Herald and news. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1942-current, May 31, 1948, Image 1

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Herald and news., May 31, 1948, Page 1, Image 1

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Newspaper Page TextJ ?n mm mil i wis1 (oM a M A MrafnWn LaOir-,, ; i , H EM WEATHER Msf. 'Mar M1" 1 PrHplllin Ul t4 hsr .. .1 Nlrm M' ! "'i .I 5.11 Nrml .. ll rrtct: Sbwf. . lly FRANK JKNKINM DAUL KOIIKHON, who luta been ralhrr well treated In Auinlia, color ur no color, ictuses lu toil 1)10 HFIIUM1 JUlllllUiy COIIllllltllO i which Is hearing oppuni'iils u( Uie Muiiill-Nlxun communist cuntiul bill) whrUicr or not lie II a cum inunlsl. lie says lie II i to Jiill llml. lie adds Uiul lie thinks iiirmurra ol tl io imiiinunlsl pany have douu t magnificent Job III Aiuciliu, oTiilll THIS writer wil l undrmliiml Urn', kinio nf mind. Ir I'liiiiitiiinimii in ,und m tlic commies say, tinirru Drrs ol Ihr communist -parly hi ui be proud of llicir nirmbcr- , hip. Many tieople time Hie world be gun have been wllllnii lu die. II need be, lor llicir liillli, mid must ol u huiior their nieinoiy for 11. Hut i, HEKUMNO TO TKLU WHAT YOUIl J'AITII It) U another matter. IT U a far lea admliable matter. tojm r lulrl Ih.if nilllflltlllUlk HIR KKWUIUKO to conical their p.irty membership. Why? Thl writer duesii'l know, but It l assumed llil eomiiiuiiltni It mi iieneriilly feared Sand disliked by right-minded people f thai II can't operate ellei'llvely out III 11 IV V',V I .. . . ,w - Hunt to get. It must Work KKOM A Mil Ulll. 'Hut rulsea another question, whose answer wo cull only guru, because 0i truth mustn't bo ad mitted. The qucilou It thin: WliKRK docs communism WANT to get? Up HIS U Die probable answer: Communism wanU to grl Into M power, ni membera ol the com B munUl party want to alt In iho R stats ol power. Thry are shrewd I) enough Ui realize they can't get H where they want to del by open, i honest method. (No rountry has f vet voted VOLUNTARILY to ac cept communism, vsncre u nm Wiin. It has won by violence Ho Members ol the communist party air Instructed to conceal Uiclr party niemborahlp. Tliey nro uuithl Uiat g 'wily Uius can they hope to gel Into I Mr.tr. That, In llacii, is an au I iliMlon Uiat power l what tliey are M titer and that ANYTHING Uiat geu them into power, by lore or other wise. Is Justifiable. Tlx method, you will mite, n Identical with thai by which Capon' and the other rai keteert ol hit time .oblalncd what thry wanted. I ... J h, f- U.ul..,-I,1A UHlnrHiiV lIlPV held an election to chooao the membert of their parliament. niere wa only ONE liikot. The ticket wot live communist ticket. You voted Uio communist ticket ol you didn't vota. Three-iuarter of a million peoplr refused to vote the communist ticaet. That It to ty. they dropiied blank ballnlt .nu Uie box. '111'. l took courage for It must be ssvmed Uiat In tocret-pollco slate, Chechoslovakia now l ion lor ce i. the big bossea w ho v.., Sits alii.iu u-.kiIiIm'I nvttriiuhlt .11 t Important detail like Ilxlng It mi fuiey couia ten wnq votcu nuw. 11 Would be obvious Unit a blank vote a tu an antl-communltt vole. f In a communist stuie. tney know i how lo handle antl-communisui. i, Vinit of Uie wnyt aren't pleasant. but tliey teem to bo eflecllvc. I ast'.med tin ch M 0 I j a retull ol I I run ilia ah HIS writer tun admlro greatly the three-nunrlera of a million poo' I tllr In C'Mt'hoalovakla who lell o 1 Mt iingly apout communism thai tncy ' Hiked concentration campa rainer itian vote for something they feared mna despised. ( But he can't work up much d miration (or Uie American coin I niunistt who rofuu to content ' Mtniboislilp In Uiclr party. Board Meets A regular meeting ol the board of the Klnnmlll Fulls Onrdcn club hns been called for 10 a. m., Wednesday, In the city li brary clubroomt. CHICK I 'VK I'KNTS OltKtiON, MONDAY, MAY 31, Telephone kill No. 1383 Here Is Dramatic Vanpori Flood Close-Up i m " r .. aawaat aasniii ai.mn , .ni iiaysnaaay 7- - - -. m I , - 1 t , 1 - I " - ,', , r ' '- V J .' at "1 S 4 ,r- - r- H. ?(aj. i --..i. ti ...... .,iwliS()ifr . , a r'-.-S-rer ; r-" - ".. J- r- ' l '0--l a,. "a ,y'' '"-it-.