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)
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