OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS_
VOL. MI. No. 24 NOME, ALASKA, MONDAY. FEBRUARY 27, 1050 > Per Copy—15c
NEWS IN BRIEF
WASHTUCNA, Wash. </P) — A
six-car passenger train, traveling
at better than a mile-a-minute
clip, hit a rock near here late Sat
urday and jumped the track.
As the train continued on an
other 600 to 700 feet, ripping up
rails and ties, only two of the es
timated 75 passengers were shak
en sufficiently to require hospital
ization.
Officials of the Spokane, Port
land and Seattle Railroad said
Mrs. Martha Reeish, 51, Spokane,
was treated for shock. Another
Spokane woman, identified as
Mrs. Clara Larson, also was taken
to a hospital but quickly released.
NEW YORK, (>P)—The Pioneer
Dale, 8,000 ton freighter of the
United States lines, was bombed
and strafed off Tsingtao, China,
today, an official of the line re
ported .
The spokesman said the cap
tain, James F. Knowlton, had cab
led from Tsingtao:
“Attacked by bomber, one
bomb dropped six lengths astern
this vessel while approaching
breakwater. Ship badly * strafed.
One slight casualty. Now proceed
ing seawards awaiting orders.”
The United States lines ordered
Knowlton to take his ship to
Japan. The ship has a crew of 50.
SEATTLE, (/P) — The pajama
clad body of a man identified as
Dr. Thomas Benjamin Curran. 75
year-old retired Tacoma physi
cian, was found on a sidewalk
outside the New Washington Ho
tel early today.
Coroner’s deputies said he ap
parently fell to his death from a
window on the 10th floor.
Papers in his room showed he
also owned a home in Victoria, B.
C.
*
FAIRBANKS, </P) — A $15,000
fire at Kotzebue Friday was re
ported here today. Advices said
the Wien Alaska Airlines hangar
was destroyed, with all shop
equipment and a tractor. The fire
was said to have started in a
chimney. There were no other de
tails. <Ed. Note—Local manager
Gerald Modrow states the fire did
not incuude a hangar.)
DETROIT UP)—1The acquittal of
Carl Bolton left unanswered Sat
urday that perplexing question:
Whot shot Walter Reuther?
A recorder’s court jury of eight
women and four men decided late
Friday that Bolton, suave, 41
year-old convicted burglar and
'onetime minor union, official, was
not the gunman.
Bolton was the only man
against whom a ft rmal charge
ever was placed in the April 0,
1 1948, shooting. He was accused
of assault with inter! to kill Reu
ther, president of the CIO United
Auto Workers.
NEW YORK, (/P)—A big-scale
coffee stealing racket, that au
thorities say may have accounted
in part for the recent coffee short
age in this country, has been un
covered on the New York City
(Continued on Pnft Two)
Coal Union Pleads
Innocent hi
Contempt Charge
WASHINGTON, UP)— John L.'
Lewis’ United Mine Workers to
, day pleaded innocent to contempt
charges resulting from the failure
of 372,000 miners to return to |
work under court order.
The union waived its right to i
! argue its case before a jury, and
decided to let Judge Richmond
| B. Keech rule on the evidence as'
i well as the law.
The big question is whether the
union is responsible for the re-1
fusal of the coal miners to go
back to work.
Keech issued an order Feb. 11
for a return to work, but the min
ers have ignored it.
The union’s attorneys have con
tended that the miners are acting
individually—that the union itself
has nothing to do with the the
present strike.
Once the union’s plea was for
mally entered, the government
began attempting to show that
the union is responsible for keep
ing the mines idle to the point of
a national coal famine.
I
$11,500,000 More
Secured For FHA
Alaska Housing
i r
i
JUNEAU — Ending a dramatic
| deadline race for Title 608 hous
ing, word was received in Juneau
! Friday that an additional $11,500,
000 of private construction for
i Alaska had been committed by
FHA. “It was a near photo fin
ish,” Clinton C. Staples, Territori
al director of FHA remarked, j
“with a March first expiration
date on Title 608 legislation un-!
der which there is now assured1
more than $30,000,000 in apart
ment construction distrib uted
from Ketchikan to Fairbanks.” i
Such housing will provide ap-1
proximately twenty-five hundred I
individual units.
In a statement to Governor
Gruening, Mr. Staples added that
within thirty days some $50,000,
000 worth of military housing
would be insured by his office un
der provisions of the Wherry Act.
This would be in addition to the
$30,000,000 of privately financed
housing committed within the
past six months.
NWith the approach of the March
(Continued on Page Three)
Wright Wins Fur
Rendezvous Race
Gareth Wright of Fairbanks
was winner of the All Alaska Sled
Dog Races. Friday, Dan Syndcr of
Kotzebue ran second only 29 sec
onds behind and Earl Norris of
Anchorage ran third.
Tom Prout of Nome was run
ning in seventh place, being han
dicapped by only having five dogs,
having had the hard luck of crip
pling two dogs the first day of
the race. He is reported to have
picked up considerable time the
second day of the races.
Kodiak City Beats
w
Nome In l< iiu ■ Is
In the Class B basketball games
on Friday Nome played Kodiak
City High with a basket scored in
the final 15 second of the game to
defeat Nome 32-31. This was
Nome’s first defeat in a very close
game that was reported marred
by erratic officiating which sty
mied f and bewildered the local
team and brought a protest from
Coach Urick as the Kodiak zone
defense proved penetrable.
