£SS NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LI. No. 43_NOME, ALASKA, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 1949 Per Copy—15c
NEWS IN BRIEF
SAN FERNANDO, Calif. (JP) —
While he was at sea 20 years,
Capt. Harry L. Ffeil faithfully sent
home $300 every month, he says.
But his wife, Elphinia, spent it
with another man, Col. Daniel
Mullaly of Sherman Oaks, Calif.,
the captain charged in a suit Fri
day. They went through a total of
$53,500, Pfeil declares.
He is suing them for that
amount—plus $200,000 damages.
BERLIN, —Gales up to 75
miles-an-hour swept Germany
Friday .killing 11 persons and
making scores homeless. The
winds toppled bomb-gutted build
ings and forced evacuation of
other war-weakened structures.
HOLLYWOOD, CP) — Survivors
of the infamous Bataan death
march marched again Friday
night—this time under the bright
lights of Hollywood Boulevard.
The Bataan veterans organiza
tion is holding a three-day con
vention. Membership totals -1,000
men and women. Purpose of the
gathering is to further fellowship
and provide aid for relatives of
the comrades who did not come
back from the ordeal in the Philip
pines.
VATICAN CITY. (/P)—1The Vat
ican does not expect war this
year, Monsignor Sergio Pignedoli
said yesterday. He is secretary of
the central committee for the cele
bration of holy year planned for
1950.
WASHINGTON, (/P)—Rent ceil
ings have not been lifted on 170,
00') dwellings in 27 states across
the nation following a series of;
decontrol actions which ended,
Saturday.
Housing expediter Tige Woods
dropped federal restrictions on
58,000 rooms, apartments and
houses Saturday in areas of Arizo-:
na, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota,
North and South Carolina, Penn
sylvania. Tennessee, South Dako
ta and Virginia.
SEATTLE, (/P)—Ruth La Pier
had filed a divorce suit charging
her husband refused to support
her although earning $130 weekly
as a bulldozer operator.
Friday superior Judge Malcolm
Douglas dismissed the suit at her
request.
Her husband, Lyman W. La1
Pier, 33, of Anchorage, shot and
killed himself Wednesday in the
home of a woman friend, Mrs.
Elizabeth Irene Ross, who found i
his body on her return home.
RIO DE JANEIRO, (JP)—A wide
search was under way today for
the 1,951-ton freighter Oswaldo
Aranha, missin 10 days with 34
person aboard. The vessel was en- ■
route from Santa Catharina to Rio
with a cargo of coal.
SAN DIEGO, Calif. </P) — The
San Diego Skyhawks are deter
mined to run the Pacific Coast
Hockey League playoffs right
down td the wire.
San Diego administered a 7-0
shellacking to the new Westmin
(Continued on Page Seven)
lnternationi News
At A Glance —
Saturday, April 9, 1949
(By The Associated Press'
Yugoslavia’s premier marshal
Tito served defiant notice today
that his country feels free to deal
economically with the west.
In his first major speech since
New Year’s Eve, Tito charged
that Russia and her Soviet satel
lites in the cominform 'commun
ist international information bur
eau) were trying to promote a
civil war in Yugoslavia by at
tempting to persuade his country’s
mixed population to throw out his
regime.
The sun-tanned premier spoke
for more than two hours before
the People’s Front Congress in the
great hall of suburban Topchidar’s
tree-lined — and well-guarded —
park.
In Moscow ,the Soviet council of
ministers today awarded the Sta
lin prize for 1948 for. discoveries
and inventions by Russian scien
tits in the atomic and cosmic ray
fields: for developing new type
weapons and planes, and for other
achievements.
Needled by the Western powers’
offer to end military rule of West
ern Germany as soon as she has
• Continued on Page Two)
Conservatives Gain
Over Labor In
British Election
LONDON. i/P> — Conservatives
scored new victories over labor
Saturday in returns from week
long country council elections in
England and Wales.
Labor leaders made hurried
plans to regain control of the Lon
don county council — Britain’s
second most important governing
body—after finishing in a dead
heat with Conservatives Friday.
