Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989, October 24, 1963, Image 1

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Medford mail tribune., October 24, 1963, Image 1

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Newspaper Page TextRevise Taxes, Economize, Poll Respondents Say Cigarette, Sales Taxes Favored If Added Revenues Are Needed election was Regional Edition Med FORD Uniied Press International Full Leased Wire 58th Year Price 10 Cents RIBUNE United frs.i Internauoiul lull Leased Wire 56 PAGES SIX SECTIONS MEDFORD, OREGON, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1963 No. 186 poor and it needs an The tax bill defeated at the Oct. bill. The state needs a different kind of tax; entirely new lax program. If new taxes are to be enacted, they should be a cigarette lax or a sales tax. in that order or both. There must be more economy in government at all levels. New Constitution Prepared for Initiative Petition 'Alaska System' Adoption Favored These are Ihe major findings of the Mail Tribune's lax questionnaire printed on Page 1 last Sunday. A total of 917 bal lots a rnmarlfahlv larpp rpliirn for this tvnp nf nnlt u'ac rp (urn'cd ' ' r j SALEM (L'PI) A New Ore- i Substantial, but fewer, numbers of respondents through! the on, constitution, which would bill was defeated because the tax increase was too much or!1"'. x!e secretary of state the budget was too large I flrsl ln llne of successlon to the Less than one-quarter of the ballots called for cutting the ITh S' fnll Sf,n million lav inrrpasp rnnla.neri in the defeated measure da '0r Submission by initiative. A few more felt the budget should not be cut and that the j ,)ei'on ,lm. , , , . . . . . . - , I Ihe document was prepared needed revenue should be raised another way. . njne members of the 17 An even larger number - about a third of the respondents , myembe. constitutional Revision" - believe that some cuts should be made in the budget, and commission which voluntarily that some new but small tax increases enacted. reactivatcd at the reques of the .Nearly half called for a new tax program. More than half i ci(jzens Commitlce 'for Consti- lavorea a cigarette ana or sates tax. Only 9 persons believed there should be higher property taxes, while many more called for property tax relief. Of the 917 bailots, 103 indicated there should be no tax in creases of any kind. Substantial numbers of respondents made a variety of com- asm o f Freighter Tells tutional Revision The citizens plan to spear head the initiative drive. Still unresolved is the legal question of whether an entire constitution can be initiated ments. some simply by underlining words in the ballot, others, xne citizen's committee decided to try, and to fight the battle in the courts if necessary. Amendments Adopted At Wednesday's meeting, the commission adopted most of the ' amendments in the original ! by notes or even long letters accompanying their ballot. There was a strong current of demand for economy in gov ernment in these comments, but an even stronger demand for a revision in the overall tax program. Relief from high real and personal property taxes was a recurrent theme in the comments. Larce numbers protested public officials' salaries, most not- draft which had been aooroved ably those of the legislators, but listed others including edu- j by the House during the 1963 calors. (One said "Pay teachers more, administrators less.") I legislative session. The Gov ernor came in for considerable criticism for "pol-; The measure did not get Ihe Kicking" and traveling outside the state. 1 necessary two-thirds vote in the A substantial number objected to "theats," "intimidation" and . Senate, "scare tactics" in the campaign. Resentment of the legislature j The most significant changes also was strongly in evidence. . approved Wednesday dealt with "Waste" was another recurrent theme. Specifically mentioned the secretary of state, and legis were two voters pamphlets going to the same residence, "frills" lative apportionment, in education (dancing, athletics, etc.), "dead wood" in govern-1 The group voted to deparl mcnt offices, more than one property tax statement going to a from both its original plan, and single individual, junkets to Hawaii, and others. i the House version, and to adopt Substantial numbers suggested a higher state take on liquor, the Alaska System. cosmetics and other luxuries. A number of others suggested that gambling be legalised and taxed. Others suggested a slate lottery. More intensive use of school, college and university buildings was suggested by some. The welfare program was both defended and criticized. Many respondents said no one should be made to suffer, while others said there is mis-use of founds. But, second only to the need for a new and fairer tax pro gram, the most urgent message of all was: "Economy in government!" TAX QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS The tax bill was defeated because: 1. The tax increase was too much 372 2. The budget was too large 393 3. The bill was poorly written, unfair 621 -1. Oregon needs a different kind of tax ....534 5. Other What should be done now is to: (i. Cut full $(i0 million increase Keep budget as is but raise revenue 03 .164 (. 