MAIL TRIBUNE, Medford. Or.
A Sunday, March 6. 1960
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Flight of Time
Medford and Jackson County
History from the files of The
Mail Tribune 10, 20, 30, 40
and 50 years ago.
10 YEARS AGO
March 6, 1950 (Monday)
Two meetings will be held
here to acquaint populace
with soil conservation in
preparation for March 22 ref
erendum on whether a Jack
son county soil conservation
district should be created.
. Local amateur entertainers
are assembling at Craterian
theater tonight to compete
for appearance on "Original
Amateur Hour" in Portland
April 6.
30 YEARS AGO
Local attorney taken to
state prison today to begin
two-year term for obtaining
money by false pretenses.
From Arthur Perry's "Ye
Smudge Pot" column: "The
farmers and the merchants
had a banquet last evening.
The merchants told the farm
ers how to plow, and the farm
ers told the merchants how
to weigh beans, and they both
told the womenfolk how to
cook."
80 YEARS AGO
Former Medford waiter
sentenced to two years in state
pen for making moonshine.
Governor Norblad irked by
squabbles among sportsmen
over fish laws on Rogue river.
40 YEARS AGO
Nearly 8,500 pounds of dy
namite were exploded on
Green Springs mountain yes
terday to make cut for new
road.
Local Catholic leader de
clares American men are be
coming "effeminate" and
looking to government for
care and cash.
SO YEARS AGO
Patrons at the Medford li
brary increased by 55 last
month bringing total to 1,205;
total books at library increas
ed to 1,200.
So many passenger trains
from California are coming
through Medford on way to
eastern cities, because of track
washout in eastern California,
that local freight shipments
are at standstill.
What's Your 1.0.?
MIm m m correct sunerlars
avail or eight is excellent; fiva or
n is food.
1. Was Peru once ruled by
Aztecs, Mayans, or Incas?
2. From what high institu
tion was Jefferson Davis,
president of the Confederate
States of America, graduated?
3. Which of these are mam
mals: bats, fish, whales, bees,
pigeons, bears, horses?
. 4. What U.S. president was
a tailor by trade?
5. Do common house flies
sting or bite?
6. What is the normal tem
perature of the human body?
- 7. Who commanded the ship
'Bon Homme Richard?"
. 8. The boundaries of Okla
homa touch six other states;
name them.
9. What animal is known as
the lumberman, engineer and
builder of the animal king
dom?
10. How old would an octo
genarian be?
Answers: 1. Incas. 2. West
Point. 3. Bats, whales, bears.
horses. 4. President Johnson.
8. No. 6. 98.6 degrees F. 7,
John Paul Jones. 8. Texas,
New Mexico, Colorado, Kan
sas, Missouri, Arkansas. 9.
Beaver. 10. Eighty to ninety.
Does the Left 'Use 'the Right?
We know a man who is thoroughly convinced
that the Communists are "using" the extreme
right in this country for their own ends.
It may sound silly, at first, but he makes a
good case.
He begins ty quoting Lenin to the effect that
"The left of itself cannot destroy the center; we
will use the right to do this."
In a private letter, he sets forth some of his
further thinking. It may or may not be valid, but
it is a sufficiently interesting thought (and one
held by some other fairly tough-minded people)
to justify quoting excerpts from his letter.
w w m m w
"1X7HAT ARE the major targets in Kremlin
" psychological warfare?" he asks. "It is
obvious tha this republic is number one on their
list, but how do they go at it:
And he continues:
"They know that Britain and the U.S. control the
United Nations. Therefore, while paying lip service
to the U.N., Communism attacks it at all levels, here
and abroad. The extreme right is very handy here.
Without knowing it, the right, with the strings pulled
in Moscow, has assaulted the U.N. all these years by
presenting it as a communist conspiracy ... If we
probe a bit more, it isn't hard to see that under a
smoke-screen of 'anti-communism,' the extreme right
is getting in some really murderous propaganda
against the administration, the department of defense,
the department of state and the central intelligence
agency.
