Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989, May 23, 1963, Image 25

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Medford mail tribune., May 23, 1963, Image 25

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Newspaper Page Texti ; THURSDAY. MAY 23. 1963 MEDFOHD MAIL TRIBUNE, MtDFORD, OREGON MEDrORD MAIL TRIFUNE, MEDFORD. OREGON rHTTRSDAT, WAT M. INI mj Nation Examines Mine Safety Rules on Heels of Two Disasters Majority of Representatives Are Hard-Working Dedicated ' M .. .. .mi i ii.u i. .m,iiii,i. iim uimiiH h well taken uo i and unallowed office ex-iiressmen and Ser By MARIJANE DUNCAN Washington, D. C. So much has been written and said about what Congressmen do end don't do, should and shouldn't do, that perhapi the reading public is a little weary of it all. Still, it seems to me the negative has been stressed to the detriment of the public concept of what a Congress. man really is and what most of them actually do with their time here in Washington We have not been here long enough so that I can qualify as any kind of an expert. I must base my observations on short acquaintance with na tional affairs plus personal acquaintance with some Con gressmen and their wives, Experience in Politics Several years' experience in state politics and slate government may lend some validity to my opinions; it was here that I realized how the misconceptions harbored by the average citizen about legislator! and legislative af fairs are nourished by pub licity about the misbehaviours of some public servants. Of course malfeasance in office exists, as It always has. People who get elected to of fice are still people. In every legislative body, including the Congress, there are those who will abuse privileges, and those who will not. There are a lot who will work hard and do their best, and some who will fritter away their time ' (and the taxpayers' money). But I firmly believe that the great majority of elected representatives are honest, hard-working, dedicated, and able. Unfortunately, these are not the kind of lawmakers who make "good copy." Start Early, Finish Lata Most Congressmen start their day early and finish it late. Dinner can never be planned before seven (if he comes home for dinner at all). And this applies to Saturdays Smocked Charmer 9095. 10-20 Smocking (simple to do on checks) - or gathers arid lit tie-girl charm to nightie or beachdress. Sew it swiftly in gingham, Dacron, batiste. Printed Pattern 1)095: Misses' Sizes 10, 12, 14, lfi, 18, 20. Size 111 requires 4Vs yards US-Inch fabric. FIFTY CENTS in coins for this pattern - add IS cents for each pattern (or first-class mailing and i-peciai handling. Send to Marian Martin, Med fofd Mail Tribune, Pattern Dept., 232 West 18th St., New York 11, N.Y. Print plainly NAME, ADDRESS with SIZE and STYLE NUMBER. FREE OFFER! Coupon In Summer Pattern Catalog for one pattern free - anyone you choose from 300 design Ideas. Send 80 cents now for Catalog. Keating Returns From California Trip Rodney Keating, Valley View orchardist and former Jackson county Judge, has re turned from a short vacation in California during which he Joined his son, Ens. Timothy Keating, U.S. Navy, on the Attack Cargo Ship Seminole on the trip from San Fran cisco to Vallejo. It was as Commander USNR, retired, that lie made the Journey, since civilians are not allowed travel on the attack ship, Keating pointed out. The Seminole recently re turned from six months In the Orient and will he in and out of San Diego until December, when she returns to the Orient. On the last trip, the ship returned the much dis cussed Thailand art exhibit to Bangkok. a. well as ' th liddltional working days. If a Congressman lias only one major committee, he is busy; for he will serve on several of its subcommittees which meet several times a week, attend the meetings of the whole committee, attend the sessions (though this it not compulsory as it is In the Oregon legislature, unless ma. Jor legislation comes to the floor), keep up on pending legislation, work on his own bills, answer stacks of mail daily, sec a steady stream of visitors, meet with govern ment officials and other members of Congress, take field trips to become acquaint ed with federal projects, do a lot of outside reading to keep himself informed on what our government Is doing or needs to be doing and what is happening in other coun tries that could affect us -and, of course, keep abreast of the particular problems of his own district and state. No On Qualifies I had heard of the "Tuesday to Thursday" club before coming to Washington. There may be such a thing, but I haven't met anybody yet who qualifies. Even if Congress only met three days a week, which it doesn't, a member's time would be well taken up with all his other responsi bilities. This may explain, too, why It Is not easy for a faraway representative to visit his