Matter of Fact By Joseph Aliep
ILAB FORK
Slab Fork, W. Va.-This
place hlti the unprepared out
lider between the eyes, like
blow. You wind down a
deep . pocked I
road into a
cramped, p i t
like hollow in
the hills. Ami
there is Slab
Fork-the hun-
1 dred or so de-
crepit- looking
houses; the ,
tipples of the!
Joseph also? two mines; the
bare minimum of shabby
schools and board - built
churches; and the company
store and office, all bleak,
graceless and scurfy with coal
dust.
Look beneath this surface,
however, and you discover
why the minister of the white
Protestant church, the Rev.
Mr. Charles Eastwood, calls
Slab Fork "just a wonderful
community - for a mining
camp." The point it that the
small, independent, long-established
Slab Fork Mining
Company has quality coal,
first-class local management
that stays on the job, and a
remarkable employment rec
ord. Lately, mechanization has
reduced the payroll by about
a fifth. Yet the remaining 400
employees of the Slab Fork
Mines are decidedly better off
than the people of almost any
other mining camp in this
part of West Virginia. They
have steady work. Their
houses, such as they are, rent
for ten dollars a month. Their
Wbges average $100 a week.
And on this, as will be seen,
careful man in Slab Fork
can even give his children a
college education.
THE comparative advantages
of life in Slab Fork need
to be noted, because they per
haps gave Sen. John F. Ken
nedy a special, local advan
tage over "the poor man's
candidate," Sen. Hubert H.
Humphrey of Minnesota. The
other points to note about
Slab Fork are rather simple.
If this place were not stern
ly, even grimly Protestant,
the scrubby hillsides would
probably have at least one or
nament, in the form of a
shrine to Franklin Delano
Roosevelt. He is a saint here.
Since his day, every white
voter has been a Roosevelt
Democrat. The few Negroes,
in contrast, are mainly Re
publican, perhaps because the
ruling majority votes the
other way.
The white miners also form
as purely Anglo-Saxon a com
munity as you will find in the
whole United States. "The
names,", said a bewildered
member of the Kennedy staff,
"sound like nothing but the
membership list of the Somer
set club" -which is Boston's
citadel of rich Anglo-Saxon
privilege. And although the
Slab Forkers are not priv
ileged by any reasonable stan
dard, they are proud, hard
working, friendly, and gener
ally intelligent people.
THIS reporter spent i long
and deeply interesting day
In Slab Fork with Lou Har
ris, the professional poller
who tests opinion for Senator
Kennedy. We polled an enor
mous sample for such a small
place, over 80 people in all.
The result showed 30 votes
for Kennedy, 27 votes for
Humphrey, 10 undecided, and
the rest either not registered,
or not Interested enough to
vote, or unable to vote in the
Democratic primary because
they were Republicans.
Slab Fork is in southern
West Virginia, which is sup.
posed' to be Humphrey terri
tory. Hence this result, show
ing a Kennedy lead, looks very
good indeed for Kennedy, at
iri
Jr'T GUARDYOUR
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4 - CANCER WITH A
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least on the surface.
But as with the town, so
with the pol'- one must look
beneath the surface. We got
our first glimpse at the very
first house we went to. This
was the hillside-perched home,
shabby without and cozy and
neat within, of Slab Fork's
secretary . treasurer of the
United Mine Workers, Ernest
Martin. A disabled miner, Mac
Norris, was also there to talk
about his pension.
Ernest Martin and his wife,
both church-going Presbyter
ians, were enthusiastic for
Kennedy. They discussed the
issues in striking detail. They
compared the candidates ju
diciously. They declared their
choice with warmth. They
were supporters to be proud
of. But Mac Norris and his
wife, when intercepted on the
porch, proved to be people of
another stripe. They too had
seen Kennedy in action on
TV, and they "liked his talk."
"But we ain't never had no
Catholic," said Mrs. Norris
angrily. "And that's one thing
we're against and we'll always
be against.
NEXT door, was the neat,
sham-eved Mrs. Aubrev
Nicely, wife of an electrician
who had worked 30 years in
the mine. She and her hus
band had sent four boys
through the state university
"It's hard on the old man, but
our youngest boy is in gradu
ate school now, and we both
think it was worth it." Mrs.
Nicely said proudly. She too
was enthusiastic for Kennedy.
In contrast, the coal-grimed.
slatternly, barefoot wife of
another mine-electrician in a
house further down the hill
side, was very strong for
Humphrey, and for the same
religious reason as Mrs. Nor
ris. The pattern these contrast
ing pairs of voters suggest
was by no means universal.
Not all Kennedy's support
was creditable. At the mine,
for instance, H. J. Sturgill ex
plained that "being a Baptist,"
he would "normally be for
Humphrey"; but "the guy
wants a colored man in the
Cabinet." Therefore he chose
Kennedy. Two Kennedy vot
ers were Slab Fork's only
Catholics, moved by religious
prejudice like so many of the
Protestants. And Kennedy lost
votes, too, because "he's a
rich man, and Humphrey was
born a working man like us."
