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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 7, 1961)
55th Year Price 10 Cents Tribune MEDFORD United Presi International Full Leased Wire United Press InternaUiwal Full Leased Wire 16 Pages MEDFORD, OREGON, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1961 No. 277 Regional Edition t rr MESSAGES SCHEDULED President Ken nedy told his congressional leaders today that he would send 10 special messages to Congress in the next few weeks, including Mayor Signs New Trailer Ordinance; Purpose Explained Mayor John W. Snider signed the city of Medford's new trailer ordinance Mon day which prohibits house trailers from being located on Individual lots in the city. The ordinance became effective upon his signing it. The ordinance had received the unanimous approval of the city council at its meet ing last week. It also received the unanimous recommenda tion of the city's planning commission. Under the new ordinance, trailers already on individual lots in the city will be allowed to remain as long as their . owners- have previously ob tained a city, permit. Owners of trailers who have failed to obtain city per mits will have six months in Court Declines Stadium Money The Jackson county court this afternoon declined alloca tion of $5,000 for a prelim inary study of the stadium proposal and approval of the stadium committee. "The court is still of the same opinion that this is not a matter for the county court to decide but a matter for the registered voters of this coun ty," County Commissioner Chester Wendt said. Last Thursday the stadium committee requested that $5,000 be allocated from coun ty funds for engineering, arch itect's drawings and to obtain more accurate data. "We also don't feel it is any function of ours to either ap prove or disapprove the ap pointment of this stadium committee," Wendt added. A committee of John Weis brod, chairman, Harry Chip man, secretary-treasurer, Lee Ragsdale, Dr. Alexander Peter sen, and William Askwith met with Wendt Thursday. He told them that the matter would have to be considered later by the entire county court. Wendt said a letter is being mailed to the committee this afternoon to tell the court's decision and reasoning. edford Inventor Says Emigrant' Dam Insecure E. M. Tucker, owner and Inventor of the Tucker Sno Cat, contended at Monday's Chamber of Commerce round table luncheon that the newly rebuilt Emigrant dam is inse cure. Another speaker, how ever, disputed Tucker's rea soning. Tucker said that such oc currences as an earthquake, tornado or windstorm could cause water to spill over the top of the dam. If this hap pened, he said, the entire dam would give away, and "a wall of water, 20 feet deep . . . could rush over the valley without warning." Walter Jones, an appraiser. Who said he has been connect ed with the Talent project since its start, said the bureau of reclamation engineers look every safety precaution when they designed the dam. No Water Over Top Jones also stated that it is designed so "there will never be any water running over the top of the dam." Emigrant dam, now nearly one Thursday on medical care for the aged. Here the President poses in his office with Vice President Lyndon Johnson, left, and Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn. which to either move out of the city or move to a trailer court. Permanent Residences The ordinance applies only to those trailers being used as permanent residences. City Manager Robert A. Duff told the Mail Tribune this morning that the new ordinance is necessary in order to protect residential property in the city. The main objection to trailer houses, he said, is that they decrease property values. City Planning Consultant Ned Langford said there are 75 trailers now in the city which are located on individ ual lots. Of these, an esti mated 30 are there without permits. The need for a new ordi nance at this time was necessi tated by the considerable trail er population increase in the city in recent years, accord ing to city officials. Langford pointed out that during the past two years alone the num ber of trailers on individual lots in the city has increased by 30. Decrease Property Values Duff explained that trailer houses decrease property values for two main reasons. One is because of their ap pearance, and the second is because of a "prejudice" of home owners against living near trailers. The large majority of resi dents would dislike living next to a trailer, he said. So, when a trailer does locate on a lot it