"All this type of compulsive hatred belongs to the
world of McCarthyism, and if you look back in the
history of the last 10 years, it isn't difficult to see
how McCarthyism has done, albeit unwittingly, man's
work for the Kremlin in the field of psychological
warfare.
"Far from being a spent force, McCarthyism is
becoming more adept at sowing hatred, suspicion and
dissent against the President and the executive, the
Senate and House, the Supreme Court and Judiciary,
as well as specialized services in the government par
ticularly feared by the Communists ...
"The problem then, it seems to me, is to throw
some kind of moral and psychological protection
around our compulsive haters, to explain to them that
since the cold war began they have been mercilessly
manipulated by the very forces they fear, that they
' are being sucked in, in the name of 'anti-communism,'
into the cold-blooded campaign to smear the executive,
the judiciary, the armed services, CIA, State, and
: more generally the whole American community . . .
IN SCIENTIFIC parlance, an hypothesis is an
A theory is a firmer
phenomenon, supported
which tend to corroborate
Our friend's idea is
tween an hypothesis and
some facts which tend to
true, for instance, that the wild-eyed, extreme
right, in its Jew-hating, Nigger-hating, fascist
minded "crusade" is, in fact, doing all it can to
discredit this nation in the eyes of the world
one of the prime objectives of the communists. -
HIS POINT about the
Moderate men of intelligence, leaders in both
major political parties, take the position that the
U.N. constitutes our one best chance for peace.
The fact that the communists also "use" the
United Nations does not
a world forumthe only
And when our home-grown right-wingers
seek to discredit the U.N.,
complishments and potential, they are guilty not
only of jeopardizing the U.N. itself as a potent
factor for future harmony, but also are guilty of
-i j , r ii. ,
giving aia ana comiort
laiisus, wno Dy-pass me u.in. in uieir serious deal
ings, while still paying it lip-service.
Uur mend may have something. But it
wouldn't be easy to prove. E.A.
Shuffle in City Sizes
Medford is still the fourth-largest city in the
state, and there doesn't seem to be any immediate
threat to that status.
But from fifth-largest on down, the ranking
has been shaken up as a result of a close election
in Springfield last week.
The election was on annexation of a, large
area containing some 6,000 people.
First reports said the proposal failed by a
margin of three votes, 644 to 641. But it appeared
that a few votes were thrown out because they
had check marks instead of X-marks. The
canvassing board decided they were valid after
all.
CO the PROPOSAL passed (although it still
may be challenged in court) , and Springfield
jumps up in population rank in the state.
Just where it landed will have to await the
outcome of next month's federal census, for there
are several cities closely bunched around the
fifth-largest spot
Portland is an unchallenged first with 405.-
000; Eugene is next with
lation ot 4i,S7U, since augmented by several
thousand through annexation; Salem is third
with 49,100, and Medford is in a secure fourth
spot with 26,300.
pORVALLIS has been
Klamath Falls sixth, with 20,200.
But Springfield's size in the official 1959
estimates was 14,270. And the population in the
annexed area is "guesstimated" at between 5,800
and 6,500.
So a good guess is
fifth, Corvalis sixth, Klamath Falls seventh.
Of course, if Eugene and Springfield ever
consolidate, as has been seriously proposed, this
would nut. the tipwIv enlarged citv wnv nnt. nf
reach in second place, and would restore the size
I "ranking" to where it is now. E.A.
idea in explanation of a
by observable facts
it.
Drobablv somewhere be
a theory. But there are
support his idea. It is
United Nations is well
alter this fact." It still is
real one we have.
and its significant ac
to me communist unper-
an "official" 1959 popu
fifth, with 20,250, and
v
that Springfield is now
Dennis the
..AM' MAKE MSA GTm fVTV Riirunr
SO GOOD I VOHT HAVE
Today Cr Tomorrow
By Walter
TELEVISION AND PRESS
Recently, the President of
CBS, Mr. Frank Stanton,
made a speech arguing that in
principle the government,
which grants the licenses, has
no ngnt t o
concern itself
in any way
with the char
acter of the
broadcasts. He
calls this "free
television"
and asserts
that all forms
Walter e
Lippmann and account
ability are wrong. What the
country must have is "a vig
orous, freely competing, un
restricted television medium."