Yet it is still fair to say
that the majority of Ken
nedy's Slab Fork support was
composed of the serious citi
zens, who had studied their
choice and chosen without
prejudice. By the same token,
it is fair to say that a majori
ty of Humphrey's support
were people who were influ
enced by religious prejudice..
By actual count, 13 of the 27
Humphrey voters frankly ad
mitted as such.
17IOR these reasons, his crit-
ical West Virginia Demo
cratic primary looks like be
ing an ugly business, in which
Hubert Humphrey can only
win-if he does win-for ugly
reasons. In Slab Fork, alas,
one heard enough un-American
prejudice to be downright
glad when William Sturgill
announced a Kennedy vote
with the defiant statement:
"I'm a Baptist, but I don't
thing religion should have
anything to do with it. By
God, this is a free country,
isn't it?"
The young shop fireman
was coal - blackened from
head to toe. He gave his ver
dict when the shift changed,
standing by the cage, where
the entrance of the mine
yawned darkly, like the portal
of hell. But a vote has not
been better justified in the
well-dusted confines of the
Somerset club itself.
BAKERY PRODUCTS
Gates Hints Ike
May Further Revamp
Defense Program
Philadelphia - IUPD - De
fense Secretary Thomas S.
Gates Jr. has hinted that
President Eisenhower may
further revamp the nation's
defense program to bolster
U. S. military might,
Gates said the United j
States already is the strong
est, military power In the
world. But he said rapid
changes in modern technol
ogy require shifts in weapons
planning if the nation is to
maintain its position.
He cited Eisenhower s ac
tion In altering the military
budget to put more emphasis
on missiles, military satellites
and missiles submarines.
There could be other"
such changes. Gates said with
out elaborating.
Runia Said Lagging
Although he recognizes Rus
sian power as formidable, the
defense secretary repeated his
oft-stated contention that the
Soviets have not caught up
with the United States in mil
itary power. He said any such
impression was "simply not
supported by the facts."
Gates also said the Geneva
Disarmament Conference has
given no reason yet for ex
pecting agreements that will
ease America's arms burden.
"At this time, we cannot as
sume the negotiations will re
sult in any substantial agree
ments that will ease our de-
In the Days News
By FRANK JENKINS
In Geneva, the United
States offers to negotiate an
immediate agreement to BAN
PRODUCTION OF FISSION
ABLE MATERIALS FOR
MILITARY PURPOSES.
U.S. Ambassador Frederick
M. Eaton told the ten-nation
disarmament conference the
U.S. is willing to throw open
its nuclear plants to interna
tional inspection and control
if the Soviet Union does like
wise. -An international c o n t r ol
would supervise the conver
sion of military fissionable
materials - including nuclear
bomb warheads-to EXCLU
SIVELY PEACEFUL PUR
POSES, Ambassador Easton
said.
IVHAT happened then?
Well, what happened
was by no meant unexpect
ed.
Soviet Delegate Valerian N
Zorin promptly arose in his
place and REJECTED THE
PROPOSAL, saying it con
tained "more control than dis
armament."
DOES that end it all?
Of course not.
What is going on at Geneva
is a propaganda battle. The
United States is seeking to
prove that Soviet Russia is
the aggressor in a new colos
sal scheme to conquer the
world. Russia is seeking to
prove that the United States
is the aggressor.
Geneva is simply the for
um for the debate.
riiHIS is the big issue:
A Will nuclear weapons be
used ii a future ALL-OUT
war that could destroy the
world?
T THINK its too early to
A attempt an answer to that
question.
We must remember t n a t
poison gas was used as a
weapon in World War l. it
wasn't too effective then. But
the glimpse of poison gas we
got during World War I was
enough to put in our mmas
the thought that it MIGHT
become effective enough to
destroy the world.
Since then, scientific re
search has confirmed that
thought. Already poison gases
potent enough to destroy lite
on earth have been develop
ed. But-
As yet, no nation has been
willing to accept the appall
ing responsibility of using
them in all-out war. That
leads to the thought that per
haps no nation will be will
ing to accept the responsibil
ity of using nuclear weapons
in ALL-OUT war.
IiHE last best hope of earth
that all-out war with all
out modern weapons will be
come so terrifying that man
kind will have the plain com
mon tense to forswear it.
Let's continue to cherish
that hope.
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fense requirements," he said.
"The objective of the Soviet
Union for world leadership
and world domination re
mains unchanged. Moreover,
the Soviet Union has increas
ed its military capabilities, et-
pecially its modern weapons
systems."
Replying to critics who
have expressed fears over
Russia's lead in long-range
missiles. Gates said that
"matching missile for missile
is not the answer" to the Rus
sian challenge.
Variety Needed
He said America needs a
variety of forces, dispersed in
under-ground and mobile
sites, along with fast warning.
to enhance Us war-deterring
ability.
