m NOME NUGGET
_OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS__
VOL. LI. No. 129 NOME, ALASKA, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28, 1949 Per Copy—15c
NEWS IN BRIEF
HOQUIAM, i/P) — Fute turned:
the tables on 58-year-old Nelson
W. McKinney yesterday.
The Hoquiam man was acci
dentally shot and killed by his son
while on a hunting trip 10 miles i
west of the city. The tragedy oc
curred only three days more than
a year from the time the elder j
McKinney accidentally shot and
killed his brother-in-law in a
similar hunting mishap.
KETCHIKAN i/Pt—Deer hunter
Lawrence Frisch of Metlakatla
was killed late Huesday in a 300
foot fall off a cliff at Menefee An-1
chorage in Moira Sound.
His body was brought to Metla
katla late yesterday after recovery
by searchers from the coast guard
vessel White Holly and the fishing
boat Mary Eleanor.
Frisch’s hunting companion, Ce
cil Simpson, who was marooned
on the cliff overnight, was res
cued uninjured.
JUNEAU, (/P)—The Haines Cut
off will be closed Nov. 1. This was
the information received yesterday
day by Highway Engineer Frank
Metcalf from the Canadian gov
ernment.
Metcalf said he was informed
the Canadians will not be able to
keep the highway open from the
Canadian border. The road ex
tends northwest from Haines to
the Alcan highway which it joins
near Kluane Lake.
JUNEAU, f/P) — Gov. Ernest
Gruening flew south yesterday en
route to Washington, D. C., to meet
with officials of the bureau of
budget.
He will return by way of Salt j
Lake City where he will attend
the meeting of governors of the
Western States, Hawaii and Alas
ka.
He is expected back in Juneau
in time to greet Coast Guard Adm.
Merlin O’Neill and secretary of
the treasury Snyder. They are to
visit here about Nov. 13.
_:_
WASHINGTON, UP)—President
Truman yesterday signed a bill
calling for a $7,663,212 expansion
of the army’s Alaska Communica
tions System.
The program will include new
construction of buildings and in
stallations at 28 points in Alaska
and at Adak in the Aleutians.
WASHINGTON, UP)—President
Truman signed legislation yester
day authorizing $166,500,000 of
defense construction in Alaska and
Okinawa.
The projects include housing,
sewers, roads, electric power
equipment and other improve
ments needed to maintain defense
forces.
WASHINGTON. UP)—President
Truman signed a bill yesterday j
extending to Alaska the benefits
of certain laws relating to agricul- :
tural experiment stations.
SEATTLE, UP) — Special cold
weather tests in the Arctic have
been passed with flying colors by *
a Boeing Airplane company B-50 i
There's Something
Brassy About
Fishwheel Strike
FAIRBANKS, UP)—Eldorado or j
dud? Bonanza or bust?
All Alaska was wondering today
what actually is going on at Fish
wheel on the Yukon River, where
the 20th Century 49’ers are heat
ing up in subzero temperatures
over whether they’ve got some
thing or not.
Fishwheel is the wide spot in
the Yukon River, a mile from the
Arctic Circle and 165 miles north
west of here, where Clifton Carroll
reported a couple of weeks ago he
found pea-sized gold nuggets in
the muck on the axle of his fish
wheel, a net-equipped waterwheel
to catch fish.
Wednesday prospectors in the
frigid tent town demanded that
first specimens of nuggets be sent
to the University of Alaska here
for assay.
Yesterday geology professor
Richard Ragle examined them and
declared:
“Three of the nuggets are gold
and one is brass.”
Veteran miners generally agreed
his entire report took a negative
view.
As this is written, results of his
assay have not yet got back to
Fishwheel, which “awaits the as
say report with jangled nerves.”
Jack Daum, staff writer for the
Fairbanks News-Miner, who flew
to the strike area and staked him
self a claim which covering the
story for his newspaper, radioed
last night that:
“Arguments and near fistfights
flared along the Yukon Wednes
day and yesterday.
“Gilbert Lord, Fort Yukon road
house proprietor, has taken per
sonal charge of the first nuggets
and has been the most outspoken
booster of this area as the biggest
thing since the Klondike.
Prospectors who have spent
hundreds of dollars outfitting
themselves and flying here to this i
bleak valley . . . demanded of |
Lord that he send the nuggets to (
the University of Alaska in Fair
banks for assaying. Lord was re
luctant to send the gold out at
first but after implications of his
refusal were pointed out to him,
he consented to release the nug
gets in the custody of the Fair
banks News-Miner.
“The nuggets, worth about $2,
were sent to Fairbanks late Wed
nesday afternoon. . .”
Now the scene shifts to Fair
banks.
The glass vial containing the
nuggets was examined by experts
of the University of Alaska.
“Three of the nuggets are gold
and one is brass,” Ragle reported.
(Continued on Page Five)
Superfortress, company officials
announced today.
The plane was subjected to a
minimum flight temperature of 85
degrees fahrenheit below zero in
one two-hour period, and to pro
longed periods at temperatures
ranging upward from 40 degrees
Fahrenheit below zero. The tests
were conducted by crews based at
Ladd Air Force Base, Alaska.
(lonimY of Ylines
Kr^rels Stainped**
To Fisliwh(k(‘l
(Special to The Nugget >
JUNEAU —Grave concern over
the unjustified excitement that is
being manifested in Alaska as well
as in the States as a result of re
cent dramatically expressed news
paper reports of the discovery of
a very small amount of placer
gold on the shore of an island ;n ,
the Yukon River in the vicinity of
Fort Yukon and over the growing
proportions of the influx into that
remote locality at this time of year
of inexperienced