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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 16, 1963)
FIRST LADY WATCHES GOLF Mrs. Jac queline Kennedy pushes her hair back as she watches the President drive off the 10th tee during a round of golf at Newport, R.I. The CITY TAX SQUEEZIi New York's recent teachers' salary crisis underlines the grim probability that we who live in this fabulous city will be hit by another tax boost next year to cover 1964's record municipal spending on top of the $200 million tax hike we received this year to cover 1963's record municipal spending. Mayor Wagner gave us a big "hint" of this prospect when he warned last month of "the growing magnitude" of New York City's financial problems and said, "I cannot give clear assur ance that our present tax resources will be sufficient to meet next year's needs." The pay increases given to the teachers to avert a strike suggest that Wagner's hint may be a forecast. At $3.1 billion, New York City's income is larger than the income of the entire federal government in 1933, but it's still not suffi cient to cover our expanding spending. We New Yorkers are carrying a record budget, a record tax load, a record debt but the trends continue ever up. So preoccupied are most Americans with the spending budget in Washington that they do not see in proper perspective what is going on at their own front doors. What's happening to us in New York is happening in cities particularly big ones from coast to coast, and such excep tions to the. uptrend as Cleveland and Boston are mighty few. While federal spending outside of defense has crept moderately higher in recent years, the financial scale of all city governments has doubled in the past decade alone. In 1962 revenues of our cities totaled $16.7 billion against $8.3 billion in 1952 and their spending hit $17.1 billion against $8.4 bil lion. At the end of the 1962 fiscal year outstanding debts of the cities amounted to $26.8 billion against $12.6 billion in 1952, and their financial assets (cash and holdings of securities) reached $14.1 billion against $6.9 billion. All the figures for 1962 are up 100 per cent or more over 1952. What's more, the spending total does not include other local spending by counties, school districts, special tax authorities, townships even though much of this spending goes directly for city functions and services. If this other spending were added, the scale of local governments now would be well above $42 billion again double the 1952 level. Where is the money going? Of course, a substantial per centage goes to salaries, but it is most significant that while city government payrolls have climbed around 50 per cent in the 10 year period, the number of municipal government employees on a full-time equivalent basts has risen only about 28 per cent to approximately 1.5 million. The fact is the money is spent for an exceedingly wide va riety of items, ranging from bricks to bod sheets, from airports lo welfare, from police protection to sanitation. Just operating the cities took $11,1 billion of the S17.1 billion spent in l!)ii2. Construction of facilities, purchase of land, existing structures and equipment took over $4.2 billion. Interest on city debt absorbed more than S800 million. Spending on airports is up over 300 per cent since 1952. on housing and urban renew al it's up over 200 per cent, on libraries it's up over 100 per cent. The smallest percentage increases have been chalked up for health, hospitals and public welfare. Where is the money coming from? Of the $16.7 billion in rev enues, most come from taxes property and other taxes. Nearly one-fifth came from sales by municipally operated utilities and liquor stores. In recent years, cities have been obtaining increas ing amounts from their own sales taxes. Where are the cities heading? While some cities are putting a lid on expansion of functions and services, the trend toward expansion remains powerful, and since their taxing powers are limited, cities the nation over are in a growing squeeze. In New York City, as an illustration, we scream and squawk each time Mayor Wagner proposes a new tax or "fee," but we continue demanding new functions and services. We're hardly unique. With our city taxes going up, our state taxes going up, our social security taxes going up, from what direction can we hope for relief? Only from the federal government and that relief is what the White House is urging the Congress to