Conservatives registered a net
gain of 22 seats from labor in Sat
urday’s returns in the four rural
counties — Denbigshire, Norfolk.
Shropshire and East Ryding of
Yorkshire—which voted Friday.
The councils are similar to city
council in some places, to county
boards in others.
States Get
Freezing Weather
CHICAGO, (/P) — Temperatures
dipped below freezing over mid
west areas Saturday, dropping to
15 above in northern Wisconsin.
A mass of cold air from Canada
spread over the Great Lakes region
and the Ohio and Mississippi val
leys. The mercury touched 26
above at Indianapolis Saturday
morning. Weather over the cool
belt was fair.
Wet spots included New York
and the New England states where
light rain and snow flurries in
some sections were reported. Light
rain also fell in the northern and
central plains states and the cen
tral Rockies. Temperatures gen
erally were mild in the Gulf states
and about normal in the far west.
Democrats Get
Million Dollar
War Chest
WASHINGTON, (FP) — D e m o
cratic plans to capture the 1950
elections were spurred Saturday
by the promise of a million dollar
war chest and a Presidential order
that they “must be won.”
Addressing a rousing buffet din
ner rally Friday night, President
Truman kindled Democratic hopes
for another victory in next year’s
Congressional contests.
Speaking above the cheers of
the men and women who arranged
this year’s profitable Jefferson
Jackson Day dinners, the Presi
dent declared:
“I am exceedingly happy that
you have been able to arrange a
situation which will give the party
a financial background with which
; to win in 1950, because that elec
tion must be won. It is important.”
The SI.000,000 war chest, to fi
nance the 1950 campaign was
'promised by Senator J. Howard
McGrath, Democratic natio n a 1
chairman.
Congress Roundup
WASHINGTON. (JP) — A $15,
909,116,800 national defense money
bill was approved Saturday bv a
House committee with a blunt
warning that America must try to
avoid trouble by being ready for
it.
There was no hint that the
United States is on the verge of
war. On the contrary, many mili
tary leaders said the situation
was better now than last year.
But all agreed that some unpre
dictable event might suddenly ex
plode into conflict.
The record postwar military
budget was more than half a bil
lion dollars higher than President
Truman requested, and over five
billion dollars more than the total
spent in fiscal 1949.
It finances the army, navy and
air force for the year starting July .
1. Approved by the House appro
priations committee, it now goes j
before the House.
Of the three services, the air
force got the most—$6,215,789,000
to provide 440,000 officers and
men in 58 air groups ‘instead of
the 48 planned in the President’s
i budget.) These would include 20
bombardment groups, 7 reconnais
sance groups, 24 fighter groups
and 7 troop carrying groups with
j first line planes.
The navy was second with $5,
1018,873,600. This branch of serv
ice would have 527.300 men in
cluding 85,700 marines. The fleet
would consist of 731 ships; the
battleship Missouri, 8 heavy car
riers 11 escort and light carriers,
18 cruisers, 170 destroyers and de
stroyer escorts. 80 submarines, 99
mine craft and patrol craft, 260
auxiliary vessels. A $189,000,000
super-air-craft carrier also is
planned.
The bill provides the army with
$4,481,834,200 for a military force
of 677,000, plus additional thou
sands in the national guard and
reserve units.
The total American military
(Continued on Page Six)
Confirmation Seats
Gruening Firmly
In Saddle
(By James Hutcheson)
(Associated Press Staff Writer)
Unanimous U. S. Senate con
firmation of Governor Greuning
for a third term at Juneau had ob
servers asking the question Satur
day: What happened to the oppo
sition?
The Senate action came Friday,
only a day after its interior affairs
committee had made a unanimous
recommendation for confirmation.
It came as surprising climax to
the confirmation controversy that
led the Senate committee to delay
action for nearly two months.
Alaskans who participated in
the eleventh hour cam p a i g n
against the confirmation had ex
pected the vote to be close on the
committee, and possibly in the
Senate, although not many of them
had much hope of actually block
ing the Senate’s approval.
