THE
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OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS_
VOL. LIII No. 34 NOME, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 195L Per Copy—15^
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Washington News - Letter
Bv Mary Lee Council
Secretary to E. L. (Bob) Bartlett,
Delegate in Congress from Alaska
University Funds
Delegate Bartlett introduced a
bill in the House this week which
• would authorize, an increase of
approximately $21,000 to the Uni
versity of Alaska in federal grants
for educational purposes.
The measure would include Al
aska in existing legislation which
allots certain funds to land grant
colleges in the States and Hawaii
for use in cost of instruction mat
erials and as supplementary funds
fo*r teachers’ salaries. The Uni
versity of Alaska is authorized to
receive $50,000 annually for these
purposes u nder existing law
passed in the latter part of the
I9th Century, but when addition
si grants were authorized Alaska
was not included.
Psssenger Rates
desire to protest any rate in
crease whatsoever prior to inves
tigation of the need therefor by
the Federal Maritime Board and
hearings ni Alaska and elsewhere,
if necessary,” Delegate Bartlett in
formed the Federal Maritime
Board this week upon learning
that the Alaska Steamship Co.
has filed a proposal for increased
passenger rates.
The proposed rate increases are
scheduled to become effective
June 1, and indication is that they
are to be increased approximately
10r: over the present fares. The
increases as filed ‘would cover
transportation between Seattle
and Ketchikan, Wrangell, Peters
burg, Juneau, Haines, Skagway,
Sitka, Cordova, Valdez, Whittier,
Seldovia, Homer and Kodiak.
Elective Governor
Congressman Miller of Nebras
ka has introduced a bill provid
ing for an elective governor for
Alaska similar in most respects to
the one dropped in the hopper
some weeks ago in the Senate by
Senator Butler of Nebraska.
The House bill calls for the elec
tion of the governor at the 1952
general election for a four-year
term. Anyone running for the of
fice would have to be at least 30
years old, a citizen of Alaska and
a resident of the Territory for at
least three years prior to the date
he would take office. The govern
or would have the power to ap
point the secretary of Alaska,
with the advice and onsent of the
territorial Senate, who would
succeed to the governorship in
case of a vacancy. The secretary
would act as governor in the ab
sence of that official from Alaska.
The measure also provides for im
peachment of the elected govern
or by the territorial House of
Representatives with sole power
to try all impeachments given to
the Senate.
Kepner urges more
Civilian Defense
JUNEAU, {/P)—Lt. Gen. William
Kepner told the Alaska legislature
yesterday that a civilian defense
system is vital to the Territory
and cities should seek the aid of
the military “only as a last resort.’
He sarid the Alaska Command
wants a strong civilian defense
| organization to -^1) minimize the
diversion of military forces that
will have their hands full against
the enemy and (2) a good civilian
defense organization probably
would be able to lend valuable
aid to military bases.
“A sound civil defense organi
zation is a vital necessity to all,”
he declared, and concluded with
the quotation: “So much to do,
1 so little time.”
Kepner mentioned specifically
; among the problems the evacua
; tion of women and children, prin
cipally from areas where the en
i emy may make paratroop attack.
NEWS IN BRIEF
; FAIRBANKS, (/P)— A light
I earthquake shook Fairbanks at
12:10 p.m. (PST> Monday but no
damage was reported.
Officials of the Coast and Geo
detic Survey here said the seismo
graph at the University of Alaska
j indicated the quake center was 25
; miles away in an undetermined
i
i direction.
HOLLYWOOD, (/P)—A cocktail
party with a practical purpose—
blood donations for the Red Cross
—will be held April 9 for the stars
of Hollywood.
The party will be tossed in the
: Cocoanut Grove of the Ambassa
dor Hotel, with oil millionaire
Bob Calhoun aiding the Red Cross
I in sponsoring the event.
Nearly 2,000 invitations are be
ing sent out in the hope of filling
the Grove with prospective do
nors from Movieland’s blue blood
| set.
ANCHORAGE, </P)—A jet pilot
crash-landed his plane on an El
men dorf field runway yesterday
| and escaped inquiry although his
F-80 skidded 6,000 feet before
I coming to a stop.
Fire equipment and crash crews
were standing by when Capt.
George E. Kammerer put the
plane down. He had reported he
was unable to get his wheels down
for the landing.
Krammerer is attached to the
65 th Fighter*Interceptor Squadron.
OKLAHOMA CITY, (#)— Ad
mitted slayer William E. Cook, Jr.,
today was sentenced to terms to
taling 300 years in “Alcatraz or
another safe prison where he has
no chance escape” for the slaying
of the five members of the Carl
Mosser family of Atwood, Illinois.
ALASKA SENATE
WORKS OVERTIME
Wednesday, March 21, 1951
Midnight was the deadline for
either House to consider non-.ap
propriation bills. The Senate con
tinued until 2:15 a.m., however,
while pretending the clock stopped
at midnight.
In all, the Senate passed a doz
en bills at thp night sesion.
They included ’((all previously
passed by the House):
• Reduction of the general prop
erty tax on fishing boats from $4
| to $2 a net ton; granting police
I powers to civilian defense author
^ ities; increasing aid to dependent
children to $70 monthly from $50.
The Senate killed two labor
sponsored bills by failure to sub
| mit rules to advance them to final
passage before the deadline.
The Senate passed, 11-5, a bill
; to repeal the Territory’s public
employes retirement act to allow
employes to go under federal so
cial security instead. It involved a
long controversy.
An amendment was added yes
terday for the Territory to pro
vide* benefits for long-time em
ployes who will become eligible
j for retirement under the bill in
i the next five years, and who
j wouldn’t have p chance to build
! up social security credits.