vote us right now. . i4 CORNER MEMBER BY anMcnudiaialmffUialiai of ft Vl MIAMWD RJ SOT HT 1 ' a? com rli BIT it wJ rH )V Your Money's Worth By SYLVIA PORTER Copyright, Hal) Syndicate, Inc. WORDS tM COMFORT The Lord is my Shepherd: I shall not want. He maheth me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. PSALM 23:1-2 PERL FUNERAL HOME SIXTH AND OAKDALE Spacious Parking lot INVITATION utpcndablt Juncral UutclM tt'e promptly ttu ( pond lo ell colli, V day or fiifif. first family spent the week end at the home of Mrs. Kennedy's mother and stepfather, Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Auchincloss in Newport. (UPI) All-Ouf Drive for Tax Cut Launched WASHINGTON (UPI) - The administration has launched an all-out effort for congressional approval before the end of the year of an $11 billion tax cut Treasury Secretary Douglas Dillon says is "a matter of vital national concern." The measure, hammered out by the House Ways and Means Committee after seven months of drafting, goes to the House floor for debate Sept. 24, and a favorable vote' is expected two days later. It was considerably different from the one President Kennedy recommended last January. But lo speed action on the cut, Dillon said that wilh one possible exception the admin istration would not ask the Sen ate to change the House tax-cutting bill. Dillon's statement Sunday in dicated that the administration was eager to avoid lengthy, time-consuming hearings in the Senate Finance Committee. The committee's chairman, Sen. Harry F. Byrd (D-Va.), is a staunch foe of cutting taxes without reducing federal spend ing. Hatch Act Writer Dies in New Mexico ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (UPI) Former Sen. Carl A. Hatch, 73, known as the originator of legislation barring political ac tivity by federal employees, died Sunday. Hatch had been hospitalized since last week with pulmonary emphysema, a chronic lung dis ease. After 15 years in the Senate, the Democratic lawmaker re tired from politics in 1948 and was appointed a federal district judge the following year. The Hatch acts, passed in 1939 and 1940 and modified by later amendments, prohibit political activity by federal employees and state employees whose sal aries are paid in part by federal funds. The laws also limit spend ing in national campaigns, but these provisions have not been enforced and Hatch later pro posed public disclosure of party expenditures instead of statu tory limits. Woman Faces Trial In Death of Man SEATTLE (UPD-Mrs. Bette Turnbull, 52, was scheduled to go on trial here today on a charge of first degree murder in connection with the fatal shooting of a man in her Kirk land home May 26. Mrs. Turnbull was accused of killing Robert L. Croome, 48, who was a bartender in Mrs. Turnbull's tavern in Bremerton. At the time of the shooting, Croome was staying in the Kirkland home while Mrs. Turn bull occupied an apartment in Bremerton. Investigating officers said Croome was shot three limes with a .38-caliber pistol follow ing an argument over upkeep of the Kirkland residence. Mrs. Turnbull's ll-ycar-old son, Archie Jr., witnessed the shooting. Port Authorities Open Convention PORTLAND (UPI) - The American Association of Port Authorities opened its 52nd an nual convention here today. About 350 persons are expect ed to attend the four-day meet ing, including delegations from Japan, Great Britain and Bel gium. Scheduled to speak at the con vention are Ryuji Takeuchi, Jap anese ambassador lo the U. S., and Sen. E. L. Bartlett (D-Alav ka). Takeuchi speaks Thursday and Bartlett Tuesday. DARTBOAHI) IS OLT ZURICH. Switzerland (UPD Hans Gtihl turned his restaurant into a British pub for a trade fair. Now he wants to keep it that way wilh one exception. "The darlboard is coming out too dangerous," he said Sunday. MEDFORD The Underworld Canary I Joseph Valachi Getting Stage Fright As Time for Performance Draws Near Bv HARRY FEROUSON WASHINGTON (UPI - Jos eph Valachi, the canary of the underworld, is getting ready to sing in public for the first time in a command performance be fore the Senate rackets commit tee. Despite a year's rehearsal, the star performer is reliably re ported to be suffering from a bad case of stage fright. He fears criticism of his perform ance, now expected to be around Sept. 20, could take the form of bullets. Valachi, a stocky, swarthy Italian, is 58 years old. He has committed three murders, pos sibly four, and has some knowl edge of about 30 