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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 29, 1963)
CD o MLDKOHO HAIL IHlBUtL. lILUt UHU, OHblAirt TUWtbUaf. AlHVIT IS, 19S3 enn Performs Unprecedented Act in Leaving House of Lords By GREGORY JENSEN United Press International London - CTI' - On the last afternoon of July a slender, handsome, dark-haired man of 38 walked quickly into Britain's gilded House of Lords. An attendant greeted him at the door with the words: "Good evening, my lord." A few minutes later the fame man walked out of the House of Lords. This time the attendant said, "Good night, sir " During those minutes, the second Lord Stansgate, Vis count of the United Kingdom and thus an automatic mem ber of the House of Lords, had performed an act unprece dented in a thousand years of British history. He had legally renounced his title. He disclaimed all right to be called "Lord Stans Bate," to sit and vote in the House of Lords, to wear the traditional "two and a half rows of ermine, the coronet of 13 silver balls," to bear the privileges of peerage and the status which obliges Queen Elizabeth herself to address him as "our right trusty and well-beloved cousin." At 6:22 p.m. that day, as a paper passed from his hand to that of Sir George Cold si rem, the clerk of the crown in chancery. Viscount Stans gate became Mr. Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn, com moner. Two Vestiges Remain Only two vestiges of Wedg wood Benn's former lordly status remain. One is the dor mant title, . to be inherited some day by Bonn's eldest son Stephen, 12. The other is a test-tube full of the "noble blood" of the Viscount Stans gate who is no more. "I had the blood specially extracted and bottled while I was in hospital in Bristol," Benn said. Thai was 10 days before he stopped being a lord and. as he put it, "ac quired the infinitely greater distinction of being once more a plain mister - a citi zen with a vote." Anthony Wedgwood Benn had been fighting for 10 years for the right to be call ed "plain mister." Almost to the end it looked a losing fight. He was only 17 when the story began. That was in 1942, when his father, William Wedgwood Benn, was created the first Viscount Stansgate. The elder Benn accepted the title reluctantly, and only to bolster his Labor party's rep resentation in the House of V - v. m if sJ W i m RENOUNCES TITLE Anthony Wedgwood-Benn and his U.S. born wife, Caroline, leave the House of Commons after he legally renounced his title, disclaiming all right to be call ed "Lord Stansgate" and sit in the House of Lords. He wished to remain in the House of Commons, where political power now lies in England. (UPI) Britain is in the House of Commons. Power Slips Away The House of Lords, for centuries the real power in Britain, has seen that power slip steadily away. In 1832, reform acts broke the aristoc racy's control af parliament ary constituencies, and in clash after clash since then the power of the Lords has been diminished until today it is a high-class debating society and little more. Bonn went to his father in 1953 and explained his dil emma. Viscount Stansgate quickly agreed. As a matter of fact, the Viscount himself was growing weary of his powerless position in the House of Lords and wanted to get back into the political fray - he had been a mem ber of the House of Commons for 24 years. The first Lord Stansgate, as a result of his son's pleas, himself tried to renounce his title and, for reasons buried Lords during the wartime , coalition. Brother Killed ; Benn was not due to in- j herit the title at all. He had an older brother, Michael, who was first in line of sue-; cession. But Michael, a Royal I air force pilot, was killed in World War Two, making the younger man the heir. A pilot himself in the R A F. and the Royal Navy. Benn went up to Oxford after the ! war, taking a first degree i with honors in 1943 and a ; master's degree with honors a : year later. Once out of the university, Wedgwood Benn plunged into politics. He was, like his fath er, a Laborite, and again like his father he early won a seat from 1950 to the time his father died in 1960 - and he became a viscount. Even while his father was still alive, Benn had decided he didn't want the title. Benn was determined to stay in politics - and the place for an ambitious politician in deep in British history, he couldn't. Then young Wedgwood Benn decided to try it on his own. In 1955 at his son's re quest Lord Stansgate intro duced a bill in the House of Lords permitting his heir to renounce the title. Lord Stansgate spoke elo quently in support of the ef fort. Referring to the death of his eldest son, who should have inherited the title, he said "it heaped onto the un willing shoulders of this young man (Wedgwood Benn) honors which were going to bar him from all the am bitions of his life." But their Lordships dis agreed and by vote of 54 to 24 rejected the bill. On Nov. 18, 1960. the first Viscount Stansgate died at 83. Much against his will, An thony Wedgwood Benn be came a lord, and could sit no longer in Commons. He plunged at once into a fight UPI to Syndicate, Produce Newsfilm Services for TV that gained him world - wide attention as "the reluctant peer." Benn announced he would never use the title. He refused to take his seat in the House To Size 43 New York-IUFIi-United Press International announced to day that effective Oct. 1 it will produce as well as syndi cate its newsfilm services for television. The announcements was made by Mims Thomason, president and general man ager of United Press Interna tional, who said plans have now be been completed for the inauguration