automatically de creases the value of property around it. Duff said that, "by allow ing trailers on individual lots you are granting a privilege to a minority at the expense of the majority." There are an estimated 11.100 dwelling units in the Medford urban area, of which only 220 are trailer houses. Both Langford and Duff pointed out that the house trailer problem is not unique to Medford. Langford said most cities prohibit trailers on individual iots, and many of them even prohibit trailer parks. Medford has nine trail er parks. completed, is located south of Ashland and was started in the fall of 1958 to provide additional water for the Tal ent Irrigation district. It is an earth-fill dam built over an older concrete dam. The concrete dam was 110 feet high, and had a capacity of 8.000 acre-feet of water. The earth-fill will raise the dam's height to 190 feet, pro viding for a capacity of 40,000 acre feet of water. Jones pointed out at Mon day's meeting that dirt and rock extend for one-quarter mile on either side of the old cement structure. Also, the earth-fill extends beyond the ends of the dam. Further Insurance To further insure the strength of the dam. Jones I i said, a water proof material j has been driven under pres-j I sure into the rock at either! end of the dam for a distance ; of from 150 to 200 feet and' sealed. He added that there "can't be a drop of water go- 'jPt ough tha rock" I (UP1 Telephoto) Kennedy Asks Congress To Hike Minimum Wage Washington -(UPll- President Kennedy asked Congress to day to raise the minimum wage to $1.25 an hour and broaden its coverage to pre vent "the growth of an under privileged and underpaid class." Kennedy's proposal would boost the minimum from the present $1 for employees cov ered by the federal law and extend coverage to an addi tional 4.3 million workers. Schedule Explained Secretary of Labor Arthur Goldberg explained that the administration bill would raise the hourly minimum for employees now covered from $1 to $1.15 the first year, $1.20 the second year and then to $1.25. For the newly covered em ployees, the minimum would start at $1 an hour and then be raised to $1.05 the second year, $1.15 the third year and $1.25 thereafter. Coverage of the minimum wage law would be extended to employees of these enter prises: Service Establishments -Any retail or service estab lishment with an annual vol ume of sales exceeding $1 mil lion. -Laundering, cleaning and clothing repairing firms with an annual volume of sales of more than $1 million. -Local transit firms. -Other enterprises not in cluded in the first three class es with an annual volume of sales exceeding $250,000 or or $350,000 in the case of con struction firms. -Gasoline service establish ments with an annual volume of sales of at least $250,000. Sports Bulletin Pendleton - itl'll - Three members of SI. Mary's high school's state class B cham pionship football team have been named to the East Shrine team for the annual game here Aug. 26. They are Andy Knutson, center; Dick Evans, fullback, and Fred Lucas, tackle. Gary Sloper, end frcm Phoenix high school, was named to the West team. Tucker's remarks on Emi grant dam caught most of the 30 persons at the roundtable by surprise. There were no bureau of reclamation repre sentatives at the meeting, and Jones' comments were made in the form of an impromptu rebuttal. I After Jones spoke, several others also attested to the I safety of the dam, and express-1 ed complete confidence in the engineers who designed the structure. 'Foremost Authority' One man said the dam was designed by the "foremost dam authority in the country, if not the world," and added that, "we have nothing to fear at all." Tucker indicated, however, that he doesn't take much stock in the safety assurances of the engineers. He poQtcd to the 1948 Vanport flood and a similar flood near Yuba City, Calif., and said those people, too. "were told by the engineers they were safe." ater oorer, Survey The outlook for 1961 irri gation water supplies in the Rogue - Umpqua watersheds has not improved, and is ac tually poorer than it was Jan. 1, according to Snow Survey Chief W. T. Frost, Portland. Frost heads the cooperative snow surveys for the U. S. department of agriculture, soil conservation service, Ore gon agricultural experiment station and the Oregon state engineer. "Mountain snow cover is now poorer than it was at this date last year," Frost said. "Stored water supplies are far below average in three out of five reservoirs." Water content of the snow pack is 76 per cent of last year, but