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1 HARD-FIGHTING CIVIL DEFENSE workeri were credited with
' saving Alturas from total inundation Sunday by raging flood
i waten which caused damage estimated at more than $100,000.
Don Kettler, Herald and News photographer, who reached
the stricken community a few hours after the Pit River over
j flowed its tanks, obtained these graphic action shots. Shown
. (left to right) .water pouring over the Klamath Falls-Alturas
f '. '
h n n i i n n r n, n ""N
m u mm
In The-
Day's lews
By FRANK JENKINS
President Eisenhower sends to
the congress this morning a mes
sage proposing a balanced budget
in, the fiscal years of 1956 and 1957.
Perhaps It would be well to
pause here and explain the term
"fiscal year." A fiscal year Is a
MONEY year that is to say, a
bookkeeping year. The U.S. gov
ernment's fiscal year begins on
July 1 and ends the following June
30. The fiscal year that will end
on the 30th of the coming June is
known in accounting parlance as
fiscal 1956."
In brief, Ike proposes no tax re
duction AND HIGHER SPENDING.
That Is made possible by the pros
perous state of our economy, which
is bringing in a lot of tax money.
In addition, he proposes to RE
DUCE THE DEBT by some 14
million dollars by .the end of the
present fiscal year on June 30. In
the next fiscal year, which will end
June 30.. 195T; lfhepropoe a
debt, reduction of 500 million dol
lars. . ,
At that rate, in some 600 YEARS
we could be even with the world.
Pretty slow, you say?
Well, it's better than going In the
hole every year. If we go in the
hole every year ' for 600 years,
where will we be?
History tells us in no uncertain
terms we'll be bankrupt long be
fore that time.
Why the added spending?
The bulk of it is for defense.
We must think of defense spending
in this modern cold war world
something like this:
If you lived in a dark forest
peopled by bloodthirsty savages
njld hungry wild beasts, you a leei
that you HAD to have good guns
and plenty of ammunition even if
you had to go short on other
. things.
We're surrounded by communists
which are far more dangerous
than savages or wild beasts.
I'm hopelessly old-fashioned, of
course so much so that I think
Ve could cut a couple of billions
or so in the way of frills and ex.
travagances out of our proposed
total of expenditures and hardly
miss it.
I rather imagine Ike feels the
same way about it, but we must
remember that this is an election
year and so he is under tremen
dous pressure to make it appear
that if the GOP is returned to
power every voter will get every
thing he wants and won't nave
anything worth while taken away
from him.
I feel this way about Ike: He
described himself at the beginning
of his political career as a mod
erate conservative a middle-of-the
roader, neither a reckless spender
nor a tightwad. In general, he has
lived up to that definition.
He has reduced spending.
And
Our country has prospered under
his policies.
I have the feeling that if his
policies are continued our country
will continue to prosper. And I
have the further feeling that if his
policies are continued we won't
spend ourselves into bankruptcy.
The political news this morning
contains a VERY interesting para
graph. It reads: '
"President Elsenhower's budget
figures got a mixed reception in
congress. The Republicans tended
to stress the balancing of outgo
with income. The Democratic, com
ments WERE POINTED MORE
AT THE PROPOSED INCREASE
IN SPENDING."
That is to say:
The Democrats, who have been
the big spenders, are critical of
President Eisenhower because in
his budget message he proposes to
spend somewhat more than he has
been spending.
How come?
This the explanation:
Whatever the party In power
does, or proposes to do, the party
out of power has to be against.
That is the first law. of politics..
Otherwise, the voters might ask:
WHY CHANGE?
T
Yuba City Fights
High River Crest
SAN FRANCISCO (UP) Mud
smeared levee workers sloshed
across the spongy top of the re
paired dike at Yuba City today in
belief they had saved the city
from a second inundation by
Feather River.
Yuba City, however, still re
mained the critical situation in the
Northern California flood disaster
area.
All the coastal streams that had
gone over their banks and driven
thousands from their homes during
the weekend were reported falling
today. The crisis passed when the
48-hour storm came to an end
yesterday afternoon.
