m NOME NUGGET
;_ OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. XLIX. No. 141. NOME. ALASKA, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 1947 PER COPY — lfrT
NEWS IN BRIEF I
|
SEATTLE, (iP)—Great Northern
Railway officials reported Satur
day that Canadian customs agents
are closing dining cars on passen
ger trains as soon as they cross the
international boundary. The ac
tion is being taken, they said, on
the theory that food served is
“imported" from the United States
in violation of the Dominion’s
drastic new restrictions against
imports from this country.
VICTORIA, B. C., </P)—Another
winter will be spent by the St.
Rochq, small Royal Canadian
mounted police patrol ship, in the
Arctic ice pack, off the mouth of
the Mackenzie river on Canada's
northernmost coastline, the R. C.
M. P. announced Friday. Several
of the St. Roche’s 12-man crew
will remain aboard ship during
are winter months, with the others
being flown out by ski-equipped
planes.
EDMONTON, Alta. (>P)—Round
the-world fliers George Truman
and Clifford Evans stopped over
here Saturday while mechanics
tuned up their two light planes in
preparation for the next leg of the
flight.
They expect to remain here un
til Monday when they plan to lake
off for Lethbridge in southern Al
berta, whence they will proceed
directly to Los Angeles. They flew
from St. John Friday.
During his stay here Truman
expected to have a reunion with
his brother. Russell, of Erandon,
Man., whom he has not seen for
30 years.
TOLEDO. O., (/P)—A G4-year
old field representative of the
anti-saloon league was in the city
workhouse Saturday after plead
ing guilty in police court to driv
ing while under the influence of
• liquor.
The Rev. Howard C. Pilchard
drew a three-day sentence and a
$50 fine Friday from police judge
J. Parker Edwards, who ignored
defense please the dry worker had i
been sufficiently punished by the
arrest and embarrassment.
In Columbus, S. P. McNaught,
director of the Ohio Anti-Saloon
League, commented: ‘‘He will
most likely not return.”
WASHINGTON M*)—Maj. Gen.
Paul R. Hawley said today he will
resign as medical director of the
veterans administration effective
Dec. 31.
The resignation, one month be
fore the general’s 57th birthday,
will follow by a month the retire
ment of Gen. Omar Bradley as
veterans administrator. Bradley is
to succeed Gen. Dwight D. Eisen
hower as army chief of staff. Ei
senhower will becojne president
of Columbia University early in
1948.
NEW YORK, (/P)—Bill Corum,
sports columnist for the New York
Journal-American, wrote today
the St. Louis Cardinals of the na
tional baseball league have been
sold to Robert Hannegan, post
master general, and the Skouras
Brothers, movie magnates.
Corum said the purchase price
• $
Vandenbrg Asks
Sp eedy Approval
Of “Aid” Bill
■
WASHINGTON. </P) — Senator,
Vandenberg (R.-Mich.» asked the
Senate today for speedy approval;
of $597,000,000 emergency aid for;
Europe to defeat the ‘‘lurking tyr
anny” of “Communist aggression.”
Vandenberg, who heads the for
eign relations committee, left his
presiding officer’s chair to open
debate on legislation to authorize
winter relief for France, Italy and
Austria.
This measure simply approves
the principle of aid up to $597,
000,000 worth. It Congress ap
proves it, separate bills appropri
ating the money will have to be
passed before aid becomes an ac
tuality.
The Michigan Senator told his
colleagues that the international
unity which won the war has
"fallen apart.”
"A new type of communism is
i on the march,” he said in a pre
pared address. “In the United Na
tions, which is still the world’s
best bridge across the ominous
gap, this new aggression boycotts
what it cannot defeat or veto.
“It operates not only through
ruthless pressures on often terror
i ized satellites. It operates through
internal subversion and sabotage
in other lands where its trained
and disciplined minorities faith
fully contribute to the chaos and
confusion which encourage com
Continued on Page Three
Govt. To Indict
Gen. Meyers On
Various Charges
(By Donald Sanders)
WASHINGTON, (Ah — Quadru
ple trouble built up for Maj. Gen.