The Senate passed, 13-2, a bill
to modify the bounty on hair
seals.
The bill eliminated all the area
| north of Kruzenstern, which is
slightly above Kotzebue. It elimi
nated all the Arctic ocean area,
islands-in the Bering Sera and the
coastal area between the north
| side of Bristol Bay and Stebbins
along the Bering seacoast.
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Truman Asks For
Bethel Hospital
WASHINGTON, (/P)—President
Truman asked Congress yesterday
to Appropriate $3,500,000 to build
a 70-bed hospital at Bethel, Alas
ka. The new building is sought
to replace one almost destroyed
by fire Nov. 20, 1950.
Erskine Library Donated
To U. of Alaska
I
JUNEAU, {/P)—One the finest
existing libraries of books, maps
documents and manuscrips in the
Territory of Alaska was presen
ted to the University of Alaska
yesterday as a gift from D. E.
Skinner, general manager at the
Alaska Steamship Company.
. Dr. Terris Moore, university
president, said Skinner purchased
the famed 3,000-item library from
the estate of Wilbur Julian Er
skine of Kodiak.
Moore described the gift as
“one of the truly priceless bene
factions to the university.
Korean Situation
Wednesday, March 21, 1951
By thq Associated Press.
United States troops battling
east of Hongchon on the central
Korean front today ran into “very
stiff” Communist resistance.
Red troops fighting from . well
dug in positions hurled back an
American batallion after a day
long fight. r‘
In Tokyo, General MacArthur
ordered a news blackout cfn the
distance to a certain line on the
Korean" peninsula.
(Correspondents were not al
lowed to say specifically what
this line is, but it obviously refers
to the politically important Para
llel 38.)
It is one of the most rigid news
restrictions placed on correspon
dents since the war began.
At latest reports, sent before
the ban, the Allies were reported
less than 17 miles from the border
to Red Korea. The U.S. Eighth
Army said holding elements were
.on the line at 10 scattered points
across the peninsula. Patrols were
known to be operating much clos
er to the border.
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Wednesday, March 21, 1951
An American tank force today
rumbled into the former Chinese
stronghold of Chunchon. It met
! only flag-waving Korean civilians.
It was from Chunchon that the
Chinese mounted their two mass
ive offensives in January and
(Continued on Page Six)
GOVERNORS VETO
OVERRIDED 3 TIMES
A rebellious Senate voted twice
last night to override Governor
Gruening’s vetoes of finance bills.
It raised the Senate’s overriding
votes to three straight in 2 days.
In the only one the House acted
on, however, it refused to go along
with the Senate. The House voted
9-13 against overriding the mort
gage bill vetoj that the Senate vo
ted to override Monday night.
The Senate voted late yesterday
afternoon to override the veto to
a second mortgage bill, then last
night voted by the same 11-5
count to override a veto of an Al
aska Bankers’ Association-spon
sored bill which would allow pay
ment of interest in advance on
deals under $3,500. ' \
In his veto message, the gov
ernor said the bill would allow
raising of rates on many loans
above the present legal rate.
Gruening called the bill “de
ceptive” and “an apparent 6%
rate that requires closed examina
tion.” He said the bill hits the
small borrower and “makes bor
rowing unduely costly.”
The governor also suggested
that legislators were indulging in
“too hasty” action on legislation.
Lifting The Lid
At Juneau
Tuesday, March 20, 1951
JUNEAU, (/P), Governor Gruen
ing’s .rst veto of the session was
overridden quickly by the Senate
yesterday. The vote was l^-e.
Veteran legislators "said* it was
only t h e • second ^instance they :
could recall in recent yeais in
which a Gruening veto had been
disregarded. ' • #V:;
• The overidiitlg motion was made
by Steve McCutch^eon,.Anchorage,
Democratic floor leader.
The bill involved would allow
a chattel mortgage on merchan
dise to be carried over as a - pre
ferential lien against new stocks
of goods after the originally mort
gaged merchandise is sold without
retireing the mortgage.
In his veto message, the govern
or declared: “It would validate
faulty mortgages to favor mort
gages to favor mortgages at the
expense of other creditors. 11
would promote indolence in mort
gagees by giving them a preferred
claim notwithstanding their fail
ure to protect themselves. It is
my view that those it fs designed
to benefit are in strong position
to protect themselves.”
The governor added it was his
belief that few if any such laws
are in effect in the States and that
the courts have held against them.
He said he believed such a law
“would open the door to fraud.”
McCutcheon said bankers had
advised that the law was based
on a Washington State statute.
Senator John Butrovich (R-Fair
banks) challenged the fraud sug
gestion with the statement: -“I
think it would reduce the chances
of fraud.”
The overriding came after the
Senate failed to reach agreement
on a civilian defense appropria
tion and held another closed-door
session for tsetimony from Col.
Joseph Alexander, Alaska civilian
defense head.
The House passed seven bills
(Continued on Page Five)
Dr. Langsam
Marooned in Snowstorm
BISMARK, N.D., (/¥•)—Dr. Fred
M. Langsam, head of the Metho
dist Hospital in NOme, Alaska,
may be on, for him, a southern
trip, but he’^ 'waiting for his car
to be freed from a North Dakota
snowdrift.
Dr. Langsam left Seattle by car,
bound for Chicago. But his car
was stuck in a snowdrift on high
way No. 10 near New Salem, N.D.,
during the weekend storm.
North Dakota Health Depart
ment'workers found (him there,
and returped him to New Salem.
He came here by train yesterdays
to await liberation of his car by
snowplows.
SATURDAY AT
Easter rood bale n.g store
By Women of Community Methodist Church All Kinds of Good Things to Eat!
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