is only 47 per cent of the Feb. 1 average, he not ed. January storms were gen erally warmer than usual, and deposited mostly at higher elevations, leaving lower slopes barren. Snowpack It Lest The accumulation of snow this winter, Frost said, is less than one-third of the usual snowpack. In an average win ter, about two-thirds of the "snow crop" is deposited by Feb. 1. Moisture in the soil mantel, the top four feet of the water sheds, is satisfactory, and will favor snow-melt runoff, Frost said. Stored water for the Med ford and Rogue River Valley Irrigation districts totals about 6,400 acre feet, and is 80 per cent of last year, and only 48 per cent of the average. The Talent Irrigation district has about 20,000 acre feet in stor age, wmcn is half again as much as was available a year ago. This is largely due, Frost said,, to new storage facilities at Howard Prairie and Emi grant lakes. Flow of the Rogue river at Gold Ray dam has averaged only 53 per cent normal since Oct. 1, and only 30 per cent normal last month, according to preliminary data furnished by the U.S. geological survey, Portland. Stream flow forecasts for the irrigation season, which extends from April through ! September, indicate the larger tributaries of the North Ump qua and Rogue rivers are ex pected to discharge from 70 to 77 per cent of their average amounts. Smaller, but import ant, Little Butte creek is pre dicted to discharge 62 per cent of average. THORNTON TO SPEAK Salem - IUPH - Ally. Gen. Robert Y. Thornton will speak at a special assembly on crime prevention Thursday at Springfield High school. WEATHER Forrcast: Increasing cloudiness tonight. A few showers late to night and Wednesday morntnR, becoming partly cloudy Wednes day afternoon. Low tonight 38. High tomorrow 52 to 55. TKMPHRATURE IfiKhest Yesterday 55 Lowest this Morning 30 PRKCIPITATION To 10 a.m. today none Our Skies Tonight Sunset today 5:33 p.m. Sunrise tomorrow 7:18 a.m. Mounrfse tomorrow . 12:40 a.m. Last Quarter tomorrow 8:50 a.m. VISIIll.K PLANETS Mercury, low In west after sun set. Venus, low In west 9:01 p.m. .Mars, high tn south .... 8:59 p.m. Jupiter and Saturn rise 6:27 a.m. Tucker also cited the recent "Texas tower" disaster off the coast of New York, and said that was supposed to be safe. He did not cite any instances where a dam of the Emigrant type had given away, how ever. Tucker spoke first, and made no attempt to reply to the comments made by Jones and the others. Offers Suggestions After claiming that the dam was unsafe, Tucker offered several suggestions, which, he said, would make it safer. One of these would be to pump concrete into the earthern por tion of the dam. The other would be to place a metal shield between the back of the dam and the water. Commenting on Tucker's suggestion to pump concrete into the dam, Jones said an earthern dam is "far more resistant to earthquakes than concrete would be." He said that no amount of concrete wild ever iOld an earth Supply Snow Shows Frost said that although the inflow to Fourmile lake is ex pected to be about 72 per cent of average, the flow into Hyatt lake, which is at a low er elevation, is expected to be only 32 per cent of average. This condition, he said, is mainly caused by a lack of snow at lower elevations. Statewide, Oregon's 1961 water supply outlook has not improved during the last month, and now ranges from only "fair" to "very poor," Frost said. The next report on snow surveys, and water supply conditions will be issued March 8. Local Employment Reduced by Bad Weather in Month Bad weather, which forced closure of some logging and construction operations, caus ed most of a continued reduc tion in local employment dur ing January, according to John J. Patton, manager of the Medford office of the state employment service. He noted that the employ ment picture is following a fairly regular pattern for this time of year. Employment in Jackson county usually reaches a low point in Janu ary and February, when weather conditions control the amount of outside work. The current level of em ployment, Patton said, is above that experienced dur ing the last two years, but has remained well below the level of three- years ago. . Jackson county' has been better off than most of Ore gon's lumber producing areas, he said, because of the ability of this area's large mills to continue operations with lit tle or no layoff of personnel. Job placements through the local office,, while down somewhat from the last two years, are holding up much better than expected," Patton said. "This reflects both