He said there were both
strengths and weaknesses in
each type of strategic weapon.
America's B-52 bombers, for
example, can deliver the de
structive power of several bal
listic missiles and with great
er accuracy, he pointed out,
but on the other hand are
more vulnerable to enemy
defenses. Bombers can be re
called in event of false warn
ing of attack, but are not as
susceptible to protection in
hardened underground sites
as missiles.
Gates asserted that there is
"no gap in our deterent."
He also replied to critics
who contend this nation's
limited war forces have been
short-changed in administra
tion budgets. There is "no
clear line of demarcation"
between big and little war
forces, he said. He said the
strategic air command's big
bombers could be used in lim
ited wars if needed.
In any event, Gates said,
"the so-called limited war
forces of the United States"
are adequate in conjunction
with those of allies to deter
or rapidly defeat limited ag
gressions. Pays Tribute
Gates paid tribute to Amer
ican forces in Europe which
he recently Inspected. De
scribing armored units patrol-
mg the Iron Curtain, he said
it was a "startling experience
to realize these few men
might be the first Americans
to react in retaliation should
general war occur."
He said that so-called Iron
Curtain is marked on the
Communist side by barbed
wire, electrified fences and
plowed fields 50 feet wide.
"You can not help but won
der whether the world can
continue forever to live In
this manner," he said.
Gates also said that the
U.S. forces he saw in West
Berlin had plans for defend
ing the city that were "as
thorough and detailed as any
I have seen."
Parrish Submits
Apparent Low Bid
Stanley G. Parrish, contrac
tor, submitted an apparent
low bid of $2,241 Thursday
for renovation of the Medford
city jail.
The city plans to turn a por
tion of the existing jail facili
ty into office space for the po
lice department by building
a wall across the east section
of the jail and turning the en
closed portion into three of
fices. The plan was decided on
after a report recently submit
ted by Lt. William Bcall of the
Berkeley, Calif., police de
partment, pointed out that ex
pansion of present office space
here is a necessity. Lieuten
ant Brail, an authority in po
lice organization, made a
study of the Medford depart
ment at the request of the city.
City Manager Robert Duff
pointed out that reducing the
size of the jail for office space
was one possibility recom
mended by Lt. Bcall.
Work on the offices will
start as soon as possible after
the city council awards the
contract, Duff said. The coun
cil probably will consider the
matter at its meeting April
21. he said.
Other bids submitted were
from D. M. Blickenstaff for
$2,309, and from Jacobs Con
struction company for $2,911.
The cost of the project had
been estimated by the city at
$2,500.
Money for construction will
come out of the police depart
ment's 1959-1960 budget, ac
cording to Chief of Police
Charles P. Champlin.
United States To Help Save Relics Along Nile River
Washington - HTD - T h e
Senate Foreign Relations
Committee has voted to let
the United States spend for
eign aid funds to help save
tombs and temples dating
from the dawn of history.
The committee has tenta
tively agreed to let the
United States participate in a
GETS IKE REQUESTS
Tokyo -fl.TIi-.The Japanese
Foreign Ministry reported
Thursday it lias received a
flood of requests for permis
sion to invite President Eisen
hower to various functions
during his June visit here.
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major international program
to preserve ancient historical
treasures along the Nile river
in Egypt and the Sudan.
To Be Covered by Lake
The tombs and temples will
be covered by a lake 300 miles
long when the Aswan High
Dam is completed in about
five years. Egypt and the Su
dan have asked scientists the
world over to help unearth
the treasures of antiquity be
fore it is too late.
The committee approved an
amendment to the foreign aid
bill which would permit the
U.S. government to contribute
up to one-third of the cost of
OPEN
After
the big international program.
It has been estimated that
the proposed explorations and
excavations might cost up to
90 million dollars. Other na
tion are being asked to help
also.
DETERMINED SWIMMER
Milwaukee, Wis. -l-Neil
Hansen, 31, bet his girl friend
Thursday he could swim a
half mile through Lake Mich
igan's icy waters and tried
it. . . twice. The first time,
two fishermen fished him out.
The second time, police re
trieved Hansen and charged
him with disorderly conduct.
MONDAY & FRIDAY TIL 9 P.M.
- IEaster Clearance
SENATE FEAftS SNEAKS
jacKson, miss. - WD - The
Mississippi senate Thursday
r.jictcd a proposal that sher
1s be allowed to make se
cret payments to persons in
forming them of violations of
that state's prohibition law.
"Some sneak might turn us
all in for Tiavlng a pint of
whiskey in the house," Sen.
P. M. Waikins argued. "We
OUR "GOOF"
It Your Gravy!
BE A K-BOY
Blooper-Snooper
A5
would end up hating maybe
75 or 80 people and not know
who it was."
See Courtesy
Chevrolet's
IMPORTANT
ANNOUNCEMENT
Back Page, See. 2
and Classified Page
Today'i Mail Tribune
MAIL TRIBUNI, M.df.ra, Or.
Sunday, Apiil 17, 1960