m NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. XLIX. No. 89 NOME, ALASKA, FRIDAY, JULY 25, 1947 PER COPY — 15c
NEWS IN BRIEF !
i
WASHINGTON, (/Pi — The
Senate completed Congressional
action yesterday on legislation to
authorize the Catholic Society of
Alaska to purchase 320 acres of
land on the Andreafsky River in
Alaska for a mission school. It
now goes to the White House.
NEWARK, N. J. (/P)—Patrolman
Frank Meyers reported to police
today that two wallets containing
$970 and miscellaneous papers
were stolen from his back pocket
while he slept last night in a park
ed automobile.
Patrolman Meyers has been a
member of the police department
for 25 years.
ANCHORAGE. </P) — With the
devastating Kenai Peninsula fire
apparently partially retracing its
scorched path, the army yesterday
had withdrawn all but 32 men
from the firelines in the vicinity
of the fishing village of Kenai.
A reconnaisance plane was to
cover the area today to check on
progress of the flames.
__ «
WASHINGTON, (/P)—'The Sen
ate approved a House bill to
transfer two lots and a building
valued at $300 in Petersburg, to
the city for school use. The build
ing formerly was used by the In
^dian service. The measure now
goes to the White House.
DUNKIRK, N. Y. (/P)—Thomas
Richir, a sailor, expected an in
come tax refund of $33, was sur
prised when he got a check for
$555,555.55 which the tax people
hastened to explain was a mis-'
take. j
NEW ALBANY, Ind. (/P)—Mrs.
Josephine Jacoby, 100 years old, is
a vegetarian and non-drinker of
coffee but says frankly she doubts
that her diet has much to do with
her longevity. Living a century,
she contends, is purely a matter
of being born in a long-lived
family.
-r_
WASHINGTON, (.P>—President!
•Truman signed yesterday a bill;
authorizing the secretary of inte
rior to reserve rights-of-way for
roads, bridges, rail lines and sim-1
ilar structures on all public lands
in Alaska conveyed in the *future
to individual citizens.
—
ANCHORAGE, (/P)—Forst Rich
ardson will observe air force day
Aug. 1 with an open house, air
show and ground exhibits.
--
JUNEAU, (iP) — An American I
Geographical Society party, head- j
ed by Neil Douglas of Meridan,;
Conn., winged its way toward
Seattle today after a three week
expedition on the glaciers of the
•Prince William sound area.
Douglas, lecturer and explorer,
said the party discovered a hith-1
erto unknown glacier in the re- j
gion which they named Lafayette
pending Geographical Board ap- j
froval.
A preliminary study of data ac-!
! cumulated on the trip indicates a •
large increase in the glacial fields j
in the area, he added.
World Cant Agree;
U. S. To Continue
Atom Experiments
(By Elton C. Fay)
WASHINGTON, (/P>—A world
unable to agree on international
control of atomic bombs was put
on notice by the United States yes
terday that:
1. It intends to conduct more
tests of atomic weapons in the Pa
cific.
2. Top military officers in the
field of nuclear fission now head
a joint army-navy agency devoted
to “development of atomic wea
pons of all types.”
3. “We mean to maintain and
increase the pre-eminence of the
United States in atomic weapons
until . . . acceptable international
agreements” are reached and con
trol machinery established.
A report of the atomic energy
commission to Congress contain
ed the terse announcement of fur
ther experiments and the implied
acceptance of any challenge to a
world atomic armament race.
(Russia and the United States
made plain again Wednesday at a
New York session of the United
Nations’ atomic energy commis
sion their diametrically opposed
views on the subject of big pow
ers veto rights over international
atomic control questions.*
The armed forces disclosed, in
answering a reporter’s questions,
something of the activities of their
weaponeers at work on the
“armed forces special weapons
project.”
Twenty-Seven Die
In Illinois Coal
Mine Explosion
WEST FRANKFORT, 111. (/P)—
Twenty-seven miners lost their
lives in an explosion yesterday in
one of the state’s largest mines in1
the heart of the southern Illinois
coal fields.
