. MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFORD. OREGON MONDAY. JULY 8. 1963 j
Postal Departmemit Checks ffoir PropcogarBSd
By NEIL A. MARTIN
United Press International
Washington OIPD The East
West cold war is a conflict
being waged on many and var
ied fronts. And one of the
more subtle struggles is cur
rently taking place in U. S
post offices.
It is an 'inusual "war" in
volving men, words and ideas;
a war of printer's ink, news
print, photographs and catchy
slogans; a propaganda war
v W ....
BIRDING
By JOSEPH HICKS
The migration of birds in the county slowed down toward
the end of May. Particularly noticeable was the absence of
ducks and shore birds on the May 30 bird county. Most of
the birders in this area turned to observation of the nesting
species.
The department of zoology, University of British Co
lumbia, has requested nesting records of Western North
American birds. This gives the local birders the oppor
tunity to participate in a scientific project, and to establish
records of nesting birds not previously listed in southern
Oregon.
Although the grasshopper sparrow discovered by John
Linn Jr., on the May 30 bird count may have been nesting
near Hoover lake, repeated search in early June failed to
disclose its nest. However, there were a pair of grasshopper
sparrows at the location from May 30 to June 17. One of
them acted like other female nesting birds, leading the ob
server away from the nest with short flights.
On June 26 the sparrows were probably feeding their
young, for they made flights to and from the nesting area
at five minute intervals from 7 to 8:45 a.m. On July 1, I
really was surprised to find their nest with four speckled
eggs. Perhaps this is a second nest for this year.
Research by F. Sturgis disclosed there are records of only
one or two previous sightings of this grasshopper sparrow in
eastern Oregon and no records exist west of the Cascade
Mountains.
This sparrow is famous for its ability to hide its nest. It
nest of the blue gray gnatcatchers. The nest was a small,
flies directly to or from its nest. As the nest is small, with
a side approach, and generally hidden in grass over a foot
tall, few nests are seen by observers.
After searching for the past two years I finally found a
nest of the blue gray gnatchatchers. The nest was a small,
lichen-covered cup saddled midway on the limbs of a chap
paral bush.
The nest was finished on May 17; on May 24 there were
four tiny eggs in the nest and the female was on the nest.
On June 11, four young gnatcatchers hatched out and lived
until June 15. Why they did not survive is inexplicable. Per
haps it was too much sun, since June 14 and 15 were very
hot days. On June 27 I observed both the, male and female
gnatcatchers near to their old nest but I did not find a new
nest.
The May 30 bird count recorded a black phoebe nest
near a tributary of the Applegate river. On June 8 I visited
this nest and found that the young ones had hatched and
were being fed by the parents. The nest was located under
a bridge, over a small creek, and affixed to the side of a
concrete beam. It was impossible to look down into the nest,
since the floor of the bridge was only a few inches above
the nest.
, On June 19 a check of the nest showed the young ones
had left the nest and the phoebes were finishing the construc
tion of a new nest. Apparently the young ones were still in
the vicinity for the male adult phoebe chased a young phoebe
away from the nesting area.
Although the young black phoebes were hatched out about
June 1, and the young gnatcatchers about June 11, a western
wood peewee did not sit on her eggs until June 12. The
nest was located near the end of an oak branch about 10
feet from the, ground. The four young were hatched out
about July 1.
The gnatcatchers listed above are one of our most useful
birds, as their diet consists mainly of insects, insect eggs
and larvae. The black phoebe and wood peewee belong to
the flycatcher family, and they subsist mainly on flying
Insects. The nesting cycles of all of these birds occur when
their particular type of food is plentiful.
On June 25 my wife and I took a ride to the summit of
Mt. Ashland, hoping the wild flowers would be as profuse
-as last year. Because of the cold spring there were only a
few wild flowers in bloom, but on the south side of Mt. Ash
land there were over a dozen rufous hummingbirds display
ing their aerial proficiency alongside the road.
This display consisted of two or three dives in rapid suc
cession, from about 150 feet high, then a pause for feeding
and a repeat performance. Continuing to the top of Mt. Ash
land we saw a pair of pine grosbeaks, a Hammond's fly
catcher, a dusky flycatcher, an olive-sided flycatcher, Audu
bon's warblers, and numerous fox and chipping sparrows.