dis trict often, aside from the ob vious reason that he can't af ford many such trips. A Congressman's wife could say a lot on the subject of what can and cannot be af forded. Maintaining two homes is expensive, living in Washington Is expensive, and there are many drains on an MC's salary that aren't re alized, such as trips home, TV and radio tapes to keep one's constituents informed, and unallowed office ex penses. And it Is true that there are more social obligations to be met here than at home. Baby-sitting takes a large slice out of our budget. So does transportation, living as faf out of the District as we do. Still, if we move closer in, we will find our rent In creased accordingly. So, why do people take on all this hard work, frustra tion, and criticism, uproot themselves and their families from their homes, and come to Washington? There is no simple answer or one that applies to all Con gressmen and Senators equal ly. For some, it may be per sonal aggrandizement; not many, I think. Most come up the political route, running for lesser office first. For these it is a sort of evolve ment. But I think a better word is "involvement" - involve ment in the affairs of man kind, if you will. For no one can be a good representative of the people if he is not in volved with all of them - and with each of them - to the point of being willing to sublimate his personal de sires and inclinations to theirs. OSU SummerClasses To Start June 17 Corvaliie Oregon State university's summer session will open June 17 and end either 8 or 12 weeks later de pending on wants and needs of individual students. The eight-week session will be completed Aug. 9, but an additional four weeks of inter session will then be offered ending Sept. 8. By putting the two programs together, a stu dent may earn 18 credits a full-quarter's program plus, according to Dr. Franklin R. Zeran, dean of education and director of summer session. The eight-week session is particularly well adapted to public school teachers who are interested in doing ad vanced study but ho do not have the time to attend a longer summer school, Zeran explained. Course offerings at OSU will be expanded again this summer In keeping with the university's program of year round school, he added. NAMED MANAGER Klamath Falls Mrs. Alma C. Mullis, Klamath Falls of fice employee of California Pacific Utilities company, has been promoted to district of fice manager, according to V. V. Lyman, Southern Oregon and Shasta division manager of the local gas company. Local Permits for Buildings Increase Building perii'- increased in Medfcrd and Grants Pass . in April, 1963, compared to April, 1962, the University of Cgon bureau of business re search has reported. In April, 1963, the total in Medford was $734,235, up from $451,874 the ' same month last year, and Grants Pass' total last month was $306,075, up from $155,373. Statewide last month's building permits showed an 8.2 per cent drop compared to April, 1962, according to the report. By NORMAN RUNNION United Press International Washington - (UPli - At 10:28 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 6, 1907, an enormous explosion ripped through coal workings at the West Virginia town of Mono-gah- and thereby created a landmark in the long and grim history of mine disasters. Of 367 men who had gone below that day in No. 6 and No. 8 mines, S62 died. It was the highest death total in the history of U.S. coal mining operations. Just last month, at 10:58 p.m. on April 25 a blast shat tered Compass Shaft No. 2, some 330 feet underneath the surface at Dola, W. Va. This time 22 miners were killed. Between these two disasters lie 53 years, vast improve ments in mine safety and technology, thousands of dead men, and sobbing widows at the pit heads. There are some who argue that 35 years from now, if by then men continue to work deep in the earth in an indus try that even today is wobbly on its feet, explosions and deaths still will be inevitable. Periodically, however, and usually on the heels of a disaster, the nation is stirred into re-examining the safety rules and regulations of the mines. Such a period is right now, in the aftermath of two major explosions that have claimed 59 lives in the past five months. The first was in December at Carmichaels, Pa., where 37 died and the second at Dola. Kennedy Acts On May 1, President Ken nedy directed Interior Secre tary Stewart L. Udall to work with state officials in "an in tensive review of present mine safety regulations and prac tices." He also asked him for a prompt report on possible new federal legislation need ed to minimize accidents. Udall in turn wrote to the governors of the nine major coal producing states - Ala bama, Illinois, Ken t u c k y, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennes see, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia - inviting