on that date Hatfield Urges Care in Driving Gov. Mark Hatfield has urged care in driving during the period Sept. 4 to 11. which has been designated as National Child Safety week. In a statement issued this week, the governor reminded residents that schools through out the state will be reopen ing with thousands of Oregon children en route to and from schools each day along the streets and highways travel ing by foot and on bicycles. There is obviously need for alertness on the part of mo torists, in school zones, near playgrounds, or any area where groups of children are active, the governor con tinued. The statement concluded that each Oregonian should cooperate in every possible manner, not only during this special week, but throughout the year, in making the streets and highways safe. Portland -IUPIi- Portland po lice said Wednesday a wide spread car theft ring has been broken up and four young men arrested here. of UPI's own newsflim pro duction facilities for serving its TV subscribers throughout the world. For the past, 12 years UPI's television newsfilm services have been produced in collab oration with Movietone News, which is discontinuing its ac tivities in the domestic news reel field. The arrangement will terminate Oct. 1. Leroy Keller, UPI vice president and general sales manager, who organized Unit ed Press Movietone News with Twentieth Century-Fox in 1951, paid warm tribute to Movietone for the cooperation extended to UPI during the association. "Our joint efforts have won for UPI television newsfilms a world-wide reputation for its scope and quality," Keller said. "This reputation will now be further enhanced and ex panded with the complete co ordination of newsfilm cov erage, production and serving facilities within the frame work of UPI's global com munications complex. UPI newsfilm services are now seen on television sta tions in 45 countries. Subscrib ers in this country include more than 100 independent stations in addition to the American Broadcasting Co. network. Outside the United States UPI newsfilm is sup plied to national net work and individual television sta tions in Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Aus tralia and Latin America. Thomason announced that Hary Varian, former assistant general manager of UPI Newspictures, has been ap pointed general manager of I the new UPI newsfilm service. j ' .34-48 of Lords. He began a seeming ly endless series of legal ma neuvers to strip himself of his unwanted honors. His greatest supporter was an unlikely one - his wife. Caroline Wedgwood Benn is an American. And as one Brit ish newspaper said in 1960, Serve Smartly! 9266 "It's so becoming," is the comment you'll hear from everyone. Scallops, smart lines, pretty play of pleats no wonder you'll love it. Printed Pattern 9266: Women's Sizes 34. 36, 38, 40, 42. 44, 46. 48. Size 36 re quires 5? yards 35-inch fabric. FIFTY CENTS in coins for this pattern add 15 cents for each pattern for first-class mailing and special handling. Send to Marian Martin, Med ford Mail Tribune, Pattern Dept., 232 West 18th St., New York 11, N Y. Print plainly NAME, ADDRESS with SIZE and STYLE NUMBER. CLIP COUPON FOR 50c FREE PATTERN in big, new Fall-Winter Pattern Catalog, just out! 354 design ideas. Send 50c for Catalog. just after the first Lord Stans gate died: Wife Supports Him "You might imagine that Mrs. Bonn would love to be a Lady and contemplate all that ermine. But no. Mrs. Benn is Mr. Benn's most forceful supporter." Mrs. Benn, who retains her American citizenship, remain ed outspoken in her husband's cause, and once said, "even if a title didn't stand in the way of my husband's career, I would always prefer to be plain 'Mrs.' " The end of the battle came in sight in this year's parlia ment with the introduction in the House of Commons of the Peerage bill, commonly call ed the "Wedgwood Benn en abling bill." This time, with both Conservative and Labor Party support, it passed. Give a lift to everyday living with gala aprons in gay color combinations. Part y-pretty pair. Sew them of remnants with em broidery, rick-rack trim. Pat tern 7052; transfers for flow ers, rickrack, pattern pieces. THIRTY FIVE CENTS (coins) for this pattern add 15 cents for each pattern for first-class mailing and special handling. Send to Alice Brooks, Medford Mail Trib une, Needlecraft Dept., P. O. Box 163. Old Chelsea Sta tion, New York 11. NY. Print plainly NAME, AD DRESS, PATTERN NUMBER. 1963's Biggest Needlecraft Show stars smocked acces sories it's our new Needle craft Catalog! Plus over 200 fresh-to-you designs to knit, crochet, sew, weave, embroi der, quilt. Plus free pattern. Send 25c now! r z.t ; -. '.1 rl t 5- -1 ensttecr. tH tm W V-f"'l -,t , V SJLT y y"a ! ( 1 '! ill jij RP ik, i Ff " p if Wh j03IM ffiu MW BVil LbOI igig -.t'-.-t -r. ns' to-,' ,J "13 u i ferff m m wi"yi'llllltiS$ ' v.- -"jfT? if u t tr:- "M -. tffm T 'J- , fert-U r-lC v ii. M A? J m J.:t. I r 1 y-LztL. K,A.L IZmX , , . 1 " SAVE FOR THE FUTURE Just as the industrious beaver plans for the winter ahead, wise people save (or retirement income, their children's education or for a better way of life. Regular deposits in a sav ings account at The Oregon Bank are fully insured as they grow. Plan for your future at The Oregon Bank. WE'RE EAGER TO SERVE you: tneoreaon IT TV PORTLAND Ciit Medford 701 E. Jackson St. Rogua Valley 1 109 Court St. Member Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Federal Reserve Systen J B DON'T O l TURN nv &Y0UR fBACK j)-. Remember- LM& only YOU can prevent forest fires! j llltf I f I I 11 ! I I I I 1 Rememher- -. Zp only YOU can prevent forest fires! ) Medford Mail Tribune o (2)