others. H i s most recent murder was com mited in Atlanta penitentiary where he was serving a term for violation of the narcotics laws. A new convict showed up one day, Valachi decided t h e man was going to kill him and he took direct action by beat ing his fellow convict to death with a lead pipe. Decided To Tell All I Then Valachi decided to tell all about what he called Cosa Nostra, which translates into "our business" or "our thing." It is a loose confederation of gangs in larger American cities, and in its organizational struc ture resembles the Mafia which sprang up in Sicily late in the 18th Century. About a year ago Valachi was taken out of At lanta penitentiary and for a year he was under maximum security at Fort Monmouth, N. J., where he could sing full time, uninterrupted by the rig orous schedule of a federal pri son. Explains Criminal Code Much of the advance publici ty about Valachi has created the impression that once he has told his story to Sen. John McClel- lan's rackets committee the walls of the underworld will come tumbling down and then prison population of the United States will shortly be increased by all the notorious gangsters in the United States. Such wishful thinking ignores the fac tor of Valachi's personality and some basic provisions of t h e U. S. criminal code. "The Valachi case," says Atty. Gen. Robert F. Kennedy, "represents the biggest intelli gence break - through yet in combating organized crime and racketeering in the United States." The key words in that state ment are "intelligence break through." The problem now is to take the list of names Va lachi has supplied to federal agents, (he details of crimes he knows about and forge them into evidence that will enable prosecutors to get indictments and convictions. Many generals have been in possession of ex cellent intelligence about the en my and still lost the battle. In 1960 Valachi was sentenced to 15 years for violation of the federal narcotics laws. He join ed the organization in 1930 and thus he has information of some sort or other spanning 30 years. ' But everything he has told about prior to September, 1958, ' is useless so far as obtaining federal convictions is concerned. Limitations Statute Key The statute of limitations pro vides that a man cannot be pros ecuted for a crime after five years have elapsed. For income : tax evasion the statute is six years. There is no statute of lim itations on murder, but murder j is outside the jurisdiction of Mc Clellan and the attorney gener al. It will be up to local pros ecutors to turn Valachi's infor mation into indictments and Rockefeller To Tell Nomination Plans NEW YORK (UPI) - Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller said Sun day that he would announce by the end of the year, perhaps in November, whether he will run for the 1964 Republican presi dential nomination. Rockefeller also said that he would rather see Sen. Barry Goklwalor (It-Ariz.) in Ihe White House than President Kennedy. Goldwater is seen by many as Rockefeller's chief rival for the GOP nomination. j The New York governor spe cifically praised Goldwalcr's competence in the field of fiscal integrity. "1 think Senator Goldwater has taken some very clear and important positions on the pri vate enlerprise system and its role in the nation," he said. . On the other hand, Rockefeller said he thought that Kennedy does not have a proper under standing of the private enter prise system and its relation to government. Sitka, established by the Rus sians in 1799. is the oldest town in southeastern Alaska. Sleep Like Log StoB Stomach Gas In S Minutes or your 35c bnr.lt at drusmst. TsKe 8fll!-n trvm wit hot wa!r at hr-d Wm) tn km u"tti itt ihut. Ban-am labttti ttnt-.-t , MwiM.ri gal flu to err.m itrwn acid. : No Mrmful i)rut. SrnJ prsilal to BH-i!M, Ormiebu'i, N. Y-, tor libinl I'M wmptg. t MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFORD, convictions for murder. Valachi apparently has considerable knowledge about the narcotics traffic in the United States, but unless the violation happened in the last five years nobody is going to prison on the basis of his testimony. The rash of such motion pic tures as "Little Caesar," "Scar face" and "Public Enemy" sev eral years ago created a folk lore about hoodlums which many persons still accept as gospel. Some of that folk lore has now gathered around Va lachi. It seems to be generally accepted as a fact that the un derworld has offered $100,000 to anybody