state mine officials to a conference in Washington to discuss the sit uation. He said he might schedule a later meeting with industry and labor representatives. The President said the alarming thing about the Car michaels and Dola explosions was that they came after al most seven years free of disas ters with heavy casualties. In his letter to Udall, he said that "considering the ac cident prevention measures available to industry, and the inspection and compl i a n c e powers presently available to the state and federal agencies charged with supervising mine safely - I consider such loss of life unacceptable." The "inspection and com pliance powers" mentioned by the President have been avail able to the federal govern ment for a mere 11 years. Disasters Many This is despite the fact that since 1839, when 53 men were killed in a shaft near Rich mond, Va., more than 13,000 coal workers have died in major U.S. mining disasters. Throughout the great produc tive years of the industry there were no federal laws that could force the companies to protect the men who toiled deep in the ground. In 1940 and 1941, however, there came a change. A series of disasters, including six ma jor explosions in 1940 that took the lives of 300 men. brought the federal foot in the door. Pressed by President John L. Lewis and his United Mine Workers, and backed by the Franklin D. Roosevelt admin istration, the 77th Congress in 1941 enacted the Coal Mines Inspection and Investigation Act, Public Law 49. This gave the Secretary of the Interior power to make in spections and investigations of health and safety conditions in mines. But all he could do was publish reports of the findings. There was no author ity to enforce safety stand ards. Then on Dec. 21, 1951, came disaster at Orient No. 2 mine In West Frankfort, III. In the words of the Bureau of Mines report: 119 Killed "The night shift entered the mine at the No. 4 shaft and the man-trips left the shaft bottom about 6:25 p.m., reach ing the woiking sections about 20 to 30 minutes later. About 7:40 p.m. the explosion caused the death of 118 of the V?nn w ivr?f?f? r?iAW( n rtrar tbti rnrrann f a nnn 3smsm GCUB Salad. D ressie Piedmont FULL QUART s9 Rules for Playing: Anyone over 18 is eligible to play except Safeway employees and members of their immediate family. Disfigured cards are void. No purchase is necessary. All Winning Cards Must Be Verified Before Pay ment. Only Rona Fide Spell C-A-S-H Cards Will Be Honored. Lake. M Hubs Cream O' the Crop So very Fresh 2 doz. Soda ID) Fop Cragmont Regular or Low Calorie 14 Delicious Flavors (6 12-oz. cans 59 White Magie for washday pride and praise. wmm mm JKE MM, TillH Town House Extra flavor 46-oz. can Truly Fine White & pastels Box of 400 w I -1 DEL MONTE T$jj!1Ji IPEAS CORN just-picked flavor packed in Finest Quality 303 can 5:1 3 for 1 Shop tba store tbal lives yog mora. We Give STAMPS Save at you spend at Safeway . . . low, low price's, plus Gold Bond Stamps. CATSUP Highway tomato catsup r-1 FRUIT COCKTAIt Town House variety fruits No.303 C F 5 M" D) r I o SAVE o Kraft Dressing DEL MONTE PINEAPPLE GRAPEFRUIT PRINK 46-oz. can LOW, LOW PRICES PLUS GOLD BOND STAMPS 7 0h l&if J;'4& M . It---. V- i&AiyK Via w ."ft iSK Miracla Frtnch 8 ot. jar French Dressing $X:iZ7 Kratt for Colt Slaw. S oi. 29c 29c 41c 41c Catalina Dressing Kraft Dressing Hash Browns frm... 2 fr 39c Dog Food v:LF,;;it 6c.n, 59c Charcoal Lighter :.';?,!'.? 39c Real Gold Fruil Base Hills Bros. Coffee Edwards Coffee Dr. Pepper Umon, Crap, Pineapple-Grapefruit, Orange, Blend. 6 et. can Fresh taatlng even reheated- 2-lb. can Full bodied flavor cup after cup. Fineat quality.- Cool and Refreshing Plus Deposit Mayonnaise Piedmont Full Quart 3gc FRESH APPLE ROLLS 35' Ci Strawberry Chocolate Vanilla Neapolitan SNO-STAR GaL 5,89c 97e - 49c Mb. can WM 6 s; 59e OAOTOOT; :--PC3G :c-c -DGAITD . . -; ADTJAlfg BUSH U.S.D.A. Choice Aged Beef RIB ROAST Full of juice Perfect for stuffing doz. 39c 3 ,or 25c Romaine Lettuce Sunkist Lemons Bell Peppers Cauliflower Sr-" ,19c Avocados ARTICHOKES Grand with ateaka Buttery ripe; low in calorlet Serve with mayonnaiie or butter. 69c M 2 25c iVfa rl ... AA. 1 lk-"3.