Wiretapping Left in Confused
Legal Status by Court Verdicts
Washington - (UPD - Eaves
dropping on private telephone
conversations by tapping
wires is a technique that law
enforcement officers find ex
tremely useful.
But is it legal? The way
things stand now, it is all
right under some circum
stances and all wrong under
others. A series of court de
cisions and legislative enact
ments have left wiretapping
in a weird and confused legal
status.
The legal confusion started
more than 30 years ago with
the conspiracy conviction of
a Seattle, Wash.,' bootlegger
named Roy Olmstead.
At his trial, the government
introduced evidence obtained
by tapping Olmstead's office
telephone. His lawyer argued
that this invasion of Olm
stead's privacy violated the
Fourth Amendment to the
Constitution, which protects
Americans against "unreason
able searches and seizures."
Right Guaranteed
The amendment guarantees
"the right of the people to be
secure in their persons, hous
es, papers, and effects."
. The Supreme Court in 1923
upheld Olmstead's conviction
by a 5-4 vote. The majority
said the Fourth Amendment
refers to material things not
to "evidence secured by the
sense of hearing."
In cases similar to Olm
stead's which have reached
the high court in recent years,
some justices have disputed
the 1928 ruling. Among them
were Felix Frankfurter and
William O. Douglas, who are
still on the bench.
Edward Bennett Williams,
the famous defense lawyer,
now is giving the issue an
other whirl. He is waiting for
a decision by the U.S. Court
of Appeals here in a big
gambling case marked by gov
ernment eavesdropping. The
ruling can then be appealed
to the Supreme Court.
A decision that wiretapping
or eavesdropping is unconsti
tutional would relieve the
confusion engendered by Con
gressional passage in 1934 of
the Federal Communications
Act. That law makes it a
crime for anyone to tap tele
phone lines and divulge what
is heard.
Ruled Not Admissible
In 193t, the Supreme Court
ruled that the act applies to
Federal agents and that wire
tap evidence is not admissible
in Federal courts. It reversed
the convictions of some alco
hol smugglers headed by
Frank C. Nardone, against
whom wiretap evidence had
been used.
Later, the court expanded
this concept to cover evidence
drawn indirectly from wire
tapping as well as transcripts
of intrastate messages.
Next came questions about
state court practices. The Su
preme Court ruled 8-1 in 1952
that wiretap evidence may be
admitted in state courts de
spite its exclusion in Federal
courts.
Meanwhile, some states
passed laws permitting wire
tapping by law enforcement
officials. New York state
amended its constitution to
permit wiretapping by state
and local officers.
In its last important ruling
on the subject, the Supreme
court in 1957 held 9-0 that
wiretap evidence obtained by
state officers may not be used
in Federal criminal trials.
The ruling also made clear
that local police are open to
prosecution under the Federal
Communications act if they
divulge what they hear over
a tapped wire.
Prosecution Not Tried
The Justice department,
however, has never attempt
ed to prosecute state officers
who testify in state courts
about wiretap evidence. The
FBI, the department's own
In the Day's News
By FRANK JENKINS
This is a strange world, and
the news is produces every
day is a strange mixture.
There is the case, for in
stance, of little Vicki Pilgrim
and her algae cookies.
VICKI'S father is the head
T of the BIOCHEMISTRY
unit of the Boeing Airplane
Company, in Seattle. What's
biochemistry? Webster tells
us it is "the chemistry of
plant and animal like."
That prompts another ques
tion: Why is Boeing, whose chief
business is building airplanes
(the bigger the better), and
missiles, interested in bio
chemistry to the extent of
m a i n t aining a biochemical
unit headed by a distingushed
biochemist?
Eagle Point Girl
Is Stale 4-H Winner
Two Oregon 4-H members
are winners of state honors
in the citizenship program, it
has been announced.
Patsy Charley, Eagle Point,
and David Schaad, La Grange,
each received a certificate of
honor awarded by the Cooper
ative Extension Service, Chi
cago, in memory of Thomas
E. Wilson.
Miss Charley is an office
holder and junior leader of
local 4-H clubs. A senior at
Crater High school, her award
was based on her team work
and assistance in Jackson
county projects as well as at
the state fair.
Schaad is a student at Ore
gon State college and has been
active in 4-H work for 10
years.
TT'S A LONG story.
We'll merely brief it
here.
Boeing, is interested in mis
siles. Missiles (in addition to
carrying warheads that can
blow our enemies, if they get
too brash, into Kingdom
Come) are the vehicles by
means of which space travel
ers hope eventually to reach
the unknown worlds that spin
in outer space..
This is the point:
If mundane travelers (mun
dane meaning of or pertain
ing to THIS world) are to
reach these other worlds that
spin in outer space, THEY
MUST HAVE SOMETHING
MUNDANE TO EAT ON THE
WAY THERE AND BACK.