who kills him. Calls Price 'Scuttlebutt' Who said so? Nobody has placed an ad in the papers making the offer. Gangsters do not distribute hand bills to be posted in public places. This re porter's search for verification of the $100,000 offer led to the Department of Justice where a Open Sundays 10:00 A.M. 5:20 P.M. MONDAY & FRIDAY 9:30 A.M. to 8:50 P.M. TUES., WED., THURS., SAT., 9:30 to 5:20 3 DAY SALE t GO-COATS (if 'Sj JED 0U t3l ::rA 635 EAST JACKSON OREGON man who knows what he is talk ing about said, "I think it's just scuttlebutt." Further research indicated the whole thing was started by a casual speculation made while some people were discussing various angles of the Valachi case. The purpose of a congression al investigation, such as Mc Clcllan will convene for Vala chi, is to gather Information helpful in drawing up new laws. But in the first year of the Ken nedy administration a set of five laws was passed giving the Justice Department new weap ons for the fight against crime and racketeers. In addition, Atty. Gen. Kennedy has estab lished an information pool for all the 25 federal investigative agencies and last year prosecu tions for racketeering increased 300 per cent over 1961. So the McClellan committee is unlikely to come up with much new legislation as a re sult of listening to Valachi. MEDFORD SHOPPING CENTER STORE jf coam, CASUAL COATS Tweeds, Solids, Leopard. Some Laminated. Sizes 8-16 19 95 FUR TRIMMED CORDUROY CAR COATS Siiet 10 14 Jr. Sizes 9 15 Durabla Water Rapellancy Spot and Stain Raiiitanct Quality Controlled 18"to2995 DON'T HIBERNATE YET. GET YOUR FALL COATS NOW! MEDFORD Some persons contend the hear ings will be worth while be cause they will educate the pub lic in the ways of the under world. There isn't any doubt but that the committee and Va lachi will get missive world wide publicity. Crying Need Some persons deplore that. In cluding Milton R. Wessel, for mer chief of the special group on organized crime, who wrote to the New York Times: "It is difficult to understand why the press has been chosen as the forum through which Valachi's story is to be revealed rather than the courts ... the crying need is for judicial convictions that will stick on appeal. Let ting the underworld know the intimate details of Valachi's tes timony now is much like broad casting the timing, strength and logistics of a future attack to a military enemy." Next: What Valachi had been telling. to $3995 1 635 E. Jackson I U JUST ARRIVED Size 3 - 6X 7 -14 ....... . WOOL and NYLON LEOPARD SKIN TRIM, ILUE-llACK-ftEO USE OUR IAY-AWAY PLAN SHOPPING CENTER MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1963 East Coast Gets Heavy Rains, Seas f By United Press International Summer sloshed into its final full week today with heavy rains and seas running high against the East coast, As much as 3',j inches of rain drenched the Atlantic, coast from Delaware bay to Cape Fear. Hard rains also . fell across the Great Plains and along the Gulf coast. Strong winds whipped up the Atlantic and sent heavy surf crashing along the coastline of the Carolina and Virginia. The Weather Bureau warned . of above normal tides along the mid-Atlantic coast throughout the .day. Tides also ran high at some points along the Southern Cali fornia coast. Eleven-foot waves BORDER RAID CHARGED j AGADIR, Morocco (UPI) -The Moroccan Press Service said Algerian soldiers infiltrat ed Moroccan territory Sunday and tried to incite the Moroccan population of the eastern prov inces of Tarfaya, Agadir and Ouarzazate to rebel. Santa F e, New Mexico, which was settled in 1(05 is gen erally believed to be second old est in the U.S. OPEN TONITE TILL 8:50 1 jr A $6.88 "JLx Va Length Corduroy Stadium Coats Attortad Colon. 15" 2iM L A 5 at sumide Calif., closed beach and left streets Uttered with rocks and seaweed. Sand?, bag barriers were put In front of homes on the ocean. Langley Field, Va., just out side Washington, D.C., received: 3.62 inches of rain in six hour during the night. The Naval Ate station at Norfolk, Va., report? ed 2.07 inches and .S3 of an inch fell at Elizabeth City, N.C. - HYDRO-BRUSH QUIK CAR WASH CAR WASH CAR WAXING IASY TO FIND: Riiht I,. Mite f.rk. 0' Alt and 4-H. MA Cnttr la the 'sir nones. " trini the whale family . . . 14 tif atajrtuwiti tk Ik Ultura. Inf lh at ROGUE SIDEWALK CAFE Onttor atimtaliere Mi lniar cemfeit. Udies Fashion COATS Fur Trimmtd, Black, Bona, Rad-Sixoi 10-16 Jr. Sixft 7-13 2F ACRES OF FREE PARKING LA pp