-"'. r. ; JFmZ 1 mm eawv -TsrrT-ama'mi je. ksmm? a 2 29c Ihe King ot oven ff fW 0m rosasts. So tender, f so verv iuicv. LB. SJJ SAFEWAY Picnic Jug "Wor,d We Live ln" -a j ew volume edition. Air Conditioned Keep h wrink keep c,j Book$ ,re ou,grw,h f ni o $ t acclaimed and drinks cold. hi widely-read series ever to For Your Shopping -Q0 Comfort Size y lth j men In the mine: 4 were res cued (1 of whom died) and 133 escaped uninjured." Like so many others, Orient No. 2 blew up because an accumulation of methane gas was somehow touched off. Subsequent investigation re vealed that federal mine in spectors, going down into the mine six months before the disaster, had warned of haz ards that could cause an ex plosion. On July 16, 1952, seven months after the 119 victims were buried, Congress enact ed the Federal Coal Mine Safely Act. Under it, federal inspectors were given author ity to require compliance with mine safely provisions or in voke penalties. The "teeth" had finally been added. The catch, in the view of many of the miners, was that the law applies only to those mines which employ 15 or j more men. Some state laws, ' such as those in West Virginia, cover everything. Praiiet Mine Laws For this reason, Raymond O. Lewis, president of United Mine Workers District 17 and brother of John L told a re porter recently that "on my part, I can say right down the line that the United Mine Workers Union is happy with West Virginia's mining laws. In my opinion, West Virginia has one of the most enlighten ed mine safety laws of any state. While not a cure-all for all dangers in this most dan gerous occupation, the laws have done a great deal." Lewis said he hoped that the Federal Mine Safety Act would be extended to mine operations employing less than 15 men, as Is the case in West Virginia. It is ridicu lous, he said, that a man work ing In a large mine is entitled to more protection than a man in a small mine. One who feels exactly the same is Rep. John H. Dent, a Democrat from the coal mining state of Pennsylvania. He has Introduced a bill to extend federal coverage to any and all mines. In a speech to the House recently, he said: "Any person interested in the industry knows full well that there has been a growing tendency on the part of large mine oper ators and coal land owners to divide up large areas of coal lands Into small contract mining operations to circum vent the mine safety law." Admits Oppoiitton He acknowledged o p p o s I tlon to his bill, but said: I remember well the argu ments used against the pass age of the original mine safe ty bill. I am hearing them again today. It is too costly. We cannot afford lo do all the tilings the federal law re quires. We will have to shut down operations and throw men out of work. Our state examinations are enough. Fed eral examination is an un necessary duplication. "Yet, we all know that mines did not shut down then. That state examinations were not enough. That federal ex aminers with power to close down unsafe mines did bring more safety to every mining stale In the union. The figures speak for themselves. The very idea that a federal in spector might be making an appearance at any mine, any where, anytime, tends to keen state inspectors on their toes and alert for violations." , In that speech Dent Quoted this remark by Charles Fer guson, safety director of the United Mine Workers: "At least 95 per cent of all Injuries and fatalities In coal mines are preventable and only occur because of the fail ure of all concerned to apply the knowledge they possess and have not used." In the Pennsylvania anthra cite area, there Is an inscrip tion on a miner's tombstone. "Forty years I worked with pick and drill Down in the mines against my will, The coal king's slave; but now it s past, Thanks be to God I'm free at last." Mr. Wright's Top quality Reg. 39c -Today Bread wh"uw!iri,',2Vt hi. loai 3 89c Hamburger Buns JtataiM. rk. e I 33c Sittxr tvaranttti ll.m i( nlli. Ymi mart k latiifitd 9 your meny will i.tundtd. Asparagus Margarine Walla Walla Fleithman'a Wondorfu for tandw 27c: lity.. lb. 43c : B"'30 Cut (peart Picnict .each S Zee Bags for tandwichet 1A IUU Green Peas I Shortening S Modess Walla Walla Spry. Vegetable Sanitary 303 .n 2 45c : ar:.:9 89c : m. $1.73 Toilet Tissue pk 27c More Meat Values at Safeway Pork Chops sir .:!.:!::; 69c Spencer Steaks XX S1.39 Rib Steaks aged beef bone In. lb. 79c Boiling Beef Halibut Steaks.cr.ln,fr;, 69c Plate cut, Real economy. 15c Pork Loins Whole or full half. Pro ceiiod for your froeter. lb. 49c Chiffon, White, pasrelt ... I Toilet Tissue Zee White I paitelt QQa 4 roll Va7C Ptltti affective Thur.r, May 23 tfireuflh Sunday May 26 at S.f.wiy In Mtdfora. W. r.i.rv. the rif fit le limit. Barber Shop Chorus Presents Program The newly organised Bar ber Shop Chorus and Quartet presented Its first program before a group recently when members sang at the Rogue Valley Manor. Some of the members ' the group were from Grants ass Including their leader, Bert Broer. The local group is af filiated with the Society for the Preservation and Encour agement of Barber Shop Quar tet Singing in America. They meet each Tuesday at 8 p.m. in the Crater High school music room in Central Point. There are 36 men in the chorus. At the recent appearance the group sang a number of old time favorites including "Down By the Old Mill Stream," "When You Wore a Tulip," and "In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree." Other public appearancei of the group are being planned. 'HI fc- - - - -- - -n ri -V a m m ai.fc I m i iaai ti -- -i ,r-T.t.