For a time, the storm had
Patterson, To
Tell Plans
COOS BAY UTI Gov. Paul Pat
terson will announce - by Feb. 1
whether he will enter the race for
U. S. senator from Oregon.
Political observers expect him
to. especially since he said here
Saturday he Is considering it
strongly and will announce his de
cision by Feb. 1.
If he rims, it likely would mean
a contest for the GOP nomination
since Elmer Deetz, Canby dairy
man, said earlier Saturday he
would run. Whether the governor's
decision would change Deetz' was
uncertain.
The governor . made his an
nouncement at the end of a talk
to an informal Republican group
here. He said his wile is willing
to go along with any decision he
makes.
Patterson, on the strength of his
vote-getting record, would be fa
vored to gain his party's nomina
tion and oppose Sen. Morse (D-
Ore) in the November election. Re.
publican leaders have been urging
him to do that almost since the
ty he piled up a big margin in
being elected governor in 1954.
Patterson said he has been trav.
eline about the state to determine
whether the people want him to
carry on as governor or to take on
'new political Job. If enougn
people want him to run for sen
ator, he will not "shirk" his duty,
he said. ,:
Indians Seek
Land Payment
FLORENCE. Ore. I Three
tribes of Oregon coastal Indians
want a sizable chunk of Uncle
Sam's cash or a seat in the United
Nations.
Their attorney. James Green, a
Justice of the peace here, said the
tribes are tired of waiting for the
federal government to pay them
for land along the coast.
If the cash they want about 100
million dollars isn't forthcoming
soon they will demand seats In the
U. N. as sovereign powers. Green
said.
The confederated tribes of the
Siuslaw, Lower Umpqua and Coos
Bay say they signed a treaty for
the United States to buy a strip of
land in 1855. The strip includes
the present-day cities of Florence,
Reedsport and Coos Bay.
But the U. 8. Senate never rati
fied the treaty, so the Indians as
sert they never gave up sovereign
ty over the strip.
"We claim thse tribes are free
people and not subject to federal
laws. The United States recognized
their sovereignty in the 1855 treaty
with them. Since the treaty was
never ratified, no rights of sover
eignty were surrendered and no
conveyance of land took place. It
won't take 15 minutes to settle this
if the government lives up to its
obligation," Green said.
But if no money is paid "We
Intend to apply for seats in the
United Nations as sovereigns," he
said.
U Q? 0R3G0.T LIBRARY
EUGENS, ORE.
highway, one mile north of Timber Mountain Inn. Volunteer
workers are shown building a channel to divert the flood waters
in Alturas. Next a bulldozer is pictured speedily erecting dikes
to protect railroad bridges. Far right is a home surrounded by
a miniature lake with two boys shown crawling along a wooden
fence to get out of the danger area. Three hundred civil de
fense workers were mobilized to battle the flood under the di
IF
threatened to duplicate the Christ
mas week disaster when floods re
sulted in 75 deaths and more than
175 million dollars property dam
age. Although the storm Tiad
passed, constant vigilance1 had to
ne maintained at Yuba city.
CRITICAL HOURS
The danger there was pin-pointed
at - Shanghai Bend, where the
Feather River lapped at the mud
dy top of the reconstructed levee.
It was here that the bulwarks
broke at Christmas time, sending
nearly 10,000 persons fleeing for
their liven nnH Icillin? at lf.fl.qt. 33
At ft a.m. this morning,' the
river stood at 67.1 feet, a danger
point, but the river was falling
above Yuba City and the waters
were rising at the rate of only a
tenth of a foot' an hour at Yuba
Cltv.
, , The levee at Shanghai :Bend Is
71, feet nigh, and the city levee
commission did not believe th
water now would go over the top.
The -greatest danger, however,
was whether the levee would con
tinue to hold. Since the Christmas
break, construction crews and
heavy equipment has been used in
the three-week struggle to restore
the city's defenses. This work,
however, was untested, unpacked
and spongy. There always was the
chance that the river could come
boiling in from the bottom.