the con tinuing activity in the area, as well as the rather optimis tic attitude of many local firms which are expecting a good business year," he add ed. The impact of a large amount of construction planned during the coming season will have a consider able effect on the local econ omy, Patton said. Rogue Valley Manor, which opened recently, created sev eral jobs new to Jackson coun ty, he said, and will account for an important amount of employment. Employment can be expect ed to remain low throughout February, Patton said. The seasonal upturn In local em ployment generally begins in March when weather condi tions usually permit the re sumption of some outside work in both constuction and logging. Price conditions in the lumber Industry, which have been a major cause of this season's cutbacks, may delay the employment, increase, or spread it out over a longer pe riod of time, he added. quake, and pointed out that in earthquake construction, it is better to have a building that will give a little, than one that Is solid. Jones said that a concrete tunnel and spillway have been dug into the side of the mountain approximately one quarter to one-half mile from the dam itself. Designed for Flood Control The spillway and tunnel arc designed for flood control and can carry more water than could ever flow into the reser voir at one time, he said, mak ing it impossible for the water to rise over the top of the structure. Jones also pointed out that there are built-in pressure gauges in the back of the dam which will automatically warn the dam superintendents if the pressure should rise. The dam gates and tunnel could ' then be opened to relieve the pressure, he said. I Jones said the dam is "an I exceptionally good dam." Senate Committee Studies Interest Rate Problems Reapportionment Declared 'Must' Salem - lliro - A Senate com mittee was considering today whether Oregon consumers are being fooled into extrava gant buying and even bank ruptcy by "misleading state ments of interest rates and credit charges. Sen. Richard Groencr (D- Milwaukie) said they are. He asked the Committee on State and Federal Affairs to ap prove a bill that would re quire loan and credit com panies to quote interest rates in simple interest terms - on a yearly basis. Monthly Rates Quoted Groener said many com panies quote monthly rates, and borrowers don't know they have to multiply that by 12 to find out the annual charge. He said other agencies using credit finance describe discount rales that fail to ex press what the consumer is actually paying on installment buying. George Brown of the Ore gon AFL-CIO said the bill, SB 221, would help cut down an alarming rise in personal in debtedness. Rep. Stafford Hanscll (R- Hcrmiston) said the bill would 'see that the price of money is quoted so everybody can understand it . . . just the same as gas, apples or bread." Would Confuse Opponents of the bill dis agreed, and said quoting sim ple interest rates on an annual basis would actually "con fuse" - not simplify - the situ ation for the customer. The committee also heard testimony on a bill by Sen. Robert Straub (D-Eugene) and others to appropriate $50,000 tor a summer camp program for boys up to 18 years. Stale Forester Dwight Phlpps said jobs would be "no problem. A legislator .who proposes to wipe out his present work with a constitutional amend ment in two years said today that nevertheless reapportion ment "on the basis of the existing constitution is a must" this season. Tackles Problem The remarks came from Rep. George Annala (D-Hood River), head of the House Elections and Reapportion ment Committee which must decide how to redistribute legislators to counties on the basis of new census figures. The committee held its first meeting Monday to tackle the problem of seeing that every body is fairly represented - under a constitutional formu la with much room for various interpretations. Annala himself may wen lose his seat under the formu la, since legislators are appor tioned on the basis of popula tion, and Hood River county doesn't have enough people. Trucker Fined For Park Travel William Schiller, Maywood, Calif., was fined a total of $75 Monday for operating a truck and trailer and for improper after-dark lights on the truck in Crater Lake National park. He appeared before U.S. Commissioner Frank Van Dyke, Medford. He was charged with driving a com mercial truck through the park Jan. 12, and had request ed two continuances before the commissioner. Park Superintendent Otto Brown said Schiller's empty truck became stuck during