™i NOME NUGGET
_OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS_
VOL. XLIX. No. 59_NOMETaLASKA,' FRIDAY, MAY 16, 1947 PER COPY —15c
NEWS IN BRIEF
-1
SEATTLE (/P)—Waterfront em
ployers of Puget Sound, Grays
and Willapa Harbors were wind
ing up payments of retroactive
longshore wage increases.
M. G. Ringenberg, manager of
the waterfront employers of Wash
ington, said this concluded pay
ments of $2,447,089 in back pay
covering terms of nine retroactive
agreements. Retroactive vacation
pay, for 1944-45-46 is being com
puted and initial payments will
be ready soon, he said.
VANCOUVER, B. C. </P>—'Two
actions asking for $55,000 for car
go lost when the freighter North
olm foundered off Vancouver Is
land in 1943, were set Wednesday
for hearing Sept. 4.
Utah Home Fire Insurance Co.,
seeks $35,000 for lost pulp-wood
and sulphite cargo, and Economic
Insurance, Ltd., $20,000 for loss of
salmon oil. Fifteen of the 17 crew
members lost their lives in the
disaster.
WASHINGTON. (^P)—'The mar
itime commission today set Sept.
8 for hearings in Seattle on ship-,
ping rates to Alaska.
The hearings were ordered by
the commission May 13 when it
approved a contract with shipping
companies for return of the Alas
kan service to private operation.
SEATTLE, (ff*)—Henry A. Wal
lace will speak at a public meet
ing in the field artillery armory
Friday night, May 23, the Wallace
sponsoring committee said today.
The committee was identified in
the announcement as “a broad
group of prominent northwest cit
izens who have formed a special
committee.”
SAN FRANCISCO, (/P)—An un
identified teamster asked traffic
officer Richard Cann how to get
his horse and wagon across San
Francisco Bay to Oakland.
By bridge? Not allowed. By
ferry? Not unless the horse is
crated.
Cann brought out a map. You
drive a horse and wagon from San
Francisco to Oakland via Alviso,
about 75 miles—or a good three
days. ,It takes about 15 minutes to
go over the bridge—by car, or
course.
SEATTLE, (/P)—Seattle’s hali
but fishermen rejected their nego
tiating committees proposal for a
new offer to vessel owners yester
day, prolonging the tie-up that
has kept the fishing fleet in har
bor here.
Canadian and Alaskan fisher
men continued to benefit by the
strike. The Canadian halibuter
Unimak, third to come into Seat
tle since the tie-up, arrived yester
day with 50,000 pounds of fish.
The Canadians pay 1 cent a pound
duty here. .
ELKO, Nev. </P)—Three perspns
were killed and four injured early
yesterday when a two-story brick
apartment-business building col
lopsed and crashed into an adjoin
ing excavation in Elko's business
district.
President Stands
Pat on Labor Views
j
(By Marvin L. Arrowsmith)
WASHINGTON, OP)—Republi
can Senators Taft (Ohio) and Ives
<N. Y.) said today President Tru
man’s stand pat position on his i
own labor law recommendations j
still leaves the door open for
White House approval of the Sen
ate union curb bill.
Mr. Truman told his news con
ference yesterday that he is stick
‘ ing with the four points he out
; lined to Congress in his State of
i the Union message last January.
This was in reply to a question
whether he thinks there should
be labor legislation beyond the
provisions of the anti-portal pay
bill he approved earlier this week.
Taft, chairman of the Senate’s
GOP policy and labor committees
told a reporter “there is nothing
inconsistent in the Senate , bill
with the things the President
recommended.” He added:
“Of course he didn’t recommend
i as much, but the things in the bill
move in the same direction as he
recommended.”
Ives, also a member of the labor
committee, commented:
“I do not interpret the Presi
' dent’s statement as meaning a veto
i of the Senate bill. His position
! and the provisions of the Senate
i bill are by no means irreconcil
| able.” '
The Senate measure contains
| fewer curbs on unions and-strikes
' than the House bill. They are now
, before a conference . committee
striving to iron out differences.
Discussions will be resumed Mon
day.
i Secretary of Labor Schwellen
I bach, without mentioning either
bill by name, lashed out a several
provisions in a speech last night
, including atr least one common to
both versions—a section outlaw
ing the closed shop.