8. 9. 10 1S3 another way Combine budget cuts and new, smaller tax increases 292 Devise entirely new tax program 367 Other .177 What, if any, new taxes should be enacted? A. Cigarette tax 584 E. General sales tax to provide new revenue and income and property tax relief 537 C. Revised income tax . D. More property taxes b. ao tax increase ol any F. Other "Other" comments included: The tax bill lost because: Threats, propaganda, scare tactics General protest, tax revolt kind .125 . 10 .103 .194 Under this system voters would elect the governor and secretary of state as a team, just as the president and vice president are selected in nation al elections. At present, the president of the senate is first in line of succession to the governor. Commissioners felt the suc cessor should be elected on a statewide basis, and that t h e governor should have the assist ance of a constitutional officer who was elected as part of his team. The third constitutional officer would be the controller. Solves Problem Adoption of the "Alaska Svs lem" would solve the highly controversial plan originally proposed by the commission which would have vested all the executive power in the gov ernor. In the healed apportionment issue, . the commission went ; along with the Senate plan j which slightly favors the thinly i populated areas of the stale.! and sets maximum house mem- j bcrship at 65. and top Senate membership at 35. Dropped as unnecessary was a sentence inserted by the House which assprled "Ihe I people have at all times a right , to alter, reform or abolish the I government in the manner they think proper." Meniion of the death penalty S I was taken from the constitution. ' and left up to the legislature. '. Ill is expected the final draft will be ready in December. The legal test may come if Ithe secretary nf state refuses to accept the initiative filing, or if it is questioned later. I . f'iH , IX" - V . .? i United States Asks Ben Bella To Settle Dispute Appeal Delivered By Ambassador AI-GERIS (UPD-The Unit ed States has appealed to Al gerian President Ahmed Ben Bella to negotiate a settlement of his border conflict with Mo rocco, reliable diplomatic sources said today. The appeal was delivered personally by U.S. Ambassa dor William Porter, the sources said, during a conference with Ben Bella Wednesday night. The U.S. plea came as Ihe government - controlled Algeri an radio said Ihat Algerian and Moroccan forces remained Fy ?p; ft PB'' : NOHKl. WINNKU - Greek poet and diplomat (jiorgos hetenades, above, has won the 1963 Nobel Prize for Literature. One of the locked in battle along the bor- best known living Greek poets ! Serenades was until recently A j: ..u ., ,. , n mis limit itom tne ran o s r!,..,b ...i, ,. .-.,.i,. t?ia correspondent at Algerian army' ,,,, ls ,he fjl.sl Grcck l0 wtn thc headquarters at Colomh Bechar , NoM m(.ralurK pri!,e. (UPI) claimed that the Moroccans i have retreated 19 miles in thc ! past two days. The radio said the Moroccans left 17 dead and 12 wounded on the battlefield. It asserted that Algerian casualties totaled only seven wounded. Earlier, a dispatch from the front said that Algerian troops nacKca by artillery had routed Moroccan forces and recap tured Ihe disputed border out post ol llassi Ucula. Agriculture Orders Sharp Services Cut SALEM ducttons (UPI) Sharp re in services were Flares Used To Illuminate Ship During Attack No Casualties Reported Aboard CORPUS CHRISTI, Tex. (UPI) The captain of an un armed American freighter that was strafed and set fire by planes off thc Cuban coast said today "all the men could have done to repel thc attack "was throw potatoes." "We didn't have anything tn defend ourselves with," said Capt. Gerhard Krause of the. ship J. Louis, a U.S. owned oro freighter that sails under Li berian registration. There were no casualties. Krause said the planes illum inated the ship with flares and then made 16 passes before "I stopped counting." Bullets rained down on the ship for an hour, the captain said. Krause said he and two other men were pinned on the bridge. He ordered the rest of the 51 men aboard to remain below decks. 