This is probably the first
time that anyone in a respon
sible position in the television
industry has claimed for it an
unrestricted right, to set its
own standards of conduct.
This is certainly not the intent
of the law under which Mr.
Stanton operates. The intent
of the law which was passed
by Congress in February 1927,
was expressed, as Mr. George
Sokolsky recently noted, by
ex-President Herbert Hoover,
then the Secretary of Com
merce. Mr. Hoover said that
"the ether is a public medium,
and its use must be for pub
lic benefit. The use of a radio
channel is justified only if
there is public benefit."
BE
STANTON would, 1
suppose, say in reply that
the greatest public benefit
will come if we leave it to the
unrestricted judgment of the
industry itself what programs
are in the public interest. To
support this position Mr.
Stanton argues that television
stations are like newspapers,
and that the government has
no more right to concern it
self with what is broadcast
than it has the right to con
cern itself with what is
printed.
This is a thoroughly false
argument. A television station
is not like a newspaper. It is
like a printing press. It is a
mechanical medium of com
munication. Now, let us sup
pose that in a whole region
around some city there were
only, let us say, three printing
presses. They would have to
print all the newspapers, all
the magazines, all the books,
there being no other way to
get anything printed. Does
Mr. Stanton imagine that un
der such a condition of virtual
monopoly, there would be no
Try and Stop Me
By BENNETT CERF
ROLFE PETERSON", the life of every party in Salt Lake
City in fact, in all Utah is in cahoots with a writ
er of an advice -to -the lovelorn column named Pamela
Cardiac. Here's a letter,
adds Bolfe, Pamela re
ceived: r "Dear Pamela: Ever
since my husband saw a
movie called Moby Dick,
he has been driving me
to distraction. The movie
impressed him so deeply
that he went right out
and bought a harpoon.
He waves it around all t
the time hollering, Thar
she blows!' The other
night while I was watch- ,
ing TV he let go of the
harpoon and knocked out
oui picture tube. I'm afraid hell harpoon me next What
can I do? (Signed) Landlubber.'
Pamela answered, "Dear Landlubber: Here's how you can
help. Some night when he's sound asleep, holler Thar she
blows!' in his ear, rock the bed violently and empty a bucket
of cold water over him. When he's fully awake I'm sure he'll
have lost a good deal of his enthusiasm for whaling. Mean
while, be of good cheer but don't let him have a clear shot
at you. (Signed), Pamela Cardiac"
Menace
NO FUN 1'
Lippmann
public regulation of the print
ing presses?
rpHERE is an essential and
- radical difference between
television and printing, and
Mr. Stanton should not pre
tend that they can be or
should be treated alike. It may
be true, as he says, that "most
metropolitan centers in the
United States have more com
peting television stations than
competing mass circulation
dailies." But Mr. Stanton has
missed the point.
The three or four competing
television stations control vir
tually all that can be received
over the air by ordinary tele
vision sets. But beside the
mass circulation dailies, there
are the weeklies, the month
lies, the out-of-town newspa
pers and books. If a man does
not like his newspaper, he
can read another from out of
town, or wait for a weekly
news magazine. It is not ideal,
But it is infinitely better
than the situation in televi
sion. There, if a man does not
like what the networks offer
him, all he can do is to turn
them off. - and listen to a
phonograph.-. -
Networks, which are very
few in number, have a virtual
monopoly of a whole medium
of communication. The news
papers of mass circulation
have no monopoly of the
medium of print. The situa
tion being so different, the
application of the principle of
freedom is bound to be dif
ferent too. Free speech is a
cherished principle. But how
it can be exercised depends
upon where it is exercised.