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Medford
See our ad in classified
rFHAT'S WHERE Dr. Pil
grim and his Boeing bio
chemical unit come in. He
thinks that maybe ALGAE
may be IT. Algae is not only
a possible source of food for
mundane beings. It is also a
possible source of OXYGEN,
which mundane creatures
must also have if they are to
go on living.
So he has been fooling
around with it in his biochem
ical laboratory (we lowbrows
call it fooling around: the sci
entists call it researching.) Dr.
Pilgrim's research has made
one thing plain to him. Algae
has a drawback. Its drawback
is that is looks like scum and
tastes like hay. If space trav
elers are to take to it willing
ly, it must be improved.
As nearly as one can gather
from the souped-up story
when a Seattle feature writ
er got through with it, Dr. Pil
grim blanched some of the
green stuff under flourescent
lights, and it came out looking
somewhat like ordinary white
flour.
THHAT'S WHERE Vicki;
comes in. I
She baked some of the I
green stuff and some of the
white stuff into cookies. The
green ones came out of the
oven still looking like scum
and tasting like hay, but the
white stuff came out LOOK
ING LIKE COOKIES AND
TASTING LIKE COOKIES.
So-
You see
A long step forward in the
conquest of outer space may
have been taken-and all be
cause of a little girl who liked
to put on her apron and fool
around in the kitchen. The
next time YOUR little girl
wants .to fool around in the
kitchen, don't discourage her.
You never can tell what may
come of it.
TN CONCLUSION a thought:
A Here in our State of Jef
ferson, this algae business in
terests us. In Upper Klamath
Lake and the lakes down in
California's Lake county we
have enough of it. it some
times seems to us, to feed all
the space travelers that may
ever take off into ;the far
reaches of outer space. "
investigative arm, does a good
bit of wiretapping itself. It
acts on specific, written au
thority of the U.S. Attorney
General. A department
spokesman said the practice
has been in effect since World
War II with the approval .of
the President, it is used only
in kidnaping and national se
curity cases such as espion
age. Presumably, the material
could legally be used for secu
rity purposes but not as evi
dence. Former Attorney General
Herbert Brownell asked Con
gress in 1952 to authorize in
troduction of wiretap evi
dence in Federal courts. But
the legislation was never
passed. Attorney General Wil
liam P. Rogers has not re
peated the request.
The Senate Constitutional
Rights subcommittee recently
held public hearings on the
wiretap controversy. It heard
sharply conflicting views.
Paul W. Williams, former
U.S. attorney for southern
New York, said the FBI, nar
cotics agents and other Feder
al law enforcement officials
are "fighting with one hand
tied behind their back" be
cause they cannot use wire
tap evidence in the Federal
courts. He urged passage of a
law similar to what Brownell
recommended.
But Harris B. Steinperg,
former New York state prose
cutor, told the committee that
electronic eavesdropping is "a
dirty business" and the gov
ernment should not allow
representatives of the law to
stoop to it.
Executives Among
Newcomers Here
More than 15,000 persons
who are newcomers to Med
ford were contacted last year
by the Newcomers Service, ac
cording to Mrs. Olive K. Lory,
owner and operator of the
Medford business.
Of these persons nearly
3,000 employed families who
are now permanent residents
were reviewed.
Mrs. Lowry reported that
of the permanent families
contacted 24.4 per cent had
executives or professional per
sons as head of . the family;
10.3 per cent operated their
own business, and 35.6 per
cent were skilled workers.
There was a noted increase
in retired families in which
the head of the household was
under 60 years of age. The re
tired group totaled 6 per cent,
it was stated.
Of the new families con
tacted 21.4 per cent bought
homes immediately; 17.6 per
cent expressed plans to buy;
and 4 per cent said that they
planned to build and were
looking for suitable sites.
These families had 474 pre
school children and 550 chil
dren from 6 to 18 years of age.
Making personal contacts
for the Newcomers Service
are Mrs. Douglas Roach, as
sisted by Mrs. Ronald Hall.
London - (TJPD - Soviet scien
tists have discovered a new
drug which "completely cures
the paralysis caused by po
lio," Radio Moscow said Sun
day. The broadcast said the
drug, known as Karantonin,
was processed from a peren
nial herb found growing in
central Asia.
Private Investigator Relates Beatnik Life
Try and Stop Me
-By BENNETT CERF-
O EORGE HOUDESHEL, o York, Pa, turning 78 but spry
as any rock V roller, has been eavesdropping on. some
very old conversations, to hear him tell it:
1. The cowboy who en
tered a record shop and
announced, "I want to
get a long little doggie."
He was told, "You're in
the wrong store, son: go
to that pet shop over
there and ask for a dach
shund." 2. The meeting be
tween Mr. Stone and Mr.
Wood. Said Wood, "How
are Mrs. Stone and all the
little Pebbles?' An
swered Stone, Tine. And
how are Mrs. Wood and
all the little Splinters?"
Mr. H.'s grandson had a friend who boasted, I.fy gram
paw's 75 years old." "That's nothing at aiy scoffed young
Houdeshel. "My gramp's anoctogeranium.,
Mama, who fcnew her young son very weH, had one fast ftt
etruction for him before he went off to a. classmate's birthday
party: "Now don't you forget. Before you come home, go up to
your classmate's mama and apologize!"