- The camera here eallfht a dramatic tegmenl of the tcene of destruction and tragedy al Vanparl when flood walera poured Into the town yealerday through a broken dike. The picture iliowa the water rltlnr over parked cam while Iho. refugeea Ihreah around In the waltl-deep flood. In the foreground a reoeuer hat picked up a tmall bos who elingt with arm about the neck of his benefactor. Shadows on the thirta of aeveral men In the picture how they have been In still deeper water. This sensational oieture was rushed by the Associated Press to The Herald and News, See general Vanport scene on page 9. Dallas Arch Death Told Diillat Arch, former resident of Klumiith Knlls nml Mnlln. was killed recently In 1111 automobile nccldrnl al Pierre, 8. 13., according lo word from Mrs. Arch, the former Delia Conner of this city. Arrh with Turner Chevrolet company 111 Klamath Kail for aev ernl yearn. His widow Is the former Oclla Conner, a graduate ol KUHS with the cln.vs of 1039. Recently Arch moved his family lo Pierre where he held n car dealership. De. lulls of the accident wcro not learned here. In addition to Mrs. Arch, mirvlvors Include two young children, Dick, 1, and Linda. 8 months. Mrs. Arch and her children plan In return to Klamath Falls to make their home. Traffic Death Figures Mount By The Associated Prros The nation's holldoy week-end traffic and other accidental deaths today had exceeded the national safety council's estimate long be fore the homeward-bound rush of highway travel began. The council predicted the total fatalities for llic period at 325 but the toll had climber to 268 shortly before noon today with traffic mis haps accounting for 150 of the dead, drownings 42. and miscellaneous ac cidents, Including plane crashes, 69. The traftlc deotlis already were '47 mare than the council hud predicted. Admitted William Whltlalch, re tired farmer living at route S box S07. Is receiving medical care at Hillside hospital. He was admitted Monday morning. Friends, Relatives Of Vanport Residents Keep Long Phone Vigil For News From Area . a 1 I , . ...I,.,. II I. nr. B ,,,,,,, l.,. Telephone communications were literally Jammed out or Klamath Falls last night ai worried friends and relative! sought word of Van pur'i fate. At least one mother sat up through the nlRlit walling for a cull but at 10:30 this morning, Mrs. J. n. Lemlic of !KI(itl Altamonl drive, got V-ord that her son Hon was safe. lien Is a pre-med student at Van port college and was unable to call home, lie was detailed to work throughout the night with a rescue tiiiiad. Hen la a resident of Veter ans Village at Vanport. He saved only his ear and camera. Annlhei' vanport student, Chuck Snillh, son of Mr, and Mis, Stanley Hmllh, 1(1118 Auburn, was able lo fcnll his family at fl:30 IiihI nluhl, lmllh was also a resident, of Van- village and said he was among hn Inst their possessions. and Mrs. Mllo t'hevne and ' ir three children, 8, 5 and 3 years I 4 age, were given 10 minutes notice evacuate their home in the vll- vjmiiu w lirt vllln , VjlWo wh ' ifllr. at laie, according to word received here at 11:30 last night by Mlln's mother, Mrs. Fannie Cheyne of the Henley district, and hit wlfe'a par ents. Mr. and Mrs. William C. Mllkey, 004 Walnut. Mrs. Cheyne Is en route lo Klam ath Falls while her husband remains In Port land where he Is employed. The Cheynes. who said they were alerted Iwo davs ago, estlmnled the dead around 200. T hey lost nil their possessions. Htlll shaken from their experience lu the flood were Mr. and Mrs. Coy (I. Perkins who wllll their 8-mnnth-old daughter Klmbrrly were among the first cars out of Vanport. They arrived here early this morning and are remaining lor a day or two with Mrs. Perkins' mother, Mrs. Keith K. Ambrose, t.MO Oregon avenue. The Perkins had pnekrd nil their belongings preparatory to leaving the project for I,ns Angeles. They were having; n fnrewell cup of coffre wllh upslnlrs neighbors In the 14 nnll. aimi'linenl. lnte yesterday After noon when they heard a commotion outside. , Running to the window they could see the 30-foot fall of water at the dike, cascading "like a waterfall" In to the project. "We Just picked up the baby and ran to the ear. They