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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 6, 1963)
KL'A, (KCtt 6. 1963 MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUN9. Bn(flB, (GC Reverberations of 'Patriotic Rally' Are Still Mftg Felt Reverberation's are still being When Officer Richard Hurner I in, gathered up a few brochures The former Communist spoke their disagreement with what students (whom he had never friend ajpout his age sat fit Incallv from the "Datriotic arrived at the school a few min- and pamphlets that had been j for about an hour, covering a , he said. j met. before) stopped and chat-! gether near the front of felt locally from the "patriotic rally" held here recently under the sponsorship of the Freedom Center, a militant anti-Communist organization from Port land. Near the end of the meeting, which was held in Hoover school on the night of Sept. 19, the city police were called about 10:20 o'clock by a Jean nine Swanson, Talent, who said that some student! were "heckling the speaker." utes later there was no disturb' ance. The meeting was over and people were leaving the building and getting in their cars to go home. Hurner stood by in the parking lot to insure the orderly departure of those who had attended the rally. No Incidents Reported There were no incidents, ac cording to Humor's report. The officer, curious about the kind of meeting that had been going I C I m m I A Tribute to The United Crusade We salute the tireless workers who contrib ute their time and effort for this worthy causel One gift works many wonders when you give the united way through the United Crusade, life is a tough climb for many kids . . . yet, your gift can help them reach the top through the right kind of recrea tion, guidance services and home care. We hope you'll help make the difficult process of growing up little easier and a lot hap pier for our youngsters. Welcome the cru sade worker when he calls on you for your once-a-year support. Give your fair share. Medford Pharmacy 101 North Central, Corner 6th 772-6253 a i We Salute Our Town! dropped on the parking lot by members of the audience as they left. He attached them to his report. (The Mail Tribune, due to prior committments of its staff, did not have a reporter pres ent at the meeting. But when rumors began to circulate later about "Communist-inspired stu dents" attempting to break up the rally, a reporter was en couraged to check into the matter.) By reconstruction and inter views with persons present at the rally, it appears that the flurry of rumors and talk are products of excitable imagina tions. Advance Publicity Advance publicity for the rally, and arrangements to use j the room in Hoover scnooi, I were made by Mrs. Boyd Law- I ton, 2350 Meadows lane. School officials said no charge was I made for use of the facilities i when it was explained to them that it was to be a public meet ing and no admission charge was to be made. Featured speaker was Dr. Kenneth Goff, billed as a for mer member of the Communist party and currently national di rector of the "Soldiers of the Cross," and editor of and ma jor contributor to that organiza tion's monthly publication, "The Pilgrim Torch." The meeting was conducted by Rev. Walter Huss, director of the Freedom Center, Port land. Some 150 persons, among them six student-age boys, at tended the rally, which was slated to begin at 7:30 o'clock, but which did not actually get underway until about 7:50 o'clock. Leads Audience in Pledge Huss led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by the singing of "America." He then delivered an invocation and introduced Goff. lor about an hour, covering a variety of topics having to do in general with the Red con spiracy in the United Slates. One member of the audience was George Winne Jr., IB, of 612 Pierce rd., a senior at Med ford High school. Winne had gone to the rally "just to see what would happen." As a stu dent in Advanced American Problems at the high school, he was interested in what the speaker would have to say. He took notes on Goff's speech and later asked the speaker some questions. Contribute to Disturbance It was the youngster's ques tionsor attempts to ask ques tionsthat apparently contrib uted to the "disturbance." After the speech and prior ta the question and answer period, Huss made an appeal to the au dience