117HEN we come to the
' question of how to protect
and promote the public inter
est m television, Mr. Stanton
has more of a case. He has
read the report of the Harris
Committee, and he shrinks
with horror from the idea of
being regulated by a public
commission.
His horror is almost cer
tainly exaggerated because
the political commission will
almost certainly be ineffectu
al. For my own part, I do not
think that public regulation
has much promise of correct
ing the deep faults of tele
vision and it might well pro
duce a mess of troubles.
For that Teason, it has
seemed necessary to go deeper
into the problem. The root of
the problem is that the tele
vision industry, as organized
in the United States but in no
other civilized country, is run
on the principle that the
choice of programs shall be
Matter of Fact By
THE CARMEL COMPACT
Washington-In semi-secrecy,
at an inn in Carmel last week,
the California Democratic
iu mi mi- ,MvMi! i- j u - 1 J
a meeting that
perhaps decid
ed the out
come of the
contest for
D e m o c ratic
Presiden 1 1 a 1
nomination.
The hard
joseph alsop bargaining at
the meeting, which lasted
almost two days, produced
what may be called the Car
mel Compact As expected,
the whole of California's
giant delegation win give first
ballot support to the favorite
son candidacy of California
Gov. Pat Brown. Nonetheless,
the compact's most notable
feature is the large number
of supporters of Sen. John F.
Kennedy of Massachustetts,
and the even larger number
of Kennedy sympathizers, in
the proposed slate of 162
California delegates with 81
convention votes.
Two powerful pressures ap
pear to have contributed to
this result. On the one hand,
just before the Carmel meet
ing, Senator Kennedjrs de
mon poller, the able profes
sional Louis Harris, descend
ed on California for one last
test of statewide Democratic
sentiment.
THE exact results of the fi
nal Harris poll of Califor
nia are not known. But it can
be said with some confidence
that they did not differ ma
terially from the results of a
whole series of other polls re
cently made in California. In
other words, the Harris test
showed Kennedy easily able
to beat Governor Brown in
a contested primary, and far
ahead of other Democratic
contenders as weU.
Almost at the moment when
Harris began industriously
ringing doorbells, Democratic
caucuses were also held in the
California Congressional dis
tricts. Each district caucus
chose 10 local names for con
sideration as delegates. The
choices made at these cau
cuses were so unfavorable to
Kennedy that Lawrence
O'Brien, the chief of the Ken
nedy organization's political
field force, at once flew to
California.
The original purpose of
O'Brien's journey was to lay
the groundwork for entering
Kennedy in the California
primary, in accordance with
the Harris, findings. A nom
inating committee has tofile
its intentions on or before
March ninth. The fuU slate of
delegates would have had to
be filed within a month there
after. Hence O'Brien did not
have much time to waste.
ALL the same,' Instead of
organizing a Kennedy
nominating committee,
O'Brien ended at another inn
a few miles from the scene
of the Carmel Compact. One
suspects that he went there
in response to the anguished
pleas of Senator Kennedy's
friends in the California Dem
ocratic . leadership. State
Chairman William Hannell
and a good many others were
warmly friendly to the Ken-
determined by selling them to
advertisers. The moral, intel
lectual, and esthetic stand
ards are, therefore, what will
attract and hold the largest
audience. This leads not only
to corruption like that in the
quiz programs but, with only
some exceptions, to the much
more serious fault, which is
mediocrity and blah.
'
THE economic organization
of the television industry
is in conflict with the intent
of the law-which is to use this
valuable and essential monop
oly for the public benefit. It
would be a great improvement
over what we have if a way
could be found, as in the Brit
ish independent television
system, of selling time on the
air but not the programs
themselves to the advertisers.
But I have no great hope
that such a reform, desirable
as it would be, can be count
ed on to work amidst the en
trenched and pervasive com
mercialism of the existing tel
evision industry. For that rea
son we shall be compelled, it
seems to me, to establish
alongside commercial televi
sion, not in place of commer
cial television, another net
work founded on the princi
ple of public benefit and
moved by non - commercial
motives.