had warned us that there would be long blast from the siren, but all we heard Inter were three short blasts which didn't mean anything to us. "As wc drove through the project with our car nnd trailer, children were plnylug In the meadows nnd no one seemed to know what was happening." Mrs. Perkins said. Tliey passed the word along as best they could but were unable lo get through to the Interstate road because of sightseers. There was no traffic director at the seen and It was 20 minutes before the Per kins' ear colli tl break through lo the highway. ' , "Evcryllme I shut my eyes. I can sec that Waterfall. I nm still slinking. It, Is an experience. Hint we'll never forget," Mrs. Perkins snld. ArabsSmash Jew Attack At Highway CAIRO, May 31 iP) The Trans Jordan Arab legion announced today It had smashed a Jewish assault In the Latrun area, which controls Uie Jerusalem - Tel Aviv highway, and found 114 of the Jews dead on the battlefield. The announcement came from Amman as Arab armies maneuvered on Uie north, scuth and east ap proaches of Tel Aviv. Jerusalem dis patches told of an Israeli appeal to encircle Jews In modern Jerusalem to stand fast. Leave Cart The Amman communique said Jewish forces in the Latrun action left behind four armored cars and large quantities of arms, ammuni tion nnd trench digging machines. Latrun lies 22 miles southeast of Tel Aviv and IS miles west of Jerusalem. The legion said its artillery con tinued shelling Jewish posts and armored convoys In the Jerusnlcm men. Premier Dnvld Beii-Otirlon of the embntUed Jewish state messaged its people In modern Jerusalem Sunday that, notwithstanding the loss of the old walled city, strenuous efforts were being pressed to relieve them. Encirclement The Arab movements upon Tel Aviv, initial cnpltnl nnd military hendqunrtcrs of Israel, appeared de signed for encirclement rather than frontal assault. The Jews said Iraqi troops were within nine miles at one point. Arab and Trans-Jordnn forces were about 30 miles away. Arab shell fell In Jewish sections of Jerusnlcm. "In the past few weeks we hnve succeeded In aubstanttnlly Increas ing our effective strength on the. land nnd In the air." Ben-Ourion said. "Notwithstanding the end of the fighting In the old city, strenu ous efforts to relieve Jerusnlcm nnd the area nie In hand and are being pressed." Flood Cripples Portland Travel PORTLAND. May 31 (IPi The flood that destroyed Vanport crip pled transportation In this city to day, and battered the low-iying sections of the city. Airlines, fearful the municipal airport would be inundnted. were not flying from here. Union Pa cific trains were halted by a flood at The Dalles. Train service north wardexcept for one stub train for passengers with reservations was stopped as flood waters covered rails at Kalnma. Wash. Only the southbound trains were still run ning. And they could not use the Union depot, flooded with water. The Columbia River highway was cut at several points. Motorists could follow Uie highway from Port land to The Dalles, detour south ward to Maupln. return to the high way and detour again at Arlington to Lexington. An alternate route was through Central Oregon. The McKenzle river pass, from Eugene to Bend, is still snowbound. FIRE SOUTH ST. PAUL. May 31 P Fire attacked Uie tinder-dry wood en pens of Uie South St. Paul Union Stockyards company nt 11:45 a. m. today and within 30 minutes had spread over a two-block area. Two Hurt In Auto Accident Two 20-year-old Merrill youths were treated at Hillside hospital early this morning when their car careened off the Merrill highway in the Henley district, struck a tele phone pole and crashed into a bor row pit. Injured were Elroy Cmeger. route 1 box 616. driver, nnd James William Humphrey, Merrill. Humphrey was the more seriously injured. He re ceived head cuts and Crucger had minor head injuries and a cut hand. The accident occurred nt 4:45 a. m. Crueger was driving a convertible at the time. Hillside hospital attendants said the two were held for medical care for several hours and dismissed at about 8:30 a. m. State police said this was the only week-end accident up to mid morning Monday. No Game Called off rain. Thnt far