AROUND THE CLOCK
A crew of Army Engineers from
Oamp Beale Air Force Base, work
ing in shifts of 100 around the
clock and augmented by city vol
unteers, continued to man ' the
levee. Heavy equipment had to be
removed because it could not be
used in the mud.
Upstream, north of Yuba Citv.
the river had dropped a tenth of a
foot at Gridley. At Orovllle. 16
hours away as the stream flows,
the river had dropped seven feet.
So far, three deaths were re
ported from the current floods.
Henry'R. Beneken Sr., 64, a car
penter, apparently .slipped Into the
paper mill creek behind his home
at Forest Hills in Marin County
around midnight and drowned.
Rav Stepp, 50, drowned in an irri
gation ditch south of Alturas, and
John' Maurer. 32, Eureka contrac
tor, was killed Saturday by a
falling tree as he worked to break
a long Jam in a creek. '
Two San Francisco duck hunters
C. S. Miles and a man Identified
only, as a Mr. Risk!, were missing
and feared dead on Butte Slough
15 miles northwest of Yuba City.
Early today. Army Engineers
watched the swollen Feather River
Inch up along the weak Shanehal
Bend levee Just south of Yuba
City. It was this levee that gave
way on Dec. 24, forcing 10.000 per
sons to flee for their lives. Yuba
City counted 33 flood victims alone
then.
At midnight, the Feather River
stood at 67.3 feet opposite Yuba
City proper and 66 3 at the Shang
hai Bend levee. Since Christmas,
the levee had been built up to
70 to 71 feet, but 67 feet is con
sidered "dangerous."
Ike Presents Balanced U.S. Budget
WASHINGTON I President
Elsenhower Monday sent Congress
a balanced budget for the new fis
cal year proposing a rise of 1 1 a
billion dollars in government
spending. He said the bigger spend
ing would be more than offset by
an expected climb In revenue.
Eisenhower's budget also antici
pates as he had said In his State
of the Union message earlier this
month that the government will
wind up the current fiscal year,
ending next June 30, in the black.
This is because revenues are run
ning ahead of expectations due to
the general prosperity in 1955.
Here are the president's over-all
figures:
Spending In this fiscal year to
i'be, S64.270.000.000 and income 164,-
3uo.uoo.ouu, with a surplus ror this
year of- 230 million.
Spending in the new fiscal year.
ending in mid-1957, to be S65.&56,-
11
. . KLAMATH
Price Five Centa 10 Pages
Inspectors
Study Train
Wreck Cause
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
An eastbound Union Pacific pas
senger train Jumped (rom the
tracks as it entered an s curve
east of The Dalles earlv Monday.
spilling the.3nR'ne.. M fW1
cars.
- Inspectors searched for clues to
the cause in the rain - softened
earth.
The 65 passengers on the Spokane
bound train were shaken but un
hurt, and continued later by bus.
As the dlesel engine left the rails
it plowed Into stacks of ties. One
of them flew against the windshield,
showering brakeman W. B. Ford
with glass. He was hospitalized for
treatment of cuts and engineer R.
W. Harvey, who said the engine
seemed to hit a bump then leave
the rails, suffered a back injury,
Both are from Portland.
SLIDES '
Rains that touched off slides and
high water over much of Oregon
and southwestern Washington
slackened late Sunday and Mon
day, giving streams a chance to
fall back to safff levels.
More rain was forecast for Tues
day, though. .
Surging water from snow melt
caused by a warm south wind Sun
day swept out a highway bridge
norm oi rnnevine. in central ure-
gon. South bn the California bor
der the Lost River spread out over
some low spots in Klamath County.
And all up and down Western Ore
gon there was high water and slid
ing earth.
Virtually all of the rivers crested
before dawn Monday without caus
ing extensive damage.
SCHOOL BUS
An empty school bus- broke
through a road undermined, by
high water at Mapleton and some
20 houses were marooned there as
the Siuslaw River went four eel
above flood stage before starting
to fall.
At Willamette City near Oak-
rid?e, southeast of Eugene, volun
teers built a temporary dike and
bulldozers started cutting a new
channel for the upper Willamette
so it would bypass houses.