Bennett E. Meyers today as a pos
sible nfew Senate inquiry threat
ened uneasy moments for “many
others” whose idle cash went “joy
riding” on wartime government j
bonds.
The quoted words are those ol
Senator Tobey <R.-N, H.». He
hinted- that his Senate banking
committee may takeup where the
war investigating committee left
off after disclosures which
brought denunciations of the re
tired air force general ranging
from “rotten apple” to “snake.”
First, however, federal grand j
juries here an delsewhere were
due to hear a review of testimony !
in which Meyers was accused of!
holding aircraft stocks and poc- (
keting profits from his own se- j
cretly owned sub-contracting firm
while deputy chief of air force
purchasing.
Specifically, attorney general
Clark said th$ government’s ob- j
jective will be to indict Meyers j
on charges of war fraud, perjury
and income tax evasion.
Still a fourth question also re- j
mains to be answered: whether j
the two-star officer will be or-1
(Continued on Page Four)
was $3,500,000 and that the deal
would be officially announced in
St. Louis tomorrow.
Committee Ends |
Investigation Of
Meyers’ Activities
WASHINGTON, (/P)—The Sen
ate war investigating sub-com
mittee closed its inquiry into the
tangled wartime dealings of Ben
nett E. Meyers Saturday with an
announcement by Chairman Fer
guson tR.-Mich.) that the entire
record is being sent to prosecuting
officers for possible criminal ac
tions.
The committee wound up the
hearings after General Henry H.
(Hap> Arnold, wartime head of
the air forces, testify that “on the
evidence before you, a high rank
ing officer has disgraced his uni
form and his rank.”
Arnold dramatically thanked
the Senate investigating group for
discovering what he callled a “rot
j ten apple in our barrel” as a
1 “wonderful service to the army,
the air forces and the nation.”
Meyers is a retired major gen
eral and during the war was dep
uty chief of procurement 'pur
chasing' for the army air force.
Ferguson sard the committee
would take these actions:
1. Ask the regular Senate bank
ing committee to investigate spec
ulation in government bonds.
Meyers testified he and his family
(Continued on Page Four)
Rivers Approves
Steamship Plan;
With Amendments
(By Charles D. Waikins)
WASHINGTON, (/P) — Ralph J.
Rivers, attorney general of Alas
ka, told the House special Alaska
transportation committee Friday
he approved the proposal of two
Seattle steamship companies to es
tablish permanent service to the
Territory, with some exceptions.
This plan, he said, would be his
second choice for continuing the
service after the present in'.enm
plan of operation with governmeot
ships terminates next June.
He said his first choice i* to,
continue the interim service, cor-!
solidating the Alaska Steamship
company and the Nort h 1 a n d
Transportation company and giv
ing the resulting firm and the |
Alaska Transportation company
the right to operate in all AlaskanI
waters.
If this cannot be done, he said,
he believed the plan of Alaska
Steamship and Northland to pur
chase government vessels at not
more than $100,000 and operate
them exclusively in Alaskan serv-1
ice was the next best proposal. He
said he would amend the proposal
to provide that Alaska Transpoi
tation should be given the same
privileges.
The companies now are operat- (
ing under an interim agreement
under which Alaska Steamship
serves western Alaska and the
other companies are restricted to
Southeastern Alaska.
Rivers said he would oppose any j
effort to base either plan on any:
prewar traffic pattern, when the
business of the Territory was
(Continued on Page Eight)
Foreign Ministers
Conference Opens
Tomorrow
LONDON, 0*P) —Approximately
500 aides, secretaries and experts
put the finishing touches today to
preparations for the big four for
eign ministers conference, which
convenes here tomorrow for what
many observers believe may be a
last attempt to reach unified peace
settlements with Germany and
Austria.
Soviet foreign minister V. M.
