SHI NOME NUGGET
_ OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LI. No. 46 NOME, ALASKA, MONDAY, APRIL 18, 1949_Per Copy—1 Sc
NEWS IN BRIEF
WASHINGTON, t/P)—The 1949
fund raising drive of the American
Red Cross went over the top.
E. Rolland Harriman, chairman
of the national drive, reported last
night $62,200,000 has ben sub
scribed. The goal was $60,000,000.
LOS ANGELES, (/P)—No circus
ape is going to make a monkey
out of Mrs. Mayme D. Roza.
That was the essence of a $10,
000 damage suit she filed Friday
against the Clyde Beatty circus.
' Mrs. Roza said in her complaint
she was visiting the circus when
an announcer told the audience an
ape had escaped from its cage.
Shortly thereafter, Mrs. Roza
said, she found herself in the arms
^ of a man dressed as a gorilla. She
fainted in terror, she said. She
thought it was the genuine article.
NEW YORK. UP)—Gen. Walter
Bedell Smith says he believes Rus
sian premier Joseph Stalin “will
live for a long time.” The former
U. S. ambassador to Moscow was
questioned about Stalin’s health
during a “meet the press” inter
view over the Mutual Broadcast
ing system.
“I don’t think Stalin is a very
sick man.” he said. “He is rugged.
He looks well. Georgians are no
toriously long-lived.”
FRANKFURT, Germany, UP) —
Mrs. Wilma Yzarbo, freed hus
band slayer, took off in an Ameri
can army passenger plane Satur
day for the United States.
She was scheduled to reach
Westover Field. Mass., yesterday.
Sentenced to five years impris
onment for killing her husband.
The sentence was vacated Friday
night by Gen. Luciuc D. Clay. U.
S. military governor in Germany.
She will remain in army custody
until she reaches the United
States.
TOKYO. UP)—It’s spring at last
in Tokyo, as anyone can tell by
the cherry blossoms. But on the
northern half of Honshu island
snow blanketed the west coast
Saturday. It was the latest spring
snowfall there since 1928.
SAN FRANCISCO, (/P) — Em
ployers from all parts of the west
and from Hawaii and Alaska will
gather here Tuesday for the 21st
Pacific Coast management confer
ence.
The conference, which will run
two days, will consider current j
problems pertaining to employee
relations.
SEATTLE, (/P) — Two men es
caped with $1,000 from a south
end cafe early Sunday after hiding
in the building until closing time
and binding the cafe owner, Clem
W. Dumett, with ropes. Dumett
told police one of the men struck
him in the face when he attempt
ed to look at their faces.
LONG BEACH, Calif. (JP) — It
was dog pound employee William
Gilbert’s last chance.
Dog catcher Lisle Wright got|
sick yesterday. He asked Gilbert
to take over.
Soon, Gilbert got a report on a
Wallace Beery,
Long-Popular
Screen Star, Dies
«
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.,(JP)—
Death has taken Wallace Beery,
60, who combined a homely, good
natured face and a booming voice
into a multi-million dollar screen
career.
Beery, a veteran of 36 years in
films, died unexpectedly Friday
night at his home. He had been
under treatment since last Novem
ber for a heart condition.
At his bedside were his divorc
ed wife, Mrs. Rita Beery, a bro
ther, Will Beery; his adopted
daughter, Carol Ann, and a ne
phew, Noah Beery, Jr.
Beery, was known to millions of
movie-goers for his roles as a
hard-boiled, clumsy but kindly
character, sometimes addicted to
larceny and liquor. He was famous
for his grunting dialogue, sloppy
dress and the way he’d run his
hand over his face and mutter,
“aw, shucks!”
Beery, six feet, one inch tall
and tipping the scales at 225
pounds, attributed his long popu
larity to his appeal to men and
boys. The Motion Picture Herald
placed hi mamong the 10 top
money-making stars from 1932
through 1935 and again in 1940.
Among his best known pictures
are “Tugboat Annie.” “Barnacle
Bill,” “Hell Divers,” “The Champ,”
“The Bowery,” “Stablemates,”
with Mickey Rooney and “This
Man’s Navy.”