The Union Pacific reported three
westbound trains delayed In mak
ing a detour. of the derailment area
and the eastbound morning mail
train was late. A temporary track
around the derailment was to be
ready for use In early afternoon.
000.000 and Income $66,300,000,000
leaving a surplus' of 435 million.
The massive figures got a mixed
reception In Congress. By and
large, Republicans tended to stress
the balancing of outgo with Income
-something the government has
achieved In only three years out
oi the last 25.
On the Democratic side, com
ments ran more toward pointing at
the proposed increase In spending.
The biggest part of the spend
ing increase proposed by the Pres
ident was In what he listed as for
major national security meaning
chiefly the defense establishment,
atomic energy and foreign mili
tary aid.
Here is a general breakdown by
government functions of the pro
posed 1 1 1 billion spending boost:
National security, at borne and
abroad. 903 million dollars.
Welfare, 228 million dollars.
rection of Charles Lederer. Sheriff E. R. (Buckl Server organ
ized crews of volunteers who removed furniture and other
household goods from scores of flooded homes. Red Cross of
ficials opened a canteen at Modoc County Courthouse to feed
the flood workers. Standby crews are ready to go into action
4gain if new storm develops. Almost countless tons of sand
were bagged and distributed throughout the town. Mitchell
FALLS, OREGON, MONDAY. JANUARY 16, 1956
Telephone Sill
9 O'clock Special
GARY PEARSON, 935 Pacific
Terrace, was on his way to
Klamath Union High School
this morning when the 9
o'clock photographer stopped
him. Gary is a senior.
Weather
FORECAST Klamath Falls and
vicinity: Clearing Monday night and
Tuesday morning. Rain Tuesday
afternoon. High Tuesday 52; low
Monday night 35.
Low last night - 28
High yesterday 44
Precip. last 24 hours 68
Since Oct. 1 13.84
Same period last year 3.41
Normal for period ..... ......... 5.77
CHANGES
VIENNA. Austria, W Two
more changes ih the Romanian
government, making five in three
days, were announced Monday by
Radio Bucharest. Stefan Balan
was appointed minister for con
struction. He replaces Gheorghe
Hossu, who Saturday was named
the new minister of agriculture
with the apparent task of speeding
up collectivization. Mihai Sudor
was appointed new minister for
the timber industry.
Interest on the debt, 191 mil
lions. General government, 146 mil
lions. Veterans affairs, 86 millions.
International affairs, 55 millions.
Reductions were listed for com
merce and housing, amounting to
111 million dollars; natural re
sources 14 millions, and agricul
ture 12 millions.
In a message accompanying his
budget, Eisenhower repeated the
go-slow caution of his State of the
Union message as to a tax cut.
He said the government could
stay in the black in the next 18
months bv "slim margins only if
Congress gives him "the utmost
cooperation" in holding down
spending and awaiting a prudent
time for tax cuts.
As long as booming prosperity
continues, Elsenhower aald. Con
gress should put at least some re
.-. . . ' -.. .-,-1 ' M i
HI
No. 3375
Rain Causes
Langell, Poe
Valley Flood
The crest of a flood In Langell
and Poe valleys which was caused
by warm rains over the weekend
was in the - vicinity of Olene at
li a.m. today according to J. Pitts
Elmore, Klamath- Reclamation
Project manager.
Elmore said that the water
downstream from Olene should be
gin to recede by late this after
noon. The floods, which began when
(lie warm rain fell and melted
off the snowpack Saturday morn
ing, were described as being com
parable to and possibly worse than
the floods during the week before
Christmas. However, Elmore said
that any precipitation now Is snow,
and that it probably will not melt
off rapidly.
There was no reported damage
to any improvements, other than
fields and pasture land, Elmore
stated.
FLOOD CREST
The flow at the crest of the
flood, which reached Harpold Dam
at the head of Poe Valley at about
1 a.m. today, was estimated at
about 4,000 second feet. The level
at the Lost River Diversion Dam
southeast of Klamath Falls was
reported at about 8:30 a.m. to be
within three tenths of a foot of
the high reached last month.