Such a network, which
could be governed by disin
terested citizens and operated
by frustrated and unhappy
profesionals of the existing
networks, could become a
powerful competitor, and by
the competition of its example
'as a powerful regulator, of
the existing commercial net
works. Then, if such a yardstick
existed, it might be safe to
tolerate Mr. Stanton's sug
gestion that his company
should be an "unrestricted"
medium.
(c) 1960 New York Herald
Tribune Inc. '
Joseph Alsop
nedy candidacy. Yet they
wanted nothing less than a
bitterly fought state primary,
which would have torn to
pieces the newly-reconstructed
California Democratic or
ganization. It seems clear, too, that the
outlines of the Carmel Com
pact were much influenced by
the somewhat ominous neigh
boring presence of O'Brien
with all its implications of a
possible plunge by Senator
Kennedy into the California
primary. At any rate, with
the Dossible exceDtion of Ad-
lai Stevenson, who had strong
California support, none of
the other Democratic con
tenders could take much com
fort from the list of men and
women who were to get half
a delegate vote apiece under
the Carmel Compact.
Meanwhile, at least one-
third of the people on the
list are thought to be reliable
Kennedy supporters. And at
least another third are
thought to be in the group
that can be pretty well count
ed upon to plump for Ken
nedy on the second ballot, or
even to change their votes at
the end of the first ballot, if
the Massachusetts Senator has
done well in Wisconsin and
the other pre-convention pri
maries. THE tentative delegate slate
agreed on at Carmel was
minutely studied by the Ken
nedy field workers. Their
study confirmed the analysis
given just above, and Ken
nedy decided to let more than
weU enough alone. It would
have been different if a name-by-name
scrutiny had shown
that much less than two-thirds
of California could be count
ed on to go for Kennedy on
the second ballot, despite
proof of Kennedy's voter ap
peal in other primaries. In
that event, Kennedy would
have filed in California.
Kennedy would have filed
anyway, in the hope of get
ting the whole loaf instead of
two-thirds of a loaf, if he
were not confronted with a
united California leadership
The participants in the Car
mel Compact included Fred
Dutton representing Governor
Brown; chiefs of the state or
ganization like Paul Ziffren
and Roger Kent; leaders of
the legislature and assembly
and selected California Demo
cratic members of Congress
Those who. favored Kennedy
were as anxious as those who
opposed him to have him stay
out of the state. .
The leaders of aU factions
agreed, on the basis of giving
every faction "a fair shake,"
as one of them put it. No one
was left in a position to play
king-maker, as is indicated by.
the fact that Governor Brown
reportedly has only eight state
officials on the long delegate
list.
These are the facts behind
Senator Kennedy's firm de
cision to stay out of Califor
nia. This bargain among the
California Democratic leaders
and the Kennedy camp's re
action to it could be a major
event. Most of California go
ing to Kennedy on the second
ballot could be decisive, in
fact. .
(c) 1960 New York Herald
Tribune, Inc.)
In the Days News
By FRANK JENKINS
Voters of Jasper county, in
Texas, are to decide whether
a 67-year-old clock that was
removed" during recent re
modeling of the courthouse
shall be reinstalled. The
clock is now stored in' the
basement of the county jaiL
Cost of reinstallation is esti
mated at $15,000.
Old timers say they miss
the ancient timepiece fright
fully because for decades
they were accustomed to
checking it to see how long
it took them to get to town.
Younger residents of Jas
per county contend that the
$15,000 could be spent more
effectively on other improve
ments. AH, ME! What a lot of prob
Iptyic ara vrannA iiv in
WW M. S W V Am M
those questions.
When the old clock was in
stalled on the cupola of the
Jasper county courthouse 67
years ago.it took a LONG
time to get to town - even for
those fortunate characters
who were able to afford a red
wheeled top buggy and a
team of three-minute trotters.