a heavy snow storm. Schiller was fined $50 for operating a truck in the park, and $25 for improper, after dark lighting on the Davidson- Western Plywood company owned vehicle. A 10-day jail sentence was suspended on the trucking charge, and $15 of the $25 fine for improper lighting was suspended. Brown noted that "heavy trucks over 34-ton arc not compatible on the park's low speed and mountainous roads, which are subjected to heavy sightseeing traffic. The road ways were not constructed with sufficient base material to accommodate this type of traffic without serious dam ages being incurred. "To protect both park visit ors and the roadways, lor whose use they were intended to serve, we will continue to enforce established roadway toOnage limitations," Brown addeg. SPY ROLE CHARGED Britain's biggest espionage case since the 1950 arrest of atomic spy Klaus Fuchs began in London today. The prosecu tion charged that Henry Houghton, 55, above, civilian employee at Britain's Port land submarine base, was re cruited for spy work by a Russian posing as a U.S. naval officer. Houghton and four others are charged with sell ing vital defense secrets to a "foreign power." (UPI Telephoto) Courier Service For Curriculum Center Approved The Jackson county rural school budget committee last night approved allocations for a courier service for the coun ty curriculum materials cen ter, but further action on the center's budget was delayed. On a motion by Sam Harbi son, Medford lawyer, the com mittee approved allocation of $2,184 for a panel truck, $12 for license and title, $150 for maintenance, $1,000 for gas, oil and lubrication, and $125 for insurance. Hiring of a courier at $4,000 was excluded from the motion. After considerable discus sion, the committee directed James McDonald, curriculum materials center director, to re-examine categories of dues, printing, supplies, and equip ment and reduce the amounts requested if possible. Objections Raised Objections arose after the budget committee started an Item by item examination of long lists of supplies, printing and office equipment. William A. Starzinger. Rogue River, objected to a requested $37.50 for professional books. Mc Donald agreed to supply more information on the item. Harbison added that the $5,245 requested allocation for printing Is "clear out of sight." The 1960-61 allocation was $1,504.50. McDonald explained that the Public Library of Medford and Jackson county is consid ering to do cataloguing for the center in partial exchange for the courier service drop ping off books at branch li braries. McDonald said the commit tee should consider the budget with the total impact the cen ter has on county education. Catalogues have to be in the hands of each teacher using materials from the center. Up-to-date cataloguing is required for smoother and more rapid handling of materials. The districts are demanding these services, he said. More Facilities Planned at Lake Plans are proceeding for construction of additional fa cilities at Howard Prairie lake, City-County Parks and Recreation Director Robert Haworth told the Jackson county recreation commission last night. County Engineer Robert Carstenscn has been asked to develop plans for a temporary 850-foot extension of the boat ramp at Howard Prairie, he said. Present pier plans have been approved, materials priced and they will be or dered this week, Haworth said. The county has also re tained an architect for con struction of a service building at Howard Prairie, Haworth said. The parks and recreation director said work will get underway possibly next week on the pier. A column anchor type of piling will have to be used, he said. Extension of the boat ramp will be 650 feet by 30 feet to meet the low water level con ditions expected this summer. The service headquarters building will be constructed if that item Is approved in the 1061-62 budget, Haworth explained. Documents Said Sent To Moscow by Radio London-IUPD-Britain charged at the start of its most sen sational espionage trial in a decade today that a five-member spy ring stole key allied naval secrets and sent them to Moscow by short wave radio. The disclosure stirred fears that Russia now knows full details of how the United States and NATO plan to defend themselves against the Soviet Union's fleet of 500 submarines. Atty. Gen. Sir Reginald Manningham-Buller never men tioned Russia specifically during his two-hour opening state ment in Bow Street Criminal Court. But he said a British member of the spy ring was recruited for his espionage work by a