Earthquake
Side-Lights
(By Leonard Anderson)
SEATTLE, (sP) — This wasn’t
earthquake country at 11:54 a.m.
Wednesday, but a minute later, it
was.
And today the signs of the tre
mor are in scores of Washington
cities and towns.
It is not just the No. 1 topic of
conversation. It is almost the only
topic of conversation. Men meet
ing on the streets of Seattle don't
say “Hello” anymore. Instead they
ask “Where were you when it
hit?”
In the wake of the quake—here
are some of the stories being
passed around:
In the southwest. Washington
city of Aberdeen, the shock sent
all occupants of a downtown tav
ern bowling into the street—all
but two men playing the pinball
machine. They stayed on. When
the others began to filter back in,
the two were still standing at the
machine. They were arguing
warmly over which of them made
it register “Tilt.”
State Senator Allan Carson was
addressing the Oregon State Leg
islature in Salem, Ore., “This,” he
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stray dog wandering around down
town. He bagged the dog and
brought it back to the pound.
The dog was Wright’s. It’ll cost
the dog catcher tjie usual $2 to re
deem the pooch.
Endurance Fliers
Confident Of At
Least 10 More Days
FULLERTON, Calif. (/P) — The
new endurance flying champions
were confident Saturday they can
stay aloft at least 10 more days. |
Dick Riedel and Bill Barris, of j
! Fullerton, have passed the three- ,
quarter mark on the their goal of
1,000 hours. From now on it’s up ;
to the Sunkist Lady. The little
plane carried the two fliers past
the 10-year record of 726 hours
set by Wes Carroll and Clyde
! Schlieper. That was at 6:44 p.m.
Thursday.
Barris and Riedel say their
plane’s motor still sounds mighty
sweet.
The quarters are cramped, the
pilots confess, but otherwise they
have almost all the comforts of
' home.
They eat roast chicken, steak,
eggs, milk and everything but
sugar. Barris and Riedel eliminat
ed all sugar from their diet be
cause they are unable to work off
the excess energy.
The plane is refueled at fre
quent intervals from a jeep rac
ing along the ground.
Czechs Release
Miss Vlasta Vraz
PRAGUE, Czechoslovakia, (/P)—
Miss Vlasta Vraz, an American
relief worker, was released from
a Czechoslovak prison Saturday.
She told an American consul,
earlier last week, after being held
incommunicado three days, that
she thought she was being detain
ed for an investigation of the poli
tical activities of others.
The American embassy had de-1
manded her early release and had
asked to be informed of the “spe
cific charges, if any,” against Miss
Vraz, of Berwyn, 111., who headed
the Prague office of American re
lief for Czechoslovakia.
Fairbanks Petitions
For Removal ()f
iCity Manager
FAIRBANKS. (/Pi — A petition
! urging a referendum for repeal of
Fairbanks’ city manager form of
government was in circulation
Saturday, presumably prompted
by resignation of police chief j
George Norton.
Norton’s resignation, effective
April . 0, was accepted by the city |
council more than a week ago.
Norton said Saturday he is not
involved in promoting the petition
and that he disapproves of the
move.
The petition states in part:
“We. the peoplQ of Fairbanks,
believe our present form of gov
ernment has proved a failure and
it is our earnest desire to return to
our former system. The loss of our
chief of police is caused by the
city manager system. We the peo
ple know there will be an influx
of the lawless in the near future
and it is our most earnest desire to
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Internation’l N ews
At A Glance —
Saturday. April 16, 1949
<By The Associated Press'
Chinese communists today de
manded the right of a “peaceful
crossing” of the Yangtze river
from the Nanking government.
The communists, laying down
peace terms to the nationalists at
Peiping, have demanded unop
posed occupation of the south
banks of the Yangtze in order to
force their eight-point peace pro
gram, nationalist circles in Nan
king reported.
Once established on the south
bank of the great river, commun
ist bridgeheads could be expanded
rapidly in an offensive against
South China, should the national
ists not carry out the communist
dictated peace program.
There was no immediate word
as to whether the nationalists
i would permit the unopposed river
crossing. Military observers said
the Reds, with superior forces,
could fight their way across if
need be.