Now the youngsters get
there almost before they get
started. And . . . besides . . .
these youngsters have on the
dashboards (pardon the slip;
INSTRUMENT panels is the
proper term in these days), of
their long, slinky convertibles
clocks that they need only to
glance at to see how time is
passing. If the clocks are no
longer running," as is usually
the case with modern auto
mobile ' clocks, there is . al
ways a watch handy on the
modern wrist.
r'S LITTLE wonder; these
Texas Icids think the $15.-
000 could be spent in better
ways than fixing an old clock.
How?
Well, from the standpoint
of these modern youngsters, a
IPOTLUCCC
(By M-T Staff and Contributors)
Pretty sneaky, that's what
it is!
First of all, the letters
"HFR" in newspaper talk
stand for "hold for release."
They are used on news arti
cles which are prepared for a
number of different newspa
pers, and mailed out in ad
vance. Such a mailing, with a
dated HFR, constitutes a sort
of gentlemen's agreement
that newspapers will not,
without good reason, use the
article before other newspa
pers do.
So it was with some chag
rin that we noticed another
daily newspaper in Jackson
county "jumped" the release
date on a story last week,
printing it Thursday instead
of Friday, as specified by the
"HFR."
This would be easy to for
give, ordinarily, for some
times one can overlook a re
lease date.
But in this case we're just
bit suspicious that it was
done deliberately, for the
page on which is was printed
was labeled "Friday, March
4," while every other page in
the paper said "Thursday,
March 3," except one which
said "Thursday, March 2, and
another which didn't have any
date at all.
Oh. well. It's all In the
game, we suppose. The pa
per is the same one which,
in effect, called one of our
reporters a liar, without
checking the facts, and has
so far failed to print a re
traction or an apology.
A group of pesrgrowers
got together not long ago, and
were explaining to an outsid
er their costly trials and trib
ulations.
These, they emphasized,
certainly kept them out of
the "CadUlac class." Just
about that time a packing
house operator drove up, in
his Cadillac.
It was hastily explained
that this was not the current
model, but was purchased
several years ' ago. And the
driver chimed in, too. He is a
horticulturalist, not a pear
grower, he said, and added
that this means he makes his
money in town and spends it
in the orchards. A peargrow-
Editorial Comment
NOT BY DOLLARS ALONK
Many organizations make
it easy for the lazy editor.
They prepare editorials for
him and don't require that he
indicate the source of the
editorials.
One of these is the Nation
al Association of Manufactur
ers.
In the day's mail is an edi
torial prepared by the NAM,
It's well written. But we
don't agree with its conclus
ion.
The editorial says: "Some
one goofs in the Air Force
and the small matter of $5,-
000 is spent on a manual
which tells officer's enlisted
'aides how to mix cocktails
and wash dogs. From the out
cry, you'd think the Russians
had painted a hammer and
sickle on the Statue of Lib
erty."
(The editorial doesn't men
tion it but there were other
Air Force manuals, one scor
ing the right of the people
to know what was going on
in their government, and an
other charging that churches
were infiltrated by Commun
ists. These cost $11,000 ch.)
The editorial proceeds to
suggest that this stuff is pea
nuts. That we should have
oureyes on bigger things,
things that are costing the
taxpayers much more mon
ey. We do agree that our eyes
should constantly be on, all
waste in government. But we
are unable to classify wrongs
in government according to
the cost of those wrongs, as
the NAM would have us do.
Seems to us this case of im
proper use of public funds
by the Air Force is every bit
as important as a Teapot
Dome scandal. It is because
there is more than dollars in
volved. Some crackpot in the
Air Force is trying to brain
wash men in the Air Force.