C i960, by Bennett CerC Distributed by 5ng Teatnres SrftdTeata
PHI
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IULUIKUHI
V Qt. 1 I
San Francisco -(UPD- A rri-
vate investigator who gather
ed evidence for a major nar
cotics raid in the North Beach
district here, estimated today
that 75 per cent of the beatnik
inhabitants of the area smoke
marijuana at some time or an
other. Robert A. Estes, 29, a form
er professional baseball play
er, lived as a beatnik with
two state agents to gain evi
dence that resulted in 23 ar
rests in nightlong .raids Fri
day. He told of being forced to
take part in robberies and
witnessing sex orgies while
gathering evidence.
Estes grew a beard, wrote
poetry and sat on the side
walk playing a harmonica
while acting his Bohemian
role. He admitted that his fel
low beatniks did not like his
poetry and found it "too
square."
Smoke Marijuana
"I estimate that 75 per cent
of the beatniks on the Beach
smoke weed (marijuana) at
some time or another," Estes
said today. "I hate what dope
does to people. I will for the
rest of my life."
He said that he and state
Agents Jack Sutton and Hen
ry Lopez were forced to go
along on robberies or lose
their status with the beatniks.
In one case, he said, they man
aged to tip police so that their
companions were arrested.
He said he attended a par
ty at the house of a prostitute
in the Fillmore District.
30 at Parly
"There were about 30 peo
ple there. By midnight, there
was weed all over the place,"
he said. "In the bedroom,
there were six guys and one
girl. We were in a fix. We
were undercover, yet this girl
was being raped. Finally we
persuaded two of the other
girls to help her."
"They started putting her
clothes back on, but the host
ess shouldered them aside. She
took the girl to her car and
drove her to a hotel. She sold
the room key to a man and
he stayed all night," Estes
said.
What is Estes' opinion of
the city's much-discussed beat
nik population?
"For my money, they're
dirty, they're lazy, they're
bums and they're crooks," he
said. "For the most part they
have deep inferiority com
plexes that only disappear
when they mix together."
MAILTRIBUNE, Medford, Or. C
Monday, Jan. 25, 1960
Four separate makes of
cars-each offering from 6 to
24 different series and models
-were produced for the first
time in 1959 by the major
U. S. auto manufacturers.
RICE
RON I
oast?!?
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Serve it as Hamburgers Meat Balls Meat Loaf as a WWww" S0
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OPEN 7 DAYS A
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Regular 49 SAVE 10'
lb.
Extra Lean
GROUND CHUCK
BEEF-AND-NOODLES STROGANOFF
2 tablespoons butter
1 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon instant
minced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
Yi pound mushrooms,
sliced
V cup dry red wine
Juice 1 lemon
2 beef bouillon cubes
1 cup water
2 cups uncooked
wide noodles
Salt and pepper
1 cup sour cream
Paprika
Chopped parsley
Melt butter; add beef, onion, garlic, and mush
rooms. Cook until meat loses its red color,
stirring with fork to break up meat. Add wine,
lemon juice, bouillon cubes, and water. Simmer,
uncovered, 1 0 minutes. Add noodles, cover, and
simmer about 15 minutes, or until noodles are
tender, adding more water if necessary. Season
with salt and pepper. Stir in sour cream, and
heat gently. Sprinkle with paprika and parsley.
Makes 4 servings.
Ask Gretchen for her wonderful recipe
without wine.
LOOK AT THE MANY TASTY DISHES YOU
CAN PREPARE FROM GROUND BEEF
For complete recipes get a copy of February "Woman's Day"
at our checkstands only 10ev
Hamburger Steak
Hamburger Patties
Barbecued Meat Balls
Hamburger Potato Cheese Pie
Hamburger Cups with
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Cheese Meat Loaf
Beef Patties Parmigiano
Swedish Meat Balls
Barbecued Hamburger Steaks
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Pot Roasted Meat Loaf
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Hamburger Stew
Hamburger Pepper Steaks
Beef and Noodle Stroganoff
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PORTER'S ELBOW MACARONI
14-ox.
Pkg.
15 - 2 - 25
Reg. 23c
SAVE 21c
r n -i n
1 ribriteb
CHEESE
Your nutritious High-Protein Source
TILLAMOOK
Natural Cheddar Cheese
All-purpose,
over 6 mos. old
49
2-lb.
Loaf
Be ready when the family says
"LET'S HAVE PIZZA"
Boy-Ar-Dee Pizza Mix
Pillsbury New Hash Brown Potatoes
9-oz. pkg
43
35
SAVE
10c
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8c
G-E Light Bulbs
Alber's Yellow Corn Heal
Golden Crest Honey
Betty Crocker Cake Mix
Sego Canned Milk, tall cans
Vets Dog Food
25 - 40 - 60 - 70 - 100 watt,
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