WADDERSON, Eng. (/P)—The
members of Wadderson’s fire
company were so efficient at
keeping their equipment in order
that the chief decided to buy a
drink for all hands as a reward.
While the chief was standing
treat at a local pub, fire broke out
in the fire station and destroyed
all the equipment.
BACCALAUREATE
SERVICE SUNDAY
The baccalaureate service for
the 1947 graduating class of the
Nome High School will be held |
Sunday evening at eight o’clock
in the High School auditorium.
Following is the program:
Processional, Mrs. E. Bebermari,
pianist.
Invocation, Rev Lewis Hudgins.
Song, “America The Beautiful”
by the Nome H. S. Girl’s Chorus.
Baccalaureate Address, “There
Is More Than Meets The Eye,”
Rev. M. Day.
Song, “God Be With You Till
We Meet Again,” Nome H. S.
Girls’ Chorus.
Benediction, Rev. Lewis Hud
gins.
Postlude, Mrs. E. Beberman, pi
anist.
Russia Proposes
Puzzling Plan
For Palestine
NEW YORK, N. Y., Soviet Rus
sia’s cagily-worded declaration
for a dual, democratic Arab-Jew
ish state in Palestine stood out to
day as the puzzler of the United
Nations Special assembly on the
Holy Land question.
Delegates from nations scatter
ed around the glob noted with sat
isfaction that Russia had tipped
her hand even a little bit on the
Palestine problem. But they
asked: How does Russia propose
that such a duel, democratic state
work?
t
Andrei A. Gromyko, soviet dep
uty foreign minister, in his sur
prise talk did not clear up that
point. But he did say that if the
animosities between Jew and Arab
were such that this state could not
live, then Russia felt it would be
necessary to consider dividing
Palestine into two states, one Jew
ish and one Arab.
These are points which the 11
nation commission of inquiry, fi
nally set up yesterday by the as
sembly just before it adjourned,
must consider. Arrangeme.its
were made for the commission to
meet at I/ake Success May 26. Af
ter it is organized, the commission
is expected to fly to Palestine and
begin its task.
Although Russia, in the opinion
of Arab delegates, leaned toward
the Jews in the statement to the
assembly, it was noted by observ
ers that bromkyo left a way out.
He reviewed known plans for
Palestine: 1. A single Arab-Jewish
State, 2. Partition into two indi
vidual state, 3. Creation of an
Arab state without regard for the
Jewish population, and 4. Crea
tion of a Jewish state without re
gard to the rights of the 'Arab
population.
He pointed to No. 1 as the solu
tion most deserving attention and
to No. 2 as an alternative solution.
But, he left himself free to take
any position after hearing the
commission’s report next fall by
saying that “the Soviet Union will
•state its position- on the various
plans in greater detail when the
concrete proposals are • prepared
and considered, and especially
when decisions are to be taken on
the future of Palestine.
1 . -■■■■■ ■ ■■
Giant B-29 Armada
‘Bomb’ New York
NEW YORK, (/P)—An armada
of more than 100 B-29’s, the most
powerful bombing formation ever
assembled in the United tSates,
streaked over the skyscrapers of
New York at noon today.
A total of 138 superfortresses
took off from dispersed and dis
tant bases for the “target” run
over New York and subsequent
streaks over Newark and Trenton,
N. J., Philadelphia, Wilmington,
Baltimore and Washington, D. C.
A communication plahe report
ed, ohwever, that 130 of the big
four-engined planes rendezvoused
with split timing over Capt May,
N. J., at 11:56 sun., then laid a
2,000 Construction
Workers To Flv
To Alaska
i _
I
SEATTLE, One of the nation's
largest peacetime mass movements
of laborers by air—if not the larg
est—will begin before the end of
the month between Seattle and
Alaska. AYi army of approximate
ly 2,000 construction workers will
1 be flown north for work under the
$51,000,000 contract of Birch-Ly
j tle-Johnson on Alaskan air bases.
) D. L. Cheney, general manager
of the contracting syndicate, said
i the 2,000 would join approximate
ly 2,500 who already are on the
job. Their arrival will signal the
] steam ahead” phase of con
struction.