13 Miles Off Coast He said the ship was al least 13 miles off the Cuban coast when the attack occurred Tues day. The J. Louis was en route from Jamaica to Corpus Christi with 31,500 tons of bauxito ln Marrakech. M o r o c c o's ' ordered today by the Agricul- (aluminum ore.) King Hassan II told a news i ura DepaUmen as a result ol conference that he is willing to lasl wcpk s dceat ol lhe lax meet with Ben Bella "without j measure. ' any prior conditions" in an ef- At a meeting of the depart fori to settle the border battle, ment's directors, it was an Thc U.S. appeal to Ben Bella nounccd tcstinj? of cattle for coincided with a new flarcun in brucellosis and tubercu- the border fighting. But there losis would be reduced, the rag- was a growing optimism here weed control program would be that a cease - fire agreement ' cut, checks on weight of pack may he reached soon. SIllXl. I.ODCKD IN BOOM Egom Maxa second mate nf the Reynolds Metal Co. ship, SS .1. Louis, shows a shell lodged in an over head boom on the main deck. The ship was strafed off the coast of Cuba. tThe story is in column fl). (UPI). Fire Season Ends In Area Forests; Rain, Snow Noted City Cartage Firms Receive 'Interim Relief City Officials Take Part in Discussions The fire season ended official-, park headquarters for the new ly in the Rogue River National J season, opening Sept. I, was 10 Forest and one State Forestry I inches Wednesday. Two inches Department protected lands at fell in an early autumn storm, day were granted a temporary midnight Wednesday. C. E. Cumulative Snowfall j 4 per cent rate increase by the Brown, forest supervisor, and ; Last year at this time thc : slate public utility commission- funis Nesheim. stale district 1 park reported a cumulative or. warden, have announced. snowfall of 37 inches, the Med- Closing nf Ihe fire season ford office noted, although 1M2- eliminates the necessity of oh- ,03 winter season was one of un usually ngnl snowian until March and April. The total snowfall January 1, HII12. had taining burning permits and re moves the requirement of carry ing axe. shovel and water buck et when camping Fire closures of the Ashland Two members of the Medford watershed also is lifted with of ficial ending of the fire season. What should be done: I Economize 1-1 1 ' Tax liquor 58 ' No more (or lower) property taxes : 56 . Cut legislators' salaries ... 49 I Cut frills from education 28 I More gasoline tax 7 i Miscellaneous 89 (This last included taxing churches, lodges, tourists, rentals, a slate lottery, legalize and tax gambling, high er auto license and hunting fees, tax luxuries, cut travel, reduce state employees, cut recreation. Use surplus funds from other sources, attract new industries, objected to tax on a tax. live within means, tax advertising, get efficient legislators, use sales tax to offset property taxes, repeal property taxes, reduce income taxes, students pay full cost of higher education, get better management ) citv administralion took part in panel discussions at Ihe recent ly concluded convention of Ihe League of Oregon Cities in Port land. City Manager Robert Duff was part of a three-member panel which discussed planning ad ministration. City Attorney William Mans field discussed decisions of the Oregon Supreme Court this year which affected municipalities during activities nf the legal sec tion of the convention About 17 elected and adminis trative Medford officials at tended the three - day convention. Commissioner .lonel C. Hill ; reached only 129 inches. The fi-; said the increase "is strictly nal measurement, on June 14, interim relief." He ordered the , was 450 inches. Snowfall lor the : association to be ready to ap- j previous year, 11-H2 was 55S pear at a hearing in nine: inches. months tn determine whether! It was snowing al park head-1 he increase should be contin quarters Wednesday and more , ued. snow was predicted, but a check ; Hill lermed the truckers' case with park headquarters this as "poor ages in stores would be lessened, and there would be fewer hours for state meat in spection. The department's budget was cut $253,218 to $2.6 million. Agriculture Director James Short also said thc new build ing planned for the Capitol Mall "is somewhat uncertain at this moment." The project may be delayed because the stale does not yet own two small pieces of proper ly neetled (or the development. The $30,000 needed to purchase the land has been held up by the Board of Control. "We are giving