The wild flowers should be in bloom in two weeks or
about July 10. I recommend anyone planning to take this
trip to use the Tollman Creek road south of Ashland. About
four miles up this road there is a new road that branches
toward the south. This new road is well graded and a big
improvement over the old road.
being fought through the
mails.
Since the cold war began
in 1947, Communist presses in
East Berlin, Prague, Buda
pest, Moscow and Peking have
been sending unsolicited prop
aganda into this country at
the rate of 2.5 million pieces
per month-courtesy of Marx-ism-Leninism.
Sent for Screening
During March, April and
May of this year, postal of
ficials reported they sent 8.5
million periodicals, magazines,
tracts and newsletters to for
eign propaganda units for
screening.
Under this program which
has been in operation since
last January, the U. S. Cus
toms bureau screens mail
from Communist bloc coun
tries to determine whether it
contains propaganda. If it
does, the post office impounds
the literature, notifies the ad
dressee, and destroys it after
20 days unless he requests
that it be forwarded.
The bureau employs a spe
cial staff of 39 translators,
clerks, and technical special
ists at propaganda check units
in New York, Miami, New Or
leans, Chicago, El Paso, Los
Angeles, San Francisco, Hono
lulu and San Juan, Puerto
Rico.
The program will cost the
bureau $230,000 in fiscal year
1964. In addition, the post of
fice has spent considerable
time, money and manpower
to carry out its half of the pro
gram. Gives Department Task
Tyler Abell, associate gen.
eral counsel of the post office
department, told a house sub'
committee last month that the
law gave the department an
"admmstrative task that we
didn't want to be saddled
with
"Nevertheless," he added,
"we are doing our best to en
force the program properly."
The I a w, enacted over
Kennedy administration oppo
sition, has been criticized in
various quarters as "censor
ship" and "unconstitutional."
And most of the foreign pub
lications affected have sneered
at it as a "mockery" that de
stroys the "illusion of a free
press in America
The screening of mails for
propaganda Is nothing new.
Durine World War II units
were established to separate
Nazi literature from the regu
lar mail. The practice was re
sumed in 1948 to combat Com
munist propaganda. This pro
gram remained in effect until
1961 when it was cancelled by
the administration on grounds
it aggravated efforts to im
prove East-West relations.
Not To Stop Reading
Customs officials are quick
to point out that the program
was never designed to stop
Americans from reading Com
munist propaganda. Rather,
they say, the law is intended
to stop the flow of material to
people who never requested it
and do not want it.
This is not, or ever has
been, a censorship program,"
Irving Fishman, deputy collec
tor of the customs port of
New York, told UPI. "Who
ever wants the literature is
welcome to it. We just want
to stop it from being mailed
to people who do not want it.
About half the propaganda
is in foreign languages. It is
sent chiefly to emigres from
the Communist lands, Fish
man said. Names and address
es are found through tele
phone books, city directories,
subscription lists and member-
hip charters of groups like
the Polish-American Congress,
he said.
"The last thing in the world
M WORDS that COMFORT
5
a
a
3
Arise, shine: for thy light
is come,
and the glory of the Lord .
is risen upon thee,
ISAIAH S0:t
PERL
FUNERAL HOME
CORNER SIXTH AND OAKDALE
Spacious Parking lot
r
v
IPs promptly ret
pond to eU eclli,
dry or nif At,
MEMBER BY INVITATION
these people want is propa
ganda from their former
homelands," Fishman added.
A Russian emigre living
here complained;
"Shortly after I came to
America, I began to receive
Russian language propaganda.
I moved twice before coming
to Washington, and still I re
ceive it. I wish It would stop."
Fishman concedes the hard
est part of the operation is de
fining what is or is not prop
aganda. The law defines prop
aganda as material which is
."intended to influence the re
cipient with reference to po
litical . . . policies of a foreign
government or foreign politi
cal party or the foreign pol
icies of the United States . . ."
Fishman said the technical
assistants and translators in
the various check units were
"well qualified to carry out
this end of the operation."
Made More Difficult
But the overall task is made
more difficult because much
of the material is lot labeled
as having been printed in
Communist countries. Also
Communist publishing houses
stamp unsolicited literature
"subscription copy" so that it
can pass through customs "ex
empt," Fishman said.