The firm’s contract covers ma
por construction at Fort Richard
on, Ladd Field, and at Mile 26,
?6 miles southeast of Fairbanks
on the Alaska Highway and a
| lesser job at Nome. The army this
week announced construction of
| an $8 125,000 heavy bomber base
] at Mile 26 for the Strategic air
| command.
The contract calls for perman
ent construction of barracks, fam
ily living quarters, warehouses
and sewer, water and electrical
systems.
Cheney said laborers to go
north are being recruited through
i out the United States, with the
army-navy labor board approving
a wage scale corresponding gen
! erally to rates paid in the Puget
Sound area for the B-J-L pro
jects, where the workers will live
in construction camps with meals
and lodging for $1.50 a day.
The firm’s contract covers a
two-year period. Laborers are
hired under a year’s contract and
flown by the firm to and from
Alaska if they fulfill a 12-month,
stay-on-the-job clause.
Cheney said the workers are be
ing flown north, because the com
pany believes it is more economi
cal to fly them than to pay their
wages while en route by sea and
I inland by train. i
At the same time, a $14,000,0001
| construction job for the navy is;
underway in the Aleutians by the
Drake-Puget Sound company, and
additional appropriations for in
stallations are expected by the
navy. The announced navy pro
jpcts for permanent facilities anti
installations are at Adak and Attu.
BERNADETTE AMAROK
RETURNS FROM SCHOOL
Bernadette Amarok, daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Joe Amarok, ar
rived home last night, having com
pleted her second year at the Uni
versity of Alaska.
FORSGREN BROTHERS
ENROUTE TO DEERING
Harry and Dick Forsgren, min
ing men of Deering arrived last
evening enroute to Deering to
start summer operations.
straight course of 130 miles to
New York for the full-dress train
ing review of the nation’s heavy
bomber strength. The army did
not announce immediately whe
ther all the planes which started
joined for the run.
More Phone Work
Contracts Signed
WASHINGTON, (>P)—Addition
al settlements further narrowed
nation’s phone-strike today as
a new round of conferences got
underway in the deadlocked West
ern Electric tieup..
John Murray, labor department
representative, was hopeful of
new wage concessions from both
the Western Electric, Bell Tele
phone system affiliate, and the as
sociation of communications equip
ment* workers, representing 20,000
striking workers.
He summoned both sides to a
conference Thursday amid indica
tions the two sides are closer to
gether than at any time since the
strike began.
Negotiations also were resumed
in New York yesterday between
the company and another segment
of the union.
Separate talks also were slated
here with the Western Electric
employees association, which has
22,000 members in 21 plants.
Meanwhile there were these
! settlement agreements:
Denver—The Mountain States
j federation of telephone workers,
representing 9,000 workers in six
states announced acceptance of a
$3-$4 weekly wage increase offer
by the Mountain States Telephone
& Telegraph company, part of the
Bell system.
Charlestown, W. Va., — The
Chesapeake and Potomac Tele
phone company and the communi
cation workers union settled a
strike of 3.200 phone workers in
West Virginia on the basis of
raises of $2 and $3 weekly.
Union officials said, however,
they had no authorization to or
der members to cross picket lines
of the striking western electric
workers.
In St. Louis the Southwestern
Bell Telephone company rejected
a union offer to accept a flat $4
weekly wage increase for striking
workers if the company arbitrate
fringe issues. Talks are continu
ing.
SEATTLE, (>P) — Washington
and northern Idaho telephone op
erations will be at their pre-strike
opeiation level by Monday. This
was the conclusion of Arne Grav
em, regional field representative
Continued on Page Three
Lighterage Rates
To Be Considered
UfP) Special Washington Service)
WASHINGTON, The mar
itime commission had under con
sideration Thursday a plea that it
take jurisdiction over rates and
fares in the Nome, Alaska, light
erage service — the barge trans
portation of goods from seagoing
ships to shore at Nome.
The Alaska Development Board,
a Territorial agency which claims
the rates charged by the Lomen
Commercial Co., for the service
are too high, contended the com
mission has authority to look into
the company’s rates despite a
commission examiner’s % finding
that it lacks that authority.