Some wrongs in govern
ment can be judged strictly
on their cost to the taxpay
ers. Some by other stand
ards. We don't want to be
tied strictly to the NAM dol
lars standard when we judge
those wrongs.-Pend!eton East
Oregonian.
public swimming pool would
beat an old courthouse clock
all hollow. The oldsters who
miss the clock because it
helped them to check on the
time it took them to get to
town probably look upon pub
lic swimming pools as sinful
ly extravagant modern luxur
ies. In their day, a deep hole
in the creek was good enough
for anybody.
It will be interesting to see
how the Jasper county elec
tion comes out;
er makes his money in the
orchard and spends it in
town, the explanation con
tinued. Oh.
Peargrowers DO have
their troubles, though. And.
like some others we could
name, sometimes take their
troubles to their banker.
One of the latter reported
ly pulls out his handker
chief and starts dabbing at
his eyes as soon as he sees
one particular peargrower
come through the door.
Paul Culbertson is a pear
grower. (Please understand,
gentle reader, that this in no
wpy should be taken to con
nect him with either of the
tales told above.) He also tells
a pretty mean story, once in
a while. He told our farm edi
tor one that goes like this:
The black, gumbo-type sou
found in some parts of the
county is known as "the big
sticky," and it often provid
es a headache for farmers and
others who .have to deal with
it.
Once, however, it was help
ful.
Back in prohibition days,
one of the more enterprising
residents of the big sticky
country was supplementing
his income through the use of
a still, which was discovered
by certain of the local "rev-
enooers.
They smashed the still and
its appurtenant equipment,
causing a goodly amount of
fermented mash to flow out
onto the ground. The proprie
tor's hogs, with much commo
tion, quickly gobbled it all
up, and as a result became
monumentally intoxicated.
They became inordinately
frisky and, Paul claims, the
only thing that kept them
from taking off across-coun
try was that "big sticky" mud
had balled up in their tails so
heavily that it anchored them
where they were.
Or so says Paul Culbertson.
Last Tuesday, workmen
had finished installing a
dishwasher in a Medford
home. Just as it was started
for the first time, there
were two loud explosion
like sounds. The family,
which had been watching
the new machinery inlent
- ly, cleared the -room in
nothing flat. After some
commotion, they discovered
the dishwasher was blame
less. The sounds were "son
ic booms."
That Man in Phoenix, who
apparently lay fallow for
some time, is back in his old
vigorous form. Second week
in a row we've heard from
him. .
This week, he takes up with
us a subject which has been
dealt with before in this col
umn, whether a horse-car ac
cident is an accident involv
ing a horse-car, or one in
volving a horse and a car.
What brought it up again
is that one of our reporters,
who presumably is too young
to know what a horse-car is
(or, rather, was) and who
joined our staff after" the
last go-round about the sub
ject here, wrote a story about
an automobile striking a
horse, and referred to the ac
cident as a horse-car collision.
Well, you can imagine what
our Phoenix Friend did with
such a situation.
If a little child falls over
a doll-buggy, is this a baby-
buggy accident? he asks.
If a locomotive hits a sta
tion wagon, is this a wagon
train accident?
If a fireman rescues a cat
from a telephone pole, is
this a pole-cat incident?
That sort of thing. Sigh.
Oh yes. To go back to his
first example, if it isn't a
baby -buggy accident, pre
sumably it is a buggy-baby
accident, in which case a
good insecticide apparently
is indicated.
The last of the Centennial
beards (at least those with
which we are familiar) has
gone.
It belonged to a member of
our staff who was - well -attached
to it, you might say,
and who kept it after the Cen
tennial year was gone.
Well, he took it in his head
to shave it off the other day,
and did so, without telling
anyone.
Now you might expect
everyone to make quite a to
do about this, but he reports
it iook his wife about 10 min
utes to notice that he'd shaved
after she returned nome And
another staff member( who,
himself, had sported a beard
last year, and should be con
scious of such things) never
did notice it, for about 20
minutes, until someone else
happened to mention its dis
appearance. -
Anyway, we're all clean
shaven again at the M-T news
room. A couple of the newer
members of the staff can't
even remember back to the
time when we were before.