On Saturday Nome played the
Kodiak N.O.B. High School with
a score of 63 to 26 and on Sunday
played the finals with Kodiak
City team and were defeated
with a score of 41 to 27 or 30 tc
21. (which score is correct has nol
been ascertained at press time)
Harold Bell is reported having
the highest number of points or
the team.
Details of the Sunday game
were .nci available at the time ol
going to press.
In the class A tournament An
chorage went into the finals bv
defeating Fairbanks 52-41 on Fri
day evening while Seward re
mained undefeated.
Details of the final games ol
both tournaments which were ex
pected on today’s flight of Alaskf
Airlines which has been delayec
hv weather.
CIVIL AIR PATROL
BENEFIT VERY SUCCESSFUL
The Civil Air Patrol sponsorec
a double header in basketball las1
Saturday evening, as well as a
dance for the purpose of raisini
a fund for the purchase of gas foi
the CAP plane which is used here
by the group. The first game play
ed was between two High School
girls’ teams with the Wolverines
winning the game. This was fol
lowed by a game between the
Nome Beverage and MAFB, with
the army taking the honors.
Later in the evening dancing
was enjoyed to the music of Jack
Estes and Woodbury Abbey.
Plane Scheduled
To Lund \l North
Pole Ne\l Siiiumci*
SEATTLE. irV)—Sometime this
summer an airplane is scheduled
to make the first recorded land
ing at the North Pole—and among
its passengers will be the Rev.
Bernard Hubbard, S. J.
It will be a thrilling climax to
23 years of Arctic exploration for
the noted “glacier priest.”
“For years I have looked for
ward to conducting mass at the
North Pole,” he said here.
Father Hubbard, who has cov
ered thousands of miles on foot in
the Far North, climbing snow
covered peaks, studying volca
noes, and gathering a wide vari
ety of scientific data, will make
the forthcoming flight in a United
1' States air force plane.
“The air force has made 400
flights over the Pole,” he said,
! “but no one has landed there—at
least no United States plane.
“We plan to stay a full day. It
is important to learn all we can
about actual conditions on the top
of the world.
“As more planes fly over the
Polar region we know some will
be lost—but we want to save the
I men. It’s to gain the information
[' on survival there, and to perfect
the rescue program, that this
flight is planned.”
At the North Pole the ice at
tains a maximum thickness of
about 18 feet, and the tempera
I ture rises considerably above zero,
. Father Hubbard said.
“In fact, it rains there some
[ times,” he added.
Among other things, the party
will sound the ocean.
“It is reported to be 14,000 feet
deep, but we want to find out for
i sure,” he said.
Father Hubbard, who lectured
and showed his latest color mo
tion pictures of the Far North at
the civic auditorium last week,
said hr considers the defense of
i Alaska is progressing satisfactor
I (Continued on Page Five)
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1 i .1 -I I I t I ' II L
«
\C ONFESS/
x -rtPtttS-—
News of the \\ or Id
At \ (danee - - -
Saturday. February 25. 1950
<By The Associated Press)
Britain's Labor government de
cided today to carry on despite its
slim parliamentary majority.
Of 625 seats in the new House
of Commons, it looked as it Labor
might have only a majority of
nine. That is perhaps the smallest
parliamentary majority in a cen
tury and may prove unworkable.
Political experts said the regime
that will carry on will be a “care
takes government" without the
strength to carry out Labor poli
cies. They speculated that Prime
Minister Attlee would attempt to
get sufficient agreement in Parlia
, ment to pass a budget and settle
a number of emergency matters.
After that he might have to ask
the King to order a new election.
The wobbly position of the
government is a blow to the Mar
.‘hall Plan and Atlantic Pact arch
itects attempting to strengthen
Europe. Much of the new Europe
was anchored on a stable govern
ment in Britain.
In the previous parliament La
bor had a majority of 146 seats
which made it one of the strongest
governments in the world,
i A Labor party spokesman said a
majority of 30 was the minimum
with which any single-party gov
i ernment could effectively get
. . ...
tnrougn us major policies.
The United States government
announced last night the freezing
of all assets held in the United
States by citizens of Bulgaria, Ro
mania, and Hungary. This an
nouncement, following a break in
diplomatic relations with Bul
garia earlier in the week, brought
American relations with the three
j Eastern European countries to a
j new low.
The justice department said the
assets of the communist-domin
ated countries weer frozen be
cause of a delay in compensating
| American claims in the three
. communist nations.
On his way out of Bulgaria, U.
! S. minister Donald R. Heath, com
mented today on the severing of
. U. S.-Bulgarian diplomatic rela
tions. At Nis, Yugoslavia, he said
i that Bulgaria conducted “a de
liberate, meticulously pla n n e d
campaign to creat fear and dis
trust of the United States and to
violate the rules not only of di
: plomacy, but of civilization.”
He said that despite the gov
' ernment’s campaign the Bulgar
! ian people have a basic liking for
western culture and look with
sympathy to the democracies of
i the west.
Chinese communist radio broad
casts said Red forces have cap
tured the island of Mamoa, 190
miles from Formosa, the National
ist government’s island bastion.
Nationalists said the landing fol
lowed an artillery barrage from
the mainland and the island was
only weakly defended.
The Nationalist Chinese said on
Formosa today that guerrilla war*
I fare is spreading throughout com
munist China. They reported guer
rilla activity in seven provinces
and predicted nationalist air raids
(Continued on Pag* Two)