for financial contribu tions, alluding to the cost of carrying on the fight against Communism and mentioning specifically that expenses for the evening's rally were about $150. When questions were finally invited, Winne said he stood and asked Goff what had been accomplished by efforts to keep Communist Speaker Gus Hall off Oregon college campuses about two years ago. Goff replied that the Commu nists "had forfeited their right to free speech," and that they "ought to be in jail." Raises Hand Again Questions from several older persons in the audience fol lowed. From time to time, Winne said he raised his hand again, but Huss cut him off by announcing, "Only one question per person." A group of three college-age youths in the audience, later identified partially as sopho mores from the University of Oregon, also asked the speaker some questions, and were, ac cording to reports, vocal in One of the three stood and asked Goff if God were a "segregationist." The speaker replied "yes" and referred to the dietary laws of separateness in the Old Tes tament to support his answer. The question, however, ap parently aroused Goff into comments about the Negro situation in general, which, ac cording to Winne, were largely derogatory. Makes No Progress Goff concluded with a remark to the effect that the Negroes hadn't made any progress to ward developing Africa. With that, one W the three university students yelled out "Wrong" three or four times. Winne said he stood up at that and started to speak, but Huss ordered him to sit down, and the youth complied. A bit later, Goff said that there were "90 textbooks" cur rently in use in schools in this country which told of the benefits of a Communist society without giving any counter arguments in favor of a capital istic society. Holds Up Text Again Winne stood up, this time holding up the text which is used in his American Prob lems class at Medford High school. He asked, "Is this one of the 90 books?" Goff became angered and snapped at Winne. "Shut up! I won't put up wilh young snots like you. One more word from you, and I'll have you escorted out." Abashed and upset by Goff's threats, Winne got up from his seat and began to walk out of the room. He was joined by the three university students, and the four of them left together. As they were leaving, some members of the audience jeered and shouted after them. "Yes, get out. Go on, get out." Outside, Winne and the three mei.Dciorej stopped ana cnai ted for a few minutes, and were just getting ready to go home when a police car drove up. Youngsters Leave Anxious to stay out of trouble, the youngsters left. Winne, who describes himself politically as a "moderate con servative," said last week that he "probably was a little brash" in his conduct at the meeting. "I feel I probably heckled the speaker a little," he said, "but I didn't go to the meeting with that in mind." He was quite critical, though, of those in charge of the meet ing. "Huss and Goff seem to have a great fear of viewpoints other than their own," he said. "If I had it to do over again, I'd probably still try to ask questions, but I wouldn't press the point if the speaker didn't want to answer." No Questions Asked Another Medford High school student at the meeting, whose parents have requested that his name be withheld, did not ask any questions of Goff. He and a gether room. The youth said that he had in tended to go to church that evening, but attended the meet ing at the request of his mother, who had planned to go but at the last minute was unable to make it. The boy, also a senior taking American Problems at Mcdfojd High school, said that he was "shook up" by what had hap pened at the meeting. "Those other students were unfairly treated," he said. Changes Impression "This certainly has changed my impression of these so called anti-communists." He pointed out that when old er members of the audience asked questions of the speaker, Huss would repeat the ques tions, but when any of the stu dents asked a question, Huss did not repeat it. Winnie's final comment on the incident was filled with irony. "I don't understand people who go to such meetings," he said, "but at least I have a bet ter understanding now of the aims and objectives of the Free dom Center." Trailer Park Owner Complains of Noise On Freeway Route The owner of a trailer park adjacent to Interstate 5 over pass complained to the Medford city council Thursday night about the "excessive noise" of trucks on the highway structure. A. H. Webster, who operates the Twelfth Street Mobile Home park, said the noise was dam aging his business. Webster said the noise was particularly bad when north- IWIMM BUM IM fl 1 mm ts ' yL I lamps E f:fK Pay Just OPEN TODAY LAYAWAY ! A .