Molotov arrived yesterday by
plane and French foreign minister
Georges Bidault—last of the four
[ principal participants in the con
- ference—was expected tonight.
j Doubts over the identity of
France’s r e p r e s entative were
cleared away last night with Bi
i dault’s retention in the new coali
] tion cabinet formed by Premier
Robert Schuman. Immediately af
! ter his appointment Bidault an
i nounced his intention of departing
: for London today and named as
i his assistants Rene Massigli, am
I bassador to Britain; Gen. Georges
jCatroux, ambassador to Russia;
I Rene Couve de Murville, aide on
'political affairs, and Herve Al
t phand, aide on economic affairs,
j British informants said that Bri
! tain’s foreign secretary Ernest Be
j vin probably would see Molotov
land U. S. secretary of state George
j Marshall some time during the
day. Marshall arrived here Friday.
I Soon after Molotov’s arrival the
| Soviet embassy announced that his
. principal aid in the discussions
would be deputy foreign minister
Andrei Y. Vishinsky, who was ex
; pected to depart for London as
! soon as his duties at the United
Nations assembly in New York
: would permit.
Other leading members of die
Soviet delegation include Marshal
V. O. Sokolovsky, Russian com
mander-in-chief in Germany;
Georgi N. Zarubin, Russian Am
bassador to London, and A. S.
Smirnov, Soviet representatives in
the deputy foreign ministers’
council discussions on Germany
and Austria.
London hotels were crowded
with delegation staffs as well as J
with some 300 newspapermen as
sembled from all over the world
to cover the conference.
Premier Schuman
Forms New
Coalition Cabinet
(By Robert Eunson) .
PARIS, <JP) — Premier Robert
Schuman announced today the
formation of a new coalition cab
inet and immediately plunged into
the task of dealing with a spread
ing wave of strikes that threatened
the nation with economic disaster.
Already tied up by walkouts
here nine out of every 10 railroads
in France. All the country’s har
bors and most of her coal mines
were idle, and all grade schools in
the capital were closed.
The situation was further com
plicated by the threat of disturb
ances arising from a one-franc
(Continued on Page Five)
S.S. Companies
Propose New Plan
For Alaska Service
(By Charles D. Watkins)
• (/Pi Special Washington Service1
WASHINGTON, (A')—The mari
time commission had before it Fri
day a proposal of the Alaska
Steamship company and the
Northland Transportation com
pany to set up a permanent ship
ping service to Alaska.
During hearings last week com
missioner Joseph K. Varson asked
the companies to submit such a
plan.
The commission then was con
; sidering a petition of the Alaska
I Transportation company to revise
; the interim agreement under
| which the three companies are
' serving Alaska.
j Alaska Steamship and North
1 land propose that Congress enact
I a law requiring certificates of
! public interest, convenience ancf
necessity for both common and
contract carriers in the Alaska
trade.
Their “proposed plan” says that
Alaska Steamship and Northland
will purchase the necessary num
ber of war-built cargo vessels to
serve the Alaska trade under cer
tain conditions, including a re
j quirement the plan be put into op
I eration not later than May 1, 1948.
They say they will pay for ves
sels purchased from the commis
sion their statutory sales price or '
such percentage thereof as it is
determined the Territory can bear
as a capital base for rate making
purposes. (Rates are determined
j by a company’s capital invest
ment >. Such reduced prices, if any,
i would apply only for vessels oper
j ated exclusively in commerce to
, and from Alaska.
If, within five years the vessels
are operated anywhere else, the
purchaser would pay the commis
sion an apportionment of the dif
ference between the statutory
sales price and the actual price.
After five years the vessels
would become free vessels for all
purposes at their purchase price
for the Alaskan trade.
Alaska Steamship says it will
continue to operate its passenger
vessels to Alaska for two years
without any increase in rates
pending perfection of a passenger
ship program such as was recom
mended this mynth by the Presi
dent’s advisory committee on the
merchant marine.
‘‘When and if such passenger
ship program is perfected and im
plemented.’’ the plan says, “Alas
ka Steamship and Northland
Transportation will acquire the
necessary number of newly con
structed passenger vessels under
such purchase and charter ar
rangement as the economy of the
Territory can support.
“Supplementing such new pas
senger vessels the companies will
continue to operate such of the
four present passenger vessels for
such period as is necessary to pro
perly serve the,needs of the Alas
ka trade.”
Albret E. Stephan, counsel for
Alaska Transportation, made the
statement about his firm, and
(Continued on Page Five)