But the unanimous action hit
: them as a bolt out of the blue,
j The Republican Senator who
had been expected by the Gruen
ing foes to lead the opposition on
the committee was Sen. Hugh But
ler <R.-Nebu But he was not pres
ent when the committee voted.
Neither was Senator Cordon 'R.
Ored
After conclusion of the Senate
hearing, which drew groups of pro
and anti-Gruening Alaskans to
Washington, one of the anti
<Continued on Page Four)
House Ileavilv (Aits
Truman Requests
For Appropriation
WASHINGTON. (/P> — A half
billion dollar cut in veterans’ ad
ministration funds highlighted a
$7,576,386,231 multi-agency money
bill approved by the House appro
priations committee.
The bill carries funds for the
fiscal year beginning July 1 for 23
so-called independent agencies,
including $5,145,431,940 for the
veterans’ administration and $1,
090,120,397 for the atomic energy
commission.
Every agency in the bill shared
i nthe overall reduction of $734,
j 680,499 from the Presidential bud
get requests for $8,311,566,830, but
the veterans’ administration took
the deepest slash.
The bill’s total includes $7,104,
571.603 in cash and $472,314,628 in
contract authorization for which
future appropriations may be re
quired. The President had asked
for $7,775,566,830 in cash and
$536,000,000 in contract authority.
Not only did the committee up
set the President’s budget on the
money items, but it refused to fol
low his budget bureau's recom
menadation for cancellation of
$237,000,000 in previously author
ized veterans’ hospital construc
tion.
Substantial cuts were recom
mended for these veterans’ ad
ministration operations:
Administrative expense, from
$848,897,000 to $820,673,940; pen
(Continued on Page Seven^
Rescuers Gel tody
Of Girl Drowned
In Abandoned Well
SANMARINO, Calif. f/P) — The
world is a little sadder today. Lit
tle Kathy Fiscus was brought up
dead from her well tomb after 52
hours.
All mothers and fathers shared
in some measure the grief that
over-came David and Alice Fiscus
when the body of their tow-head
ed three-year-old was found lying
in water, wedged about 100 feet
down in the 14-inch pipe.
The announcement of death, by
drowning, at 8:58 p.m. last night
brought to a tragic end the tireless
digging of weary rescuers and the
anxious waiting of sympathizers
everywhere.
More than 15,000 watched final
rescue efforts.
Those efforts took, in all, 52
hours; but it would have been the
same if she could have been
(Continued on Page Three)
Six Die In
(Jiurch Explosion
MARION, S. D. OP)—'This small
South Dakota town today planned
a mass funeral for the six Holy
Week worshippers killed Sunday
as a blast demolished St .Mary’s
Catholic church.
Bishop William O. Brady of
Sioux Falls, Diocesan head, tenta
tively set Wednesday for the mass
rites for the elderly victims who
died as they knelt in prayer. For
ty-seven other persons were in
jured, several critically.
The brick church was shattered
by a basement explosion a few
moments before the 9 a.m., Palm
Sunday mass was to begin. Only
the entrance bell tower remained
standing. A small fire that follow
ed was quickly put out.
Church officials attributed the
blast to escaping bottled furnace
fuel gas.
(lanners-W orkers
Reach Agreement
SEATTLE (>P>—The Alaska fish
cannery workers union and the
Alaska Salmon Industry, Inc.,
.'igned a new contract late Friday
j covering 36,600 non-resident Alas
ka salmon cannery workers.
| The AFL union is affiliated with
the seafarers’ internation union.
The industry agreed to recog
nize the union the “sole and ex
elusive bargaining agent of all its
employees hired from California,
Oregon and Washington for Alas
ka cannery operaitons,” Ed Coes
ter, SIU representative said. The
pact includes floating canneries,
he added.
Industry spokesmen said the
new contract called for the same
wage scale at last year. Coester
said the contract provides $10,000
insurance coverage for each work
er flying north this year.
A national labor relations board
election to establish definite bar
gaining rights in Alaska is expect
ed to be ordered about April 15,
1 Coester said.