The flow through the Lost- River
Diversion Channel to the Klamath
River has reached the capacity
of the channel, and the bureau
began releasing about 1.000 second
feet of water down the lower chan
nel of the river at about 10 a.m.,
Elmore reported. The water will
Lflow Into the TulelBke sumps.
He said that about 3,000 second
feet of water would be sent through
the diversion channel when the
crest reaches the dam,
MINOR SLIDES
Meanwhile, both state and coun
ty highway officials reported that
there were a number of minor
slides and flooded roads In the
county, but that the only major
highway closure was on the Mer-rill-Malln
state highway, where
traffic was being diverted around a
flooded stretch.
Ed Propst, county road superin
tendent, said that county crews
had "been lucky" that the flood
had not caused worse damage to
the road system.
According to the Herald and
News correspondent at Bonanza,
(Continued on pc 4)
duction of the national debt ahead
of tax slashing.
His new spending blueprint al
lowed for some debt reduction, but
not for tax cuts. He reiterated that
Congress should act to keep cor
poratlon and excise taxes at their
present levels, rather than allow
them to drop as scheduled on April
1 to the levels In effect before
the Korean War.
For fiscal 1957, which begins
next July 1. Elsenhower proposed
that Uncle Sam spend $66,865,000.
000. He estimated Hiat federal in
come in that 12-month period would
be $66,300,000,000, If both predic
tions are achieved, the government
will wind up the fiscal year with
a atirplu), of 4.15 million.
In other main facets of his
budget message Elsenhower:
1. Estimated that spending this
(Continued en page 4)
Jurasevfck, manager of the Niles Hotel, declined an offer of
sand and was prepared to protect his property with 300 sacks
of flour. Modoc County health officials were surveying the
flooded area Monday as a precaution against an outbreak of
disease. Cleanup work has been started but it will be many
days before the damages can be repaired.
m
Residents Battle
Rampaging Water
By LYLE DOWNING
ALTURAS A 24-hour' battle
against the raging flood waters of
the north fork of the Pit River
which Inundated nearly a square
mile of Alturas had apparently
been won Monday morning.
Charles Lederer, Modoo County
civil defense director, told the Her
ald and News that the river which
swirled over its banks early Sun
day morning and for a time threat
ened to engulf the entire communi
ty, was rapidly receding.
One man was drowned Sunday
as a result of the flood. Ray Stepp.
50-year-old ranch worker, fell into
a swollen Irrigation ditch near Like
ly, 20 miles south of here. His
body was , recovered by Modoc
County Sheriff E. R. JBuck) Server!..-
...f'-- , :. .v,..
DEFENSE WORKERS
Monday morning .civil defense
workers were still standing guard
on the banks of the Pit which
was heavily sandbagged along
most of its course through the
center of Alturas.
A survey of the damage showed
tliat virtually all streets in the
southern section of the town, were
Floods Ravage
Eureka Area
EUREKA (UP) At least 1.000
persons fled their homes in Del
Norte and Humboldt counties when
rain-swollen rivers and streams
flooded Northwestern California
during a weekend storm.
The flooding rivers were the
same ones that caused the havoc
of Christmas week. This time.
however, the damage was rela
tively minor.
The Del Norte county, smith
River was over Its banks. Five
hundred persons were evacuat
ed from the towns of Klamath and
Klamath Glen In the southern part
of the county when the Klamath
River began rising.
In Humboldt County, Klamath
River rose so rapidly that It put
some lowland areas under water.
Residents of Orleans in the north
eastern part of the county were
warned to be ready to leave.
Jaycee Award
Dinner Slated
The annual Klamath County Jun
ior chamber of Commerce dis
tinguished service award winner
will be named at a Joint dinner
meeting of the Jaycees and the
chamber of commerce In the Wll
lard Hotel Wednesday at 6:30
p.m.
The winner of the annual award
will be named on the basis of
community service in 1955. Any
young man between the ages of
21 and 35 is eligible and he need
not be a member of he Jaycees
He will be selected by a commit
tee of six persons Ineligible to re
ceive the award.
