m NOME NUGGET
t_OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS__
lVOl7TI—'n7~ 39 NOME, ALASKA, FRIDAY, APRIL~1~949 _Per Copy—15c
NEWS IN BUIE!
WASHINGTON, (A*)—A picture
of a bleak, uninhabited Arizona
landscape was pinned to a penta
gon bulletin board Wednesday.
Some wag put it up after secre
tary of defense Johnson warned
that he plans to trim deadwo id
from the military establishment.
The picture carried this caption:
“The Pentagon, following changes
ordered by the new secretary of
defense.”
SHANGHAI, (/P) — The first
large export shipment out of Tient
sin ’since the communists took
over North China cleared for San
Francisco Monday aboard the
American ship China Victory.
The shipment is 1,100 tons. Con
tent of the cargo was not known
here but Tientsin usually exports
rugs, carpets, furs, wool and bris
tles.
SEATTLE, </P) — There was a
new safe yesterday in the office
f'f Joe Himelhoch, Seattle bail
oondsman.
Himelhoch said he recently
bailed out a safecracker who, by
way of demonstration, opened the
bondsman’s old safe m a minute
and a half.
SEATTLE, CP) — John Hohner,
79, told police he was an old age
pensioner when he was booked
yesterday on a drunk charge. A
policeman escorting Honner into
the jail elevator felt bulges under
his armpits.
Concealed beneath his coat, the
urisone'* had two tin cans cootair
ng $1,060.
W ASHING TON, f/P> — The
American Automobile association
suggests that Labor Day be ob
served two weeks later each year
in order to prolong the vacation
season.
The association yesterday asked
Congress and two big labor organ
izations to think it over.
MOSCOW, (/P>—P. S. Foo, Chi
nese ambassador to Moscow, has
accepted appointment as China’s
foreign minister, it was learned
today.
WASHINGTON, The once
traditional White House Easter
egg roll has been called off again
for the eighth consecutive time.
It was first discontinued as a
security measure during the war,
and wasn't revived by the Truman
family.
Repair work being done on the
executive mansion preclude its re
vival this year, officials said.
POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. (/P) —
^This is no April Fool joke. Mrs.
Gertrude Ramsey today received
a post card mailed to her by Miss
Lois Jackson at Anchorage, Alas
ka, April 23, 1940.
BERLIN, (/P)—The Russians an
nounced today they had returned
30,000 German prisoners of war in
their accelerated repatriation pro
gram.
America nauthorities said that
not only were the German PW’s
now coming back from Russia in
larger numbers but in the past
two months the rat© of physical
disability among the repatriates
had declined markedly.
Internation'I News
At A Glance ---
Thursday, March 31, 1949
(Bv The Associated Press*
Nations of the west today began
lining up a solid front which they
hope will enforce peace in the
world.
British foreign secretary Ernest
Bevin and secretary of state Dean
Acheson scheduled the first of a
series of major conferences in
Washington this afternoon.
While the main reason for Bev
in’s visit to the United States is
the signing of the North Atlantic
security treaty Monday, the mee!
ings were expected to cover the
whole problem of reinforcing the
unity of the west against Russia.
Also slated for detailed discus
sion is the future of western Ger
I
many.
French foreign minister Robert
Echuman probably will see Ache
son tomorrow and the three for
eign finisters will make a deter
mined effort to end policy differ
ences preventing creation of a sin
gle German government over the
American. British and French oc
cupation zones.
Other issues to be threshed out
include:
The security of middle eastern
countries such as Turkey, Greece,
and Iran, the possibility of form
ing a Mediterranean defense
treaty, and how to block the
spread of communism in southeast
Asia.
A French cabinet spokesman
'said in Paris that Schuman will
demand that the French army be
built up and armed heavily under
the pact so it can take on the role
of Western Europe’s main defend
er in the event of war.
Others scheduled to arrive in
Washington in the next few days
include representatives of Belgi
um. Holland. Luxembourg and
Italy.
