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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (June 16, 1960)
THURSDAY. JUNE 16. I960 Capitol Memo Strange Boards and Comissions Noted In Oregon's Past MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFORD, ORE. By DOUGLAS GRIPP Salem - (UPI) - Through the years, Oregon has had some gtrange boards and commis flons. But none can match for mystery the Oregon Tunnel Commission, created in 1931 and abolished in 1959. State archivist David Duni way said he understands a main purpose was to drill a traffic tunnel through the West Portland hills. But rec ords fail to show. that in 28 years the group ever got near a tunnel, much less dig one. The commission spent no money and there is a question as to whether it ever held a meeting. The only piece of official correspondence dealing with the commission is a letter in 1936 from Gov. Charles Mar tin asking the commissioners, "what is the status of your commission?" He apparently never receiv ed a reply. To Welcome Veterans Then there was the Over seas Welcome Commission of 1919, whose purpose was to go to New York to welcome returning Oregon World War I veterans. The vets must have had a ball. The agency wasn't abol ished until 1927. The Oregon Soldiers' and Sailors' Commission of 1919 had a more solemn task. It was to operate until it was felt Congress had made ade quate provision for care of veterans. Either Congress was pokey or the Legislature un sure but the ax didn't fall on the commission until 1936. World War I also produced the 1919 State Committee to Provide Designs for Medals to Oregon Veterans. in iazD seemed like a good idea to have a State De partment of Americanization. This group spread the patri otic word in Oregon public scnoois. Other bygone agencies in. elude the Pure Seed Board, the Stallion Registration Board and the State Lime Board. The latter was form- ed when it was decided the state should go into the lime stone business. Other Commissions Groups which served ob vious purposes - like the still familiar Centennial Commis sion - include the old Battle ship Oregon Commission, New York World's Fair Commis sion and the Oregon Golden Gate International Exposition Commission. A hint of the days when residents of sparsely - settled eastern Oregon were fierce about domination by Western Oregon appears in a 1929 law creating the Oregon Advertis ing Commission. The law stipulated that "at least one" of the commissioners had to be a resident of "that part of Oregon east of the Cascade mountains." Even in the atomic age there are some unusual state agencies. To the layman, probably the strangest is the Oregon Chewing Fescue and Creeping Red Fescue Commis sion. Despite the name, the seven-member agency is very ac tive. Fescue, for the record, is a tufted pereni.!al grass with panicled spikclets. Purpose of the commission, formed several years ago, is to promote the growing of fescue grass seed. Small Worlds Around Us By Lynn M. Watkins You Can Be An Explorer And Right at Hams The spirit of adventure is strong in nearly every one of vs. We all have the desire to explore. Ordinarily we sub due this urge because of a supposed absence of explor able regions. We do not need to, however; we can satisfy our yen without traveling to far away lands,' for there are countless frontiers, as yet un known, and within five miles of our homes, regardless of where we live. You actually can be an ex plorer, even a pioneer. You can duplicate, to a large meas ure, the exploits of an adven turer in darkest Africa. You can stand on an unknown shore and can, if you desire, delve into mysterious regions where man has never been, and where a galaxy of living creatures have their homes. Rockefeller Gets Siassen Support New York-IUPll-Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller Wednesday had the full support of New York's 96 delegates to the Re publican National Convention and will go to Chicago July 25 as the delegation chairman. In addition, the Governor picked up the barking of Har old E. Stassen who will at tempt to persuade Pennsyl vania's 70 delegates to lead a draft Rockefeller movement The New York governor has stated he would accept a "draft" to be the GOP stand ard bearer, but has flately declined to accept the num ber two spot on the Republi can ticket. Eichmann Case Will Go To UN United Nations, N.Y. - ll'PD -The collapse of diplomatic talks with Israel will prompt Argentina to take the Adolf Eichmann case before the United Nations Security Coun cil today, informed sources said. Israeli Foreign Minister Mrs. Golda Meir and Argen tine Ambassador Mario Ama deo failed to reach agreement In an hour -long conference Tuesday. Argentina demanded that Eichmann, who was taken from Its territory to face a mass murder trial in Israel, be returned. Israel insisted he W"'d be tried in an Israeli court. London Iran is believed to hold one-third of the world's petroleum reserves s veil as vast mineral Wealth. These wild places are the swamplands, the marshes, the swales and the submerged lands. "Only a swamp" you say, but in these swamps is a teeming stratum of living creatures as fantastic as you could find any place on this earth. Many of these creatures that make their home here are neither terrestrial or aquatic. They and the en vironment in which they live constitute the middle ground; neither lake or dry land. Some of them need water only during the early stages of their lives. The latter part may be spent on a grass stem, or a lily leaf. Toads and frogs must live entirely in water at first, and breathe air after they have changed their structure. Thousands of varieties of insects duplicate this same process. The dragonfly Is typ ical of this group. This gauzy winged creature of the air spent the early part of its life in the muddy and confused bottom of a swamp or a pond. And when the life-span of the female dragonfly is nearly spent she will return again to a pond to lay her egs. The young of most of these water dwelling insects is a motley looking crowd; most of them look like monsters in miniature from another world, or like beings which are supposed to inhabit night mares. Strange Voices Go down by one of these areas during a warm night. Sit on a log and remain quiet for a few minutes. Never In your life have you heard such a chorus of strange and mys terious voices. The air is vibrant with grunts, gasps, squeaks squawks, giggles, bleats snickers and ratthngs. They run the entire scale of audible sound. There are thousands that are above our hearing range, and their voice can only be guessed at. You are hearing the voice of the swamplands; It Is almost an unknown voice; and It is a loud cry in a mighty wilderness. And there Is really more unseen than unheard, for in the shallow waters at your feet is revolving a cycle of life that even the scientist knows little about. Here is the cauldron of the bio-mass of living things that have their existence in an unknown environment far removed from the eyes of mankind. (Released by The Register and Tribune Syndics!, I960) Call SAM JONES SP 2-9220 for quality used equipment CRATER LAKE MACHINERY WARDS MONTGOMERY WARD si if X . I 2 DAYS ONLY i nil aI Ftt J vvf w.. I VALUES zmmmrimi'M. feJT Save $5! reg. $21.95 5-LINE CLOTHES DRYER A magical space saver .. . takes up space only when you use it, then reels in when not needed. Use indoors or outdoors. Five 32-fr. lines of Rayon-centered Vinyl-covered plastic. 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