Gall Osborn, 1954 award winner,
will make 'the presentation with
Jim Stllwell acting as master of
ceremonies. The Rev. Dwayne
Proett will give the Invocation-
Tickets for the dinner may be ob
tained from any chamber director
or member of the Jaycees.
Previous winners of the award
are: Percv Murray. 1935: Harlan
P. Bosworth Jr.. 19?6; L. Orth
Slsemore. 1937; Charles Mack.
1938- Cl'fford C. Jenkins (Tule
lake), 1939; Martin Swaiifcn. 19-10;
Don Drury, 1911; Ralph Waggoner,
1942: James Kerns Jr.. 1943: John
Sandmeyer, 1944; Karl Dchllnger,
195: Robert R. Walker, 1946;
James Stllwell. 1947;
Chester Hamaker. 1948; Earl
Kent, 1949; Darrell Miller, 1950;
Robert L. Smith, 1951- Elton
Smith. 1952; Rex M. Dye, 1963;
and Gall Osborn, 1964. '
, flooded. Water was a foot deep ill
many homes in that area.
Five frame buildings ot the
United States Forest Service were
surrounded by a miniature lake.
One of the chief concerns of the
flood fighters and a focal point of
their activities throughout Sunday1
was the Modoc Medical Center,
where 58 patients were prepared
for immediate evacuation. Water
lapped for hours against the Tear
wall of the rambling one-story
hospital building. Civil defense
workers stood by ready to trans
fer the patients to Modoc Union
High School,
DRASTIC TURN ...
Shortly after 3 p.m. Sunday it
appeared the situation had taken
a draatle turn for. the , wortp. 1 K
shortwave radio report wai re
ceived at olvll defense headquart
ers in Modoc County Courthouse
announcing a cloud burst at Cedar
Pass, 15 miles upstream from Al
turas. Water from that area was
further swelling the Pit. However,
the increased water did not affect
the flow of the river here.
The first big break for the bet
ter came shortly after 6 p.m. Sun
day when the wind shifted from
south to north and sodden skies
quickly cleared. -CREWS
STAND BY
Civil Defense Director Lederer
said emergency crews will be kept
on a standby basis for the next
24 hours.
We are certain the worst Is
over," he added. "We now face
the big task of cleaning uo the
flooded area."
Almost countless tons of sand
were bagged and -distributed
throughout the community bv the
civil defense workers.
Mitchell Jurasevick. manager of
the Niles Hotel, said he had no
confidence In sand keeping out
waler and was prepared to utilize
300 sacks of flour to protect his
property. However, the flood did
not reach the hotel.
Teens Plan
KF Polio Dance
One of the big events of the
Teens Against Polio division of the
March of Dimes Drive will be a
dance planned for Saturday, Jan
uary 21 at the Klamath Falls
Armory, Music will be by the Star
Ughters dance band with dancing
from 9 p.m. to 2 p.m.
The presidents of the classes In
all the high schools of the county
will be in charge of ticket sales
for their classes, announced Wally
Wunder, county Teens Against
Polio chairman, and Klamath Un
ion High School student. He said
the dance Is for both teen-agers
and adults.
The high school that sells the
most tickets per capita will be
given the- privilege of choosing a
4ance queen for the dance. The
queenwlll be crowned by Wunder
at the dance.
The winning school will also
name the county chairman for the
Teens Against Polio drive for next
year, Wunder said. This chairman
will compete for the state chair
man's post next year.
The Pep Peppers and the Future
Nurses ot KUHS staged "Blue
Crutch Dav" Saturday on the
streets of Klamath Falls. The girl
students presented miniature blue
crutches to all donors to the March
of Dimes.
The K Club of KUHS will set up
"toll bridge" Saturday, Janu
ary 21 (weather permitting) at the
corner of East Main and Main
streets. A sign denoting the bridge
will be placed at this Intersection
and the K Club members will col
lect donations from motorists stop
ping at the toll bridge in Polio
buckets, Wunder said.
In addition to these events the
Teens Against Polio are planning
Polio Peanut Sale, and a talent
show to raise funds for the Maxch
of Dimes,
V