Twenty-six of the approximate
200 miners at work in the dig
gings 500 feet underground were
found dead about a mile and a
half south of the bottom of the
shaft at the main entrance to the
Old Ben Coal Company’s No. 8
mine. One of the five seriously i
burned and injured in the blast
died today in a hospital.
The bodies of all 26 had been
brought to the surface early today
by rescue squads and were placed
in an emergency morgue set up at
the central junior high school
gymnasium. Relatives who re
mained at the mine throughout
the night during rescue opera
tiqns, sought to identify the vic
tims.
Work was hampered by carbon
monoxide gas and the last three
bodies found were buried beneath
coal and debris.
Harold L. Walker, Illinois di
rector of mines, and minerals,
said many of the bodies were bad
ly burned, indicating, he said, a
fire had broken out following the
explosion. The cause of the blast
had not been determined.
“Govt. Should
Construct Ships
For Alaska^
WASHINGTON, UP) —Delegate
Bartlett suggested to a Congres
sional committee yesterday that
the government construct ships
for the Alaska trade and thus per
mit lower freight rates for the
Territory.
He told a House merchant ma
rine sub-committee investigating
the Alaskan transportation situa
tion this seems to be the only solu
tion to the problem. He sadi ships
for the Alaskan trade have to be
especially constructed. Rep. Jack
son iD.-Wash.) said each would
cost $25,000,000.
“Private companies can’t af
ford to build the ships,” Bartlett
said. “And if they did Alaskans
could not pay the high freight
rates necessary to give them a rea
j sonable return on their investment.
High rates are bad for the people
of the Territory, discourage peo
ple who want to settle there and
are bad for the nation.”
Bartlett said recent increases of
! about 35 per cent in freight rates
added “$4,000,000 to the Terri
tory’s cost of living. He agreed
with Rep. Bradley (R.-Calif.» that
this means about $50 a year in
crease for each resident of the
Territory.
Chairman Allen (R.-Calif.),
Bradley and Jackson all agreed
that the committee should act
speedily to recommend legislation
so it can be ready when Congress
reconvenes next January. Jackson
said if construction of the ships is
started next year it will be 1951
before they can be completed.
Anchorage Fires
City Officials;
Police Quit Work
ANCHORAGE UP)—All but two
members of the city’s 15-man po
lice force were back on the job
today as the citv-wide furor over
the abrupt dismissal of City Man
ager A1 Koenig and chief of police
Elmer Johansen somewhat sub
sided.
Both of the positions, vacated
by the city council because of dis
satisfaction with their services,
were filled temporarily. Mayor
Francis Bowden named city en
gineer Z. H. Tessendorf to the city
manager post, and Lieut. Patrick
Quigley as police chief. Tessen
dorf’s salary in his dual capacity
was raised to $750 a month. Both
men accepted their new posts on
a temporary basis only.
Possibility that a third resigna- j
tion may be forthcoming was indi- j
cated when Mayor Bowden de- j
nied that city clerk Tom Downes i
also had been displaced. Bowden
admitted later, however, that the
council had written Downes, now
vacationing at Chicago, that it was
“dissatisfied with the city treas
urer’s job” as done by Downes.
Police Capt. Kenneth Parks re
signed from the force in protest
to Johansen’s resignation. Two
other officers have announced
they will quit next week.
May And Garssons
Get Prison Terms
In Bribery Trial
WASHINGTON, i/P> — Ex-Con
gressman Andrew J. May was sen
tenced today to a term of from
eight months to two years in pri
son on charges of accepting $53,
634.07 in bribes while he was war
time chairman of the House mili
tary affairs committee.
The two men accused of paying
May the bribes—muntions makers
Murray and Henry Garsson—also
were given prison terms with a
minimum of eight months and a
maximum of two years.
The maximum penalty that
could have been imposed on each
by Judge Henry A. Schweinhaut
was six years in prison and a fine
of $30,000.
The sentencing was delayed for
more than two hours while the de
fendants’ lawyers pleaded for a
new trial and May beseeched the
court for mercy.
The 72-year-old former Ken
tucky Democratic Congressman
insisted that he had never taken
"a single dime” dishonestly dur
ing his long service in Congress.