Elsewhere in the world:
Western speculation continued
on the reasons for the vi-sit of Bul
garia’s premier, Georgi Dimitrov,
to Russia. In Sofia, it was consid
ered likely his place would be
taken, for a time at least: by his
close friend, foreign minister Vas
sily Kolarov.
The government said Dimitrov
is ill and went to the Soviet Union
for medical treatment. Speculation
in Western Europe was that he al
ready had given up control of Bul
garia. Another observer said Mos
cow was displeased at the recent
purge in Bulgaria and had called
Dimitrov to the Kremlin to ex
(Continued on Page Two-*
U.S.E.D. Contracts
For $55,000,000
Alaska Program
WASHINGTON, iTP)—The army
engineers said today virtually all
contracts for the $55,000,000 mili
tary construction program on the
Alaskan mainland have been let.
The program is designed to en
large air bases and improve army
facilities, including housing and
storage, and military installations
unchanged since the wartime con
struction days.
Contracts totaling $15,249,540 for
13 construction projects have
been approved recently, Maj. Gen.
Lewis A. Pick, chief of engineers,
announced. He added that, except
fpr a few minor projects, this
completes 'contract awards for the
current Alaskan construction pro
gram.
The projects and the low bids
approved include:
Fort Richardson—Twelve fam
ily quarters $351,430. Gothbery
Construction Co.. Anchorage. Ad
dition to central power plant. $1.
331.225: outside utilities. $1,588,
584: Peter Kievit Sons Co., and
Morrison-Knudsen Co.. Seattle.
Ladd Air Force Base, outside
utilities, two contracts, $2,260,500
and $1,718,500, B. & M. Construc
tion Co., Oklahoma City, Okla.
Power and heating plant, $3,090,
000, Peter Kiewit Sons Co., motor
pool warm storage, $259,643, Sla
ter and Jacobsen. Fairbanks.
Eielson Air Force Base — Air
field lighting, $703,000, Reed and
Martine, Fairbanks. Outside utili
ties. $662,400. Fred Wagar, Au
burn. Wash. Outside utili ties
$497,448, Selid Construction Co.,
Fairbanks. Enlisted men’s bar
racks. supply and day rooms,
(Continued on Page Six)
Maynard-McDougall Memorial
Hospital Now Bein» Occupied
The $750,000 hospital building
which was begun less than a year
ago is practically completed. The
contracting company, Carson Con
struction Company of Montana, is
finished with work until the sum
mer season permits working on
the outside of the building to fin
ish paint and other minor details
of their contract.
The building ^was financed
through several channels with
funds from federal Territorial, j
mission board and the McDougall
Memorial Fund in the amount of
$70,500, from the city treasury.
A brief history of the project
was obtained from the records of
the NWA Chamber of Commerce
and the Nome Rotary Club.
Several years ago, Mrs. Minnie
Stewart, head of the Hospital Di
vision of the Woman’s Division of
Christian Service of the Board of
Missions and Church Extension of
the Methodist Church, came to
Nome. She paid a visit to the
Nome Chamber of Commerce and
told the group her board was
planning to build a modern hospi
tal in Nome to replace the anti
quated building then in use. The(
Chamber appointed a committee to
look into the matter and check
availability of funds, both federal
and Territorial to assist the wo
men in their project. Following a
report on the subject to the Wo
men’s Board in New York, the
matter rested for a few years.
In 1947 the Nome Rotary Club
took up the matter and carried the
project forward in close coopera
tion with Mrs. Stewart and took
up options on likely property in
the north end of Nome. Plans
were being drawn up on a modem
hospital for Nome.
Then came the tragic fire,
March 11, 1948. It struck at night
and completely wiped out the only
hospital in the city of Nome. For
tunately, all the patients were car
ried out of the building, and no in
juries were sustained. Patients
were cared for in the residence of
Dr. J. B. Tucker and the auditori
um of the Nome Federated
Church, temporarily. Later they
were taken to the army hospital at
the base.
While the fire was still smoking,
on the morning of March 12. 1948,
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