$'0 P.r Monlh 1 2 to 6 FUTURE 'dELIVERY WITH ' LL PURCHASE OF ANY tiW0so.cA, si:q95 MuIieE aiUUfll dl ,i IT ...-vJ!i-'4-7.y Daveno makes up into a com- I 11 M Xj $j ,'1,1,1 Hi fortable double bed . . . Chair M j, i '- - i ii hi h.is a unique ' 2 Position Back I 4?aMI lor the inmost comtori. $10 Mo. Plus Free Gifts fj UUl OTOlG' I' tN0 DAVENO, CHAIR t . jSrM V OTTOMAN ' " j i SimjlS NYLON-FOAM 3-PC. 90 fe tSfMlil $ CURVED SECTIONAL AQ1 "fP H & "i ..... ..... Solid om iwered reve.We J W'' $-'iVSs5 fffJ&E- OPEN SUN. h,on, P lull oenu.ne loam I MM NSS JMy0 I "m 'or greatest comtori. mm kr M f f Q C ebiL ' VSZyP S. $10 Mo. Plui Free Gift. W Plus TiM"T '"" OPEN V $1M M" Ci,,, SUNDAY! Illllll Z. 826-4351 ,r HT 1 Mqny More Sets Free Delivery . nound trucks smiled gears as they proceeded down the over pass incline. He recalled that several times prospective cus tomers had left his trailer park after hearing trucks drive past on the freeway. Appeals To Council He appealed to the council to take some action to reduce the noise. "This must be of concern to a lot of other people in Med ford," he said. On the advice of City Attorney William Mansfield, and the mo tion of Councilman Richard Travis, the council voted to have state police, who are re sponsible for patroling the fre way overpass, contacted in an effort to see what can be done. In other action, the council volcd to: Accept a completed fi-inch water main on Crcstbrnok rd. from Modoc ave. to Barnett rd. Grant a package liquor li cense to Safeway Stores Inc., for their new market at West Main and Hamilton sts. Approve Licenses Approve issuance of oper ator's licenses for coin oper ated amusement devices to the Eagles club and William Konop asek, operator of The Spot, 17 South Riverside ave. Grant a request from the Eagles lodge for an asphalt con crete sidewalk on Stevens st. and an asphalt sidewalk on Bid die rd. The lodge's building is located on a corner lot at the in tersection. The 45-minute meeting, the shortest session in almost a year, was presided over by Mayor James Dunlevy. All coun cilmen were present. The next regular meeting of the group is scheduled for Oct. 17 at 7: HO p.m. in the council chambers in city hall. Bibles Destroyed In Highway Mishap EAGLE POINT Twr, old Bibles dating back to the 1880's apparently were destroyed in an auto accident on Highway 62 Wednesday afternoon. Lowell O. Pogue, of Route 2, box 142. Eagle Point, had the Bibles with him in his pickup truck when the accident occurr ed. Later pieces belonging to one of the Bibles were found but no trace of the other. Pogue. who is recovering form injuries at Rogue Valley hospital, asked that anyone who may have found remains of the books to contact him. The accident occurred on Highway 62 near the entrance of the Veterans Administration domicilliary about 2:40 p.m. Wednesday. According to Pogue. the ac cident occurred when the brakes on his pickup, which was pull ing a flat bed trailer, grabbed, causing the two vehicles to jack knife. The pickup, as a result, was thrown into the path of a loc truck operated hv Leo Carl Graves, 61, of Tiller." Eagle Point Youths Held for Theft of Car Two 13-year-old Eagle Point boys were lodged in the Jack son county juvenile detention home early Saturday morning on charges of stealing a car. State police apprehended the two boys about 10 minutes after Don Eccles, route 1, box 50, Eagle Point, reported the car stolen. The pair is awaiting ac tion by juvenile authorities. LOG ENDS Quick Delivery MEDFORD FUEL CO. $ 4 H Green Srampi lHONI 772-21 1 1 s 'fall fashion escort- in tweed printnylon jersey 17.95 Our new Stroller cesium h.s all th poi pch,k of a city suit . . . ard twi, lrt w.,,bilily. Th fc; flatter, your figure with ,0f, pf(.fs in fren, straight paneled back. Step into i. in seconds . c-k it m inch). . . wear it without a wrinkle Wfr,h,0 quiCKiy, anp-dne, . wear! : Vvpthojt, ir6r,(', green, cranberry, brown. Sues 10.20,'' 12': to, 22'j. O o -r I , ,IJ - ' n (V F)