He told Schweinhaut:
‘‘I stand before the court today
i with a clear, clean conscience. I
never violated a law as far as I
know in the 72 years of my life.
“I never received a dollar di
rectly or indirectly that was not
honestly earned or justly due.”
May was convicted July 3 af
j ter an 11-week-long trial of ac
cepting $53,634.07 in bribes from
munitions makers Murray and
Henry Garsson. The Garsson
, brothers were found guilty of giv
ing bribes for favors and, like
May, came into court to hear their
penalty.
But May told Judge Schwein
haut:
“I never got a single dime from
the Garssons or anybody else.
“I never did a thing in Congress!
that today vexes my conscience.
“I stand here today on the
mercy of the court. If I go to jail
my grandchildren will drop out
of college.
“Regardless of what has been
said in the malicious press . . . I’m
not guilty.’’
Vets Not Now To
Repay Loan
KETCHIKAN, (/P) — Members
of the World War II Alaska vet
erans commission voted 4-1 not,
to repay at once the $350,0001
borrowed last year from the Ter-1
ritorial treasury, Chairman R. E.i
Ellis said here yesterday.
Repayment had been asked by
the Alaska board of administra
tion to offset the lack of adequate
revenue for the balance of the bi
ennium.
“We will not repay the money
voluntarily,” Ellis said, “but they
may find some way to take it
from the veterans.”
Ellis said immediate repay
ment was opposed by the commis
sion in view of the possible open
ing of the paper industry and
other new payrolls in Alaska. |
These, the commission said, give
veterans their best chance in years;
to get into business.
Kaiser Put “Heat
Of Hell” On All
Of Washington
WASHINGTON, UP)—Secretary
of Interior Krug told Senate war
investigating committee members
yesterday that Henry Kaiser ’'put
the heat of hell on everybody in
Washington” to obtain wartime
contracts to build a huge plywood
airplane.
Krug told reporters he had in
formed Senators Brewster iR.-Me.*
and Ferguson <R.-Mich.) at an in
formal conference that a contract
made by the war production
board with Kaiser and Howard
Hughes, movie producer, for the
plane’s construction was let “be
fore my time on the war produc
tion board.”
The war investigating commit
tee, headed by Brewster, is in
quiring into the letting of the con
tracts and any possible connec
tion of Elliott Roosevelt, son of
the late President Roosevelt, with
the transaction.
Ferguson, who heads a subcom
mittee opening hearings on the
matter Monday, told a reporter
that the army and navy had op
posed letting the contracts but
that orders had come from the
White House to go through with
them.
Krug said he told the two Sena
tors that the contracts were let be
fore he became chairman of the
(Continued on Page Five)
Search Continues
For Crazed Ax
Murderer
FAIRBANKS, — A pair of
blood-stained trousers and a re
port by a Sunnydale, Wash., tour
ist that he had been “thumbed”
for a ride by a man answering
the description of a man wanted
for the crazed ax-slaying of two
men last Saturday, spurred federal
authorities today as Alaska’s
greatest manhunt of modern his
tory went into its fifth day.
The bloody trousers were found
in a Tanana river shelter cabin
less than a day’s walk from the
Little Gerstle River Indian en
campment where the bodies of
Donald R. Harris, 33, and Carl
Ahnstrom, 68. were found last
Sunday.
U. S. marshal Stanley J. Nich
ols said he was informed by dep
uty marshal Steve Mikulas that
the trousers were found when the
Indian trapper who lives in the
cabin returned from a trip. The
cabin had been broken into and a
pair of the trapper’s own trousers
taken, Mikulas said.
At Tok Junction, 120 miles
away on the Alaska Highway,
deputy marshal Joe Tuttle said
that Alfred Dorner, Sunnydale,
Wash., tourist, had reported see.
ing a man answering the descrip
tion of the suspected slayer. Dor
ner said the man stepped from the
brush on the Glenn Allen high
way, three miles from the junc
tion of the Richardson highway,
and tried to thumb a ride. The
man stepped back into the brush
after the car passed, Dorner said.