thlt season 11 base ball games have been scheduled for Klamath Falls showing by the Klamath Gems, and only six have been played. The other five have had to be postponed be cause of bad weather. ' Latest casualty is the holiday doiibleheadcr slated for tonight with the Marysvllle Braves. The games are called off. Weather permitting, the Genu and Braves will try to get In twin bill Tuesday night, starting at 8 p. m. Water Rising In The Dalles THE DALLES. Ore., May 31 (if) The Columbia river ripped Uirough a revetment protecting this city to day and flooded toward the business district. The main line of the Union Pa' ciflc railroad running from Portland east was partly under water, and Uie railroad yards submerged. Hundreds of men seeking to plug the leak lost Uieir fight soon after the river started coming through. The revetment was breached Jut nt Uie city's eastern edge. The residential district Is on high er ground and no fears for it are felt. The Union Pacific halted west bound trains at The Dalles and hoped to find steam locomotives to bring them on in to PorUand. Steam engines ran get through a toot of water. Eastbound trains were being held at PorUand. DEATHS FEARED CERTAIN BUT NO BODIES FOUND By JAMES H. FERGUSON VANPORT, Ore May 31 W Another dike was threatening to break today under the raging flood that destroyed tnia town 01 ,i yesterday as completely as a mathed toy village. Everyone except rescue woraers, nuniint noam m " town of Vanport, were ordered oat of the ares to avoid belnr caught second break. ,,.r from the flooding Columbia threatened to spew over an already-alerted suburban district and the $1,500,000 Portland Meadow race track. Slows Bearen n,- . rtnr slowed the search of the brown, debris-splattered lake that cover, what yesterday was the thriving town of Vanport. Murky waters, up to 15 feet deep. itlU concealed today th secret of how many lives were lost. No bodies have been recovered from tne aevasuieu . u. 1 . . I.H In th mutinied houses, the one knew now many msm ' submerged streets, the sunken cars. Sheriff Martin T. Pratt said, "It is Deyona uie ram" ' v.-..... that In all these shattered buildings, maze 01 kwu f..v.. -power poles, and the crush of people who fought their way out, that none should have died. They are going to find bodies in mere out 1 will not venture a guess on how many, we wui not mm u victim s body until the river recedes, and tnai wm no a ninr v weeks." Red Cross Mum . -rh.r. hve been a number of deaths,' was all the Red Cross, coordinating a list of the missing, could say. Dozens of refugees, crying bewilderedly In Portland evacuee centers, reported missing relaUves. "But many of them may be in another place," reported Mrs. Kay Larson, Red Cross official. She told how a Red Cross photographer took a picture of a man, crrl" 'or his lost wife; and then, hours later in another evacuee center, iouna tne wire mournins With thousands of evacuees scattered through Portland schools, homes and public buildings, a round-the-clock check had still not suc ceeded In making a full list of the missing. The wall of water, which crashed through a dike yesterday and roared through the great sprawling town knocking down people and booses before it Uke tenpins, will not recede until the flooded Colombia goes down. The Columbia is doe to crest here tomorrow. House Searched tint until after that can Uie rescuers look through the submerged first stories, or Uie splintered houses. Boats, plying the city throughout Uie night, found no one in the houses' second floors. The dike broke without warning upon a town Uiat had been told only Uiat morning Uiat "You will have time to leave. Don't get excited." The dikes had been Inspected only Saturday nigni y ciigiucr, the director of the housing authority which runs Vanport, and the chairman of the housing authority. . ' ... ... , ... wr They were reported so sound that Sunday morning the Vanport boosing authority distributed under every doorstep a statement saying that no danger waa expected, but that In event 01 tne neea u s a siren would give the warning. "The housing authority feels terribly, terribly sorry, saio tester w. Humphreys, attorney for Uie PorUand housing