The foreign ministers of Ice
land, Denmark, Norway and Por
tugal are also expected in time
for the first formal meeting of the
pact countries Saturday morning.
Iceland and Portugal decided yes
terday to join the alliance.
In Bonn, Germany, members of
the constituent assembly made
another try today at reaching an
agreement on a constitution for
the West German state proposed
by the U. S., Britain and France.
Squabbles between German po
litical groups over haw the State
should be set up have blocked as
^ sembly action on adopting a con
| stitution.
Britain’s wartime prime minis
terfi Winston Churchill, speaks in
i Boston tonight on what hope he
! sees for man in this war-marred
century.
Churchill, who electrified the
world in March, 1946, with his
“iron curtain” speech in Fulton,
Mo., will speak on “The 20th Cen
tury, Its Promise and Its Realiza
tion.”
The veteran statesman’s ad
dress will be broadcast over much
of the world.
In Nanking, nationalist peace
delegates, prepared for long nego
tiations on communist-set condi
(Continued on Page Six)
Truman “Is Right;”
If. S. Must Have
Increased Taxes
(By D. Harold Oliver)
WASHINGTON, CP)—President
Truman said today a prospective
federal deficit on June 30 is a far
more serious threat to the nation’s
economy than his proposed four
billion dollar tax increase.
He told a news conference he
did not agree with Senator George
(D.-Ga.) that the tax increase, as
a reporter put it, is the only thing
that would get the country into a
serious depression. George is
wrong, he said.
The President also denied that
his anti-inflation program or any
part of it has been shelved as one
published report said. He said the
mere fact that he had requested
•Continued on Page Five'
Wave Of Strikes
Sweep Over States
<By The Associated Press)
New strikes were in effect or
authorized today against segments
of nearly all forms of transporta
tion.
Taxicab drivers left their jobs
in a city-wide strike in New York
City. Radio officers of Pan Ameri
can World Airways, went on
strike. The Canadian seamen’s
union called a walkout against
Canada’s east coast shipowners,
and the order of railway conduc
tors authorized a strike of their
union against the Chicago and
Northwestern Railroad.
Another strike of bus drivers
and mechanics against the Akron,
O., transportation company was
short-lived. It ended after a few
hours with acceptance by the CIO
transport union of a seven cents
an hour wage boost. The 600
workers originally had asked an
increase of 30 cents an hour.
About 400.000 members of the
United Mine Workers remained
off their jobs today in observance
of John Mitchell Day. Most of
them were expected to remain
; idle until Monday. Mitchell was
one of the union’s early leaders.
On other labor fronts, the gov
ernment proposed arbitrat:on of a
wage dispute between 50,000
clerks and the Railway Express
‘agency: the brotherhood of loco
motive engineers and the brother
hood of locomotive firemen and
enginemen approved a merger
plan; and the AFL international
(Continued on Page Six>
APPLICATIONS FOR
CITY OFFICES
The filing of applications for
city offices closed last evening
with the following names for the
election on Tuesday:
For Mayor — Steve Anderson
and Fred Havercamp.
For Councilman—Albert Ander
son, Lester Bronson, Axel Edman,
Keith Hedreen, Joe Hunt, Jacob
Lencer, Thomas Martin.
For City Clerk—Carrie McLain.
For City Attorney—No filing.
For City Treasurer—A. A. Daue.
For School Board—Helen Olsen
and John Hudert.
Husk ics
Fight On Plane
From Fairbanks
—
WASHINGTON (/P), Sourdough
Air Transport Co. can go right
ahead and ship those 38 Husky
dogs to Philadelphia if it can stop
their howling and fighting long
enough.
The Argentine embassy said so
today. They are for training with
mountain troops in the Andes.
Sourdough’s, Seattle manager,
Fred Whitmire, is the man in the
middle. The great Alaskan dogs
are eager! in one of his line’s
planes after a hectic flight from
Fairbanks. Some of them chewed
their way out of crates and began
fighting in mid-air. Whitmire is
(Continued on Page Five'
Congress Round up
WASHINGTON, UP)—'The Hoo
ver commission today asked Con
gress to take the government ou‘
of the banking business.
