered
men."
Under the contract, clerks
will receive an additional one
and one-half cents an hour
during each of the three years
to reach parity with long
shoremen. Chief supervisors
and supercargo clerks will re
ceive an additional four cents
an hour to reach parity with
walking bosses.
Increases Retroactive
All wage increases will be
retroactive to June 15, 1959,
expiration date of the old
agreement. Retroactivity will
end Aug. 10, by which time
the union has agreed to com
plete a referendum ballot on
ratification of the contract.
The fund agreement declar
ed further that its purpose is
"to guarantee the fully regis
tered work force a share in
the profits gained by labor
saving machinery, changed
methods of operation, or
changes in working rules and
contract restrictions resulting
in reduced manpower with
the same or greater productiv
ity for and operation."
In recent years, a principal
goal of the ILWU has been to
prevent the displacement of
workers by machines and la
bor-saving devices.
strange bird. The underside of
each wing has a white spot or
band. Visible from the
ground, it looks, to an observ
er, as though there were
hole in the wing.
As the night-hawk feeds al
most exclusively on insects it
is one of our beneficial birds,
even though it is also one of
the least understood, due
probably to its habit of always
flying at night when supersti
tious folks think that mystery
lurks in the warm darkness.
(Released by The Register and
Tribune Syndicate, 1959) .
Electronic Automation Is
Available to Companies
Of All Sizes,
Small businesses as well as
large corporations now can
take, advantage of advances
in electronic automation,
James Powell of Multnomah
Data Processing Center . said
here Monday, i : r
Lack of information about
these advances is generally
responsible, Powell said, for
failures to take such advan
tage. Powell told a Jackson Coun
ty Chamber of Commerce
roundtable audience that
many smaller cities and coun
ties are falling "way behind"
in use of electronic devices
to speed processing of paper
work. He explained that automa
tion, or the use-of electronic
computing machines and oth
er mechanisms to compile and
analyze records, is proving
popular and economical. .
Powell warned, however,
that companies and agencies
should enter the field cauti
ously and gradually. He stated
that automation should not be
introduced into one office just
to keep up with the Jones
company up the street.
Other Positions Available
Thanks to the rapid expan
sion of the nation's economy,
he said, those whose jobs are
taken over by electronic de
vices are generally finding
other positions in the same
growing company. - .
He reported that at least
one spokesman in the elec
tronics field believes that
within the next decade huge
computers will be available
to individual communities for
the use of local businesses in
data processing. These com
puters; Powell said, would be
considered as a public utility
service - comparable to the
telephone and power com
panies of today.
Powell explained that re
cently invented office appli
ances can be attached to type
writers and bookkeeping ma
chines to permit simultaneous
production of the standard re
ports and special punched
paper tapes or punch cards.
These tapes or cards, he said,
can be dispatched to data
processing centers where the
records can be compiled and
analyzed.
Attached to Register
Such tape-producing appli
ances can also be attached to
cash registers, Powell said.
He reported that department
stores in other parts of the
country are finding this a
valuable aid in quick tabula
tion of sales.
. Some companies, he noted,
are loathe to invest in devices
now on the market since they
fear these will become obso
lete! Actually, he said, use
of what is currently avail
able provides an important
intermediate step in prepara
Men's and
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OFF BRAND CHILDREN'S n f r
CANVAS AND 1 (Q) j
BAREFOOT SANDALS S 11
Regular to 3.99 U O U
Speaker Says
tion for using devices per
fected later. . . ..
Businessmen interested in
applying automation devices
in their offices should first
go to school and learn as much
as possible about these. mod
ern processes, Powell recom
mended. Next,' he said, they should
visit users elsewhere to see
how they are getting' along.
They should also check with
business consultants and with
representatives of companies
that manufacture the devices,
and then secure wo or three
written proposals from manu
facturers, he added.
Automation in Government
Automation for government,
Powell said, is useful in such
areas as road design, police
department records, voter reg
istration, payrolls, tax rolls
and various analyses and sur
veys. He said he thought it
could also be used in prepar
ing assessment rolls.
Powell described one mech
anism that can tell road en
geneers where to build road
ways. Automation can "definitely
effect economies" for govern
mental agencies, Powell said.
He sta.ed that while he
thought the federal govern
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ALL ABOVE SHOES ARE FAMOUS
U.S. KEDS FROM OUR SUMMER STOCK
ment and state agencies are
generally taking advantage of
automation, many small coun
ties and small cities are "defi
nitely not."
"Very few are going into
this type of thing," he said
of these smaller units of gov
ernment. "In my estimation
they are way behind."
Not Economical
A Medford city official
later stated that extensive au
tomation was not yet consid
ered for individual cities the
size of Medford. Among ma
chines currently in use at city
hall are an automatic book
keeping machine, and several
small calculators used by city
engineers.
This official stated that sev
eral cities-such as Medford,
Ashland, Grants Pass and
Klamath Falls-might embark
on acquiring automation
equipment as a joint venture.
But, he added, such intergov
ernmental cooperation is rare.
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