first attention tn elimination or reduction of programs which will have the least impact on the public," Short explained. A siinknman :iirl lhal thp Planning developments include h,l,.i ul,i, h hart hnnn nmnamrt complete development of recre- f,. ,i, ,,.i i,,,ci,,iro hod The increase is half what the j alion site evaluation sheet, Ittr-1 hnn "voi v lieM vorv anstore " truckers requested tnrougn meir ther collection ot recrealion am Wi,s actually less than the representative organization, the j plans for Ritreaii of Land Man-! agency received for thc 1961-63 uregon Draymen anu warc-i agemenl, Forest Service a n d hiennitt house Association. other agencies, maintenance of SALEM (UPI) - Truckers enganged in city cartage freight business in 20 Oregon cities to Need For Funds Is Discussed by Group Need for more funds and fur ther project development and planning were discussed at a meeting of the California Oregon 1 Recreational Development As sociation in Grants Pass I h i s morning. Charles Collins, COR DA exec utive vice president, said the : association has to find private j subscription for at leasl $6.00(1, j preferably from firms which will continue to subscribe year ; afler year, for planning fund The depth on the ground was lief was need, but that evidence still eight inches. Itainlall Sttbslanial Substantial amounts of rain fall made ending of the (ire sea son nossible. the two (orest offi cials emphasized. There was mornjng revealed no new snow. 1 He said it appeared some re. more rain in tne wooueu aim mountain areas than in the vay ley. Snowfall was reported al the 5.000 elevation, including all Rocue River National Forest lookouts. Brown said. More snow was reported at Crater Lake National park headquar ters and the fall was not meas ured but known to he greater at the rim It was exnected about 20 ncr- inventory of all park and recre-1 M)ns woud be eliminated from alion sites and of potential sites , the agency staff. The agency by counties. j presently has about a dozen I The association will continue j vacancies. j its work for an Oregon Dunes j ; National Seashore. Collins said ! CO.MP 1NT FII.F.n I A brief report was made on SALEM lUPI) Wah Chang planning and signs for Howard Corporation of Albany filed a Prairie Lake and planning and I complaint against the State Tax J promotion of the Mt. Ashland I Commission in the Oregon Tax 1 ski area. Court Wednesday. It docked early today at tha Reynolds Metal Co. docks at nearby Gregory, Tex. The ,J6nly American crew member was W. Fred Thomp son, 55, of Portland, Tex. Thirty - seven crewmembors were Okinawans. Krause, 54, of Hamburg, Ger many, estimated there were three or four planes involved in Ihe attack. He said he never saw them because they were moving too fast. He said ha could not hear any engines to tell whether they were jets or propellor driven. Many Bullets Miss Flares lit the sky 30 minutes before the attack, he said. I thought il was a U.S. Navy exercise," the captain said. Many of the bullets missed their target, he said, but a fire broke out on the bow of the. ship and was extinguished with chemicals after two hours. The captain, who was tor pedoed once and strafed many times while sailing aboard Ger man tankers during World War II, said he never thought the J. Louis was in danger. Says Crew Calm The crew was calm below decks, but "there wasn't much praying down below. Everyone was crowded in and thero wasn't enough room." "We were lucky, just plain lucky, Krause said. The J. Louis has been mak ing the bauxite run from Ja maica to Corpus Christi for two years. The strafing occurred on the ship's 91st trip, and it had passed thc same spot off tho Cuban coast 1R1 times before. "We will go farther out next time," Krause said. Lewis Changes Plea In Josephine Court Committee To Work for Income, Property Tax Relief Being Formed HEWStW)BRI EFS Troutdale, Tuala tin and West Linn. ITIMJ FROM WEATHER I ORr.r AST; (r aMonjI rain and utrinif ouitifilv winns in. mint. Jllr I,, i u 1 i Imirts I ridaN murlinu I'artlv rloudv Iririav aftrrnitnn Lnw tn. nicht IS Mich Iriila? n-ir mi. 1 -nip Hichrt WM-rd 11 I ,,ft Inn ttnins II Prec. tn 10 a ni. loda HI Our Skies Tonight un.pt l,iU -- V.'. " m ( Cross Income Tax 1 Favored for Oregon ! ' PORTLAND 'LTD - The Townsend Organization favors a gross income tax for Oregon, publicity chairman Dr. Irene Waldo said Wednesday. I.S. PLANE CRASHES NEAR SH.ON SAIGON. Smith let Nam (I PI I A U.S. Air Forte plane on a llarr-drnnpint! mission crashed in Communist terrilorv 6 miles south nf .Saigon liitlav, apparently killing linir Americans' and four Vietnamese on board. GRANTS PASS Raymond Dean Lewis, 36, of Indcpend- The total (all at thc ence, Mo., indicted last July by the Josephine County grand jury Oregon City, Roseburg, Salem, on a charge of receiving and Sandy, Springfield, Sutherlm rnnr-nalinn ln!nn nrwiU entered Sweet Home a plea of guilty this morning in Josephine County Circuit Court i and was sentenced to two years 1 Gusty Winds Strike in Oregon State Penitentiary by Judge Orval J. Millard. Lewis, who had been free on 52. 500 bail, had earlier entered a plea of innocent to the charge. He changed his plea today. Thc charge involved $2,000 worth of men's clothing taken (torn shops in Medford. Grants Ashland and Mamatn i presented at hearings did not support the increases requested. The cities in which rates were increased are Albany, Ashland. Ileaverlon. Brownsville, Corval- lit: IVittaiip I'.rnvp I'rniiWnll. Eugene. Fairview, Gladstone, PORTLAND A new state- said the committee would open Grants Pass Gii.sham Junction wide orcaniation, the Income ! offices soon, cither in Portland Cilv Klamath Falls. Lake Os- and Property Tax Relief Com-, or Salem. wego, Medford, Milton-Free- mittee, is being formed to draft water, Milwaukie, Myrtle Point, j a sales tax measure and place It on tne novemiier. nni, nattoi through initiative petition, Nor man L. Easley. acting chair man, announced today "I am committing myself to this ellort because I am con vinced Oregon faces a bleak fu ture unless we overhaul our tax structure," he declared. "Thc high level of education and other Easley said that agricultural, j government services we want in business and other ilrouns which mis state nas piacea a neavy AROUND THI OlOM siinr t" n a r nM l,,niht 11 -" it-i fjiiartr, "ri minllM NT T B Capflla. in nntlhmt JJUpnv GREEN TO SPEXK CORVALLIS 'LTD - Rep Edith Green. D-Orc . will speak at Oregon State University's I special Charter Day Convoca tUef Oct 29 in the coliseum Western Oregon By United Press International Gusty southerly winds struck Western Oregon from a Pacific storm today but the Weather Bureau said it did not expect them to be ol destructive pro portions. Full gale warnings flew along the coast. Wind warnings for velocities (IPEItMION BIG LIFT' NKAIUNG END FHANKI t KT. Germanv (I I'll merican Air I nrtr planes neared the end ol their massive troop arrving "Operation Big Pass. I ifi" imni Trvas in Grrmanv lorlav hnors ahead nf si hedttle. Falls. All ol Ihe stolen cunning was , 41) (0 4.1 miles per hour w ith DISCRIMINATION CONDEMN Tlo.N ASKED recovered by Grants Pass po- gusts to 30 in thc Portland 'ea VATICAN CITY (I PI I U.S. bishops lodav appealed In lice It was lound sealed in and for gusts to 40 miles per the Ktuamral Council to issue strong condemnation ol ra- 1-ewis' car, according to thc hour in the Willamette Valley cit, riitinn. ' report. wcrf .posted. have been studying a sales tax initiative are being invited to join with the committee to de velop a sound measure through unified effort. "It is planned to have petitions ready (or circulation early next vnar " Easli'V said "Pfeliai a- tion of the bill is expected to ' government take at leasl three months. We have already started research tn gather basic information Al ter agreement is reached on principles tn he embodied, a group of cxpci'd will assist in drafting the measure." I Jasley, a Portland attorney, burden on property and income and has become a major obsta cle to economic growth. "It is a vicious circle. High revenue to support education and other essential services, and at the same time effect somo reductions in property and in come taxes." The Income and Property Tax Relief Commitlce will have broad representation of all seg ments of the economy. Repre sentatives of agriculture, labor, consumers, senior citizens, busi ness and industry will be includ ed, he said. The completed organization will have representatives in ev- income and property taxes arc j cry county in the state, Easley keeping out new industry and , said. the new jobs needed to give us I Among those taking the lead more wealth to carry tne cost . jn formation of the committee 'are Clinton Lorber, Ashland: In their overwhelming rcjec- Lee Bishop, Mel Lindley. J. O. tion of increased income taxes, Julson and Edward A. Butler, voters ol Oregon have indicated Eugene: David B. Lowry. Don their dislike ol the present tax : McNeil, Frank Van Dyke, Get -prngram. It is the Committee's ! aid Latham, Clarence Young, intention to dralt and initiate a E. B. DcVoc, Hugh Coleman and hill all Ihe people can support Fred Coleman, Medford; Lee one that will provide additional Ohmart, Salem. (') () fa)