The 12-member bi-partisan
commission headed by former
President Herbert Hoover recom
mended in its loth and final re
port on re-organization of the ex
ecutive branch of government
that Uncle Sam quit lending
money.
Waste, favoritism and “even
corruption” are invited when the
government makes direct loans to
firms and individuals, the report
said.
The reconstruction finance cor
poration. the big source of federal
credit in war and depression,
could be reorganized into a mere
guarantor of private bank loans,
the commission suggested,
j. And 30 other similar or related
federal agencies should be merged
or eliminated, the report contin
ued.
On the question of public pow
er, the group was hopelessly
snarled and instead of making an
outright recommendation, several
members of the group wrote “sug
gestions” which varied sharply.
Hoover himself urged the gov
ernment to end its hydroelectric
operations at power dams (one of
which is named after him* instead
of putting up transmission and
distribution lines which sometimes
duplicate private lines.
In the Senate today. Republi
cans were accused of using fili
buster tactics to delav a vote on
i
(Continued on Page Five)
IFIRE DAMAGES
SERVICE CLEANERS
Thursday morning about ten
! o’clock the fire department was
called to the comer of Third Ave.
W., and “B” Street to the Service
Cleaners building.
The fir$ was believed to have
started from faulty wiring.
Damage to the building was
limited to the room where the fire
started except for scorching of the
front office. Clothing which had
been hanging on the racks was
j burned and scorched.
Total damage has not been ap
| praised but is believed to be be
1 tween two and five thousand dol
' lars. I
Manv Testify For
Capital Hearing
(By Charles D. Watkins)
M/P) Special Washington Service)
WASHINGTON, </P) —Alaskhns
from all walks of life are here to
carry before the Senate interior
committee their support and oppo
sition to the appointment of Gov
ernor Ernest Gruening of Alaska
for another term.
The committee set the hearing
on Gruening’s nomination, after
two postponements to give resi
dents of the Territory an oppor
tunity to voice their views in per
son.
Four members of the Alaskan
legislature are here to oppose
confirmation while four others
came in a party of 43 to urge ap
proval of the nomination.
The opponents also include Cap
tain Austin E. Lathrop, Fairbanks
newspaper, theater and mine own
er, and banker, a Republican. La
throp said Gruening “doesn't be
long in Alaska at all” and said the
governor’s chief interest is in “pro
motion of Gruening rather than of
the Territory.”
But it was a different story
from the jubilant 43 who flew
here and cheered Gruening’s
name as they alighted at the na
tional airport.
They said each one had paid his
or her own way to speak up for
the Governor.
And, they labeled opponents to
the Governor’s confirmation “die
hards” who had fought Gruening’s
tax and other programs in the leg
islature and had lost.
“Governor Gruening is the only
governor the Territory has had
who acted as a governor should
and who has showed interest in
the people of the Territory and
their welfare,” Mayor Z. J. V.
Loussac of Anchorage told a re
porter.
“He is the only one of the gov
ernors who has had the welfare of
the Territory at heart.”
Stanley J. McCutcheon, speaker
of the Territorial House of Repre
sentatives, spokesman for the
(Continued on Page Three)
Dealers Must
Register For
Tobacco l ax
April 1st is the deadline when
the new tobacco tax takes effect,
according to advice received here
from M. P. Mullaney, Territorial
tax •ommissioner.
According to the new law the
following tax schedule will be in
order:
Cigarettes per pack of 10 will be
2c: pack of 20. 3c; pack of 50, 8c.
Cigars 10c or under will be
taxed lc; 11c to 15c, 2c; 16c to 25c,
3c; 26c to 35c, 4c; and over 35c, 5c.
Snuff and tobacco in containers
will be taxed at the rate of 2c per
ounce.
A $5.00 fee, accompanied by an
inventory of tobacco, cigars, cig
arettes and snuff on and as of
April 1, 1949, is requested by the
Department of Taxation. Box 651,
Juneau, Alaska.