During May, 2.57 million
pieces of literature screened
by customs, 978,256 were ex
empt as subscription copies, or
material intended for govern-
Belt Is Good Long
Term Investment
Ft. Smith, Ark. (UPI) Con
veyor belts usually are pur
chased as a long-term invest
ment, but the Arkola Sand
and Gravel company here had
to wait 20 years to realize
any return.
The company now is install
ing a 500-foot conveyor belt
that it purchased in 1943 -then
promptly lost in a flood
on the Arkansas river.
The belt was unearthed re
cently when company em
ployees were dredging for
sand under the river. It had
been buried under seven feet
of silt, still in the crate in
which it was shipped from
Goodyear's plant in Akron,
Ohio, in 1943.
A short length of belt that
obviously had been damaged
by water soaking into its four
plies of cotton fabric was
discarded from its exposed
end and a sample was cut for
testing in Goodyear labora
tories. Test engineers, watch
ing an impending sale fly out
the window, found the belt in
like-new condition.
To the sand and gravel
firm, it was like finding the
world's largest gold nugget
in the river.
Volatile Liquids
Cause Farm Fires
Champaign, 111. -(UPO- Care
lessness in, using and storing
gasoline, kerosene and other
petroleum products is respon
sible for the annual loss of
500 lives and more than $5
million damage from farm
fires.
University of Illinois safety
specialist O. L. Hogsett says
farm families can safeguard
i their lives and property
against the hazards of fire
j and explosion by careful stor-
ing and handling of inflam
; mable liquids.
Hogsett says never pour
i kerosene Into a stove or fur
i nace that is still warm from
I a previous fire,
j Keep lamps, lanterns, heat
! ers, stoves and brooders in a
! safe place and guard against
overheating.
If home dry-cleaning must
, be done, do it out of doors
and use i non-flammable
cleaning fluid.
Store gasoline in an under
ground tank or a shade steel
drum away from all build
ings, says Hogsett, and never
handle gasoline or kerosene
in an open container.
WHOLESOME MILK
Skimmed milk or dry skim
milk conta tj as much pro-
.;ri it w!':.'.f rolJk but a glass
Dennis the Menace
i if 1
'G08HM l oion't know w HAO THATAWCH AiHNWi
ffl c
"Njs
...but the best thing to take is money!
Like so many other good things, a family
vacation is much more fun when you save for
it in advance and avoid debt. It's all pleas
ure when it's paid for. Plan to make your
next vacation carefree. Open a savings ac
count with us and add to it regularly. Ex
cellent earnings help your savings grow.
Investment made by
he 10th of the month
earns as of the first.
CURRENT DIVIDEND 4Vt PER ANNUM
and LOAM ASSOCIATION
201 West 6th
Free Customer Parking in Our lot
Robert F. Kyle, Mgr.
ment, school, library or pro
fessional institutions.
"Many people could be re
ceiving and reading Commu
nist material without know
ing its origin or purposes,"
Fishman said.
One such person turned out
to be a Congressman's wife.
Finds Wife Reading
At recent hearings by the
house postal operations sub
committee, which was study
ing how the law was operat
ing, Rep. Morris K, Udall,
D-Ariz., said he came home
one evening to find his wife
reading a copy of "Women of
the Whole World."
"She had received it in the
mail and had no idea that it
was Communist literature,"
Udall said. "She was quite sur
prised when I told her."
Typical of the anonymous
propaganda sent to U. S. cit
izens is a small, three-page
tract entitled "What You
Should Know About the
Wall." Referring to why the
Communist wall dividing East
and West Berlin was built, the
tract offered:
"Bonn propaganda de
scribes the wall as a 'mon
strous evidence of the aggres
siveness of world Commu
nism'. Have you ever consid
ered it to be a sign of ag
gressiveness when someone
builds a fence around his prop
erty?" Most of the recent propa
ganda barrage, officials said,
has emphasized the U. S. ra
cial problem and U.S. Cuba
policy, besides repeating the
Soviet line of "peace," "coex
istence" and "disarmament."
Whether the law is made
stronger or even weakened,
postal and customs officials
agree that their job will not
be any easier in the future.
An elusive opponent, the Com
munist propagandists, they
say, are finding new ways to
challenge government precau
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