Russian posing as a U.S. naval officer, and he left no doubt that the "foreign power" involved was the Soviet Union. Manningham - Buller said that Henry Houghton, 55, a Briton who had served 20 years in the Royal Navy, told police he got into the espion age business through a ruse. The attorney general said Houghton, a civilian clerk at the naval research station at Portland Navy Yard, first agreed to pass on top secret in formation at the request of someone who identified him self as "Commander Alexan der Johnson, U. S. Navy." Radio Set Found Manningham-Buller said "Johnson" actually was "Gor don Lonsdale," one of the three men and two women charged with passing lop se cret information to the "for eign power." The attorney general said an extremely powerful radio set was found in the house of two of the defendants, Peter and Helen Kroger, who pre tended to be booksellers. He said they sent their informa tion to Moscow by radio and micro-dot code hidden in the pages of books. Manningham-Buller said that while the Krogers pur ported to carry on business as booksellers, they actually were spies. ; At the start of Britain's big gest espionage case since the 1050 arrest of atomic spy Klaus Fuchs, Manningham- Buller said the information Houghton and his codefen dants obtained would give complete picture of all secret anti-submarine radar sets and research and development into future sets." Defendants Listed The other defendants are Miss Ethel Gee, 45, a cowork er of Houghton's at Portland which is Britain's largest sub marine base; Peter and Helen Kroger, and a man listed as Gordon Lonsdale, who car ries a Canadian passport but was identified as Russian. Manningham - Buller also brought into the case the names of American defectors William Martin and Bcrnon Mitchell, employees of the Na tional Security Agency in Washington who turned up in Moscow last July. He told of a conversation between "Lons dale" and Houghton in which the names of the two Ameri can defectors were mentioned, but he did not go into detail. Log Truck Certificates Draw Wad of Protests Salem - (UP1) - The Senate Highways committee received wad of protests Monday over a but to require cer tificates for log truckers. The protests came in the form of petitions circulated by the Southern Oregon Con servation and Tree Farm asso ciation, Medford, bearing more than 1,000 signatures. Spokesmen said the certifi cates were unnecessary and would restrict logging trucks. "Men, I Think There'. A Better Way to j Use Them" j Duncan Urged To Tell Candidacy r ror uovernor Salem-WPIl-House Minority Leader F. F. Montgomery to day urged House Speaker Rob ert Duncan of Medford to declare that he is a candidata for governor "since obviously he is." Monlgomery, Eugene Re publican, described the public welfare hearing here tonight -which Duncan will prcsido over-as a "Trandstand play." Speeches Cited Monlgomery cited the num ber of speeches Duncan has made around the state so far this scssion-with many more schcduled-and said this "is all part of the plan." "This is fine," Montgomery said, "but in deference to members of the house, I think he should declare himself." Other Republican sources here said Duncan not only Is preparing to run for gov ernor in 1962 by making him self better known, there are rumblings of a campaign or ganization being formed In Jackson county. Duncan has not indicated he is a candidate for governor, 'Obviously Not Candidate' Duncan said, ."Obviously I'm not a candidate for eov- ernor. People who get excited about future' political ambi tions lose sight of what they're trying to accomplish at present." He added: "I don't intend to put myself in that position." rie also said he was not aware of any campaign move ment in Jackson county. xfension Service Buildings Planned Bids for construction of two buildings for the Jackson county extension service will be opened at 2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24, according to Archi tects Edson and Pappas, Med ford. The buildings, which will be an auditorium and an ad ministration building, will ba constructed adjacent to tha Jackson county fairgrounds. The structures will be con nected by a covered walkway. The auditorium buildina will measure about 36 by 84 feet and include a 250-seat au ditorium and a demonstration kitchen. The administration building will measure about 70 by 77 feet and will pro vide for office space for tha county agent, 4-H and agri culture offices and home ex tension offices. The buildings will be con structed off Stewart ave. next to the fairgrounds.