authority, after the disaster struck. "But all you can do Is depend on the advice of competent engineers." Sheriff Martin T. Pratt said that "undoubtedly mere are many bodies In the debris and under water. The search for victims went on under floodlights last night and the probe of the submerged automobiles and dwellings went into full pace at dawn. Hundreds are injured and in hospitals. Vanport once Uie second largest city in Oregon In Uie wartime shipyard era here Is a total loss. Most of the victims are expected to be children. Tne piayyaros 01 the town were crowded for Sunday afternoon game when the flood struck suddenly. Many are sons and daughters of veterans living ' in the public housing project and students at Vanport college centered in the town. The anxiety of most of the adult survivors Is for their offspring. Dozens told of leaving children in upper floors of the buildings believed In safety buildings that later folded Uke tents when the flood Impact struck the apartments. Others said children were torn from their grasp. Their fate Is unknown today. Dike Breaks Open The disaster struck the community in a flanking of flood waters from the swollen Columbia river. The backwater and lake It formed had weakened a railroad embankment on the west edge of the city. The river level had risen to 15 feet above Uie Vanport table-like ground level yesterday morning. The break came under the tracks at 4:15 p. m. (PST). The. pre-arranged siren signal for the townsfolk was sounded. But within minutes Uie gap had spread to 60 feet, then 600 feet and a six-foot wall of water swept into the city. Hundreds heard the warning signal, but thousands lulled by earlier reports that they were In no imminent danger appeared to Ignore the danger and scoffed a neighbors dashed for the mgn aiaes sur rounding the mile square area. Today the scene wa a placid pool on which the frame apartment buildings floated, shattered walla and roofs and household goods drifted aimlessly. The tragedy of the disaster was told by men and women who were sheltered last night in schools and churches without knowing whether their children are among the living. Cars Stalled survivors scattered in shelters throughout nearby PorUand told of their harrowing escape, of racing away from Uie wall of water, swlm minir to higher land or escaping from cars stalled In a mass Jam of vehicles on the two rosds exiting from Uie low-lying town. They said th first 15 minutes waa a maddening ruslt or men, women and children striving to save their lives, frantically uncertain where to turn and run except away from the water. When the thousands of refugees began streaming from the stricken city, huge interurbnn buses, trucks and private cars 100 mem va temporary rehabilitation centers. Four truckloads of food donated by private citizens was distributed. The Red Cross called In a team of radio hams to maintain com munication with scattered relief centers and actual rescue operation In Vanport. Seen From Plane An airplane pilot, Calvin Hulbert, was over the area when the dike broke. There was no warning trickle," he related. "There was suddenly a six-foot breach In Uie railroad embankment. Then It was 60 feet, then 600. "A wall of water 10 feet high slid through the breach, striking down whole apartment buildings like a bulldoser knocks down a sapling. "The buildings seemed to burst as the water hit them. I saw th whole wall of an apartment pop out like a balloon exploding." Gordon O. McNab. an Associated Press staff man, was on the scene a few minutes after the water began pouring through the dike. "I passed an apartment building where a doten people lounged, th men in shirtsleeves," he said. "A woman said, -They're eraiy, the water won't get In here.' " Residents had been advised shortly before Uiat there wai HUM danger, that plenty of warning would be given if the dike were threatened. The advice was contained In mimeographed sheets distri buted by Uie Portland housing authority, which operated the city. U. . army engineers advised Saturday night Uiat no North Portland dike were seriously endangered. McNab continued: "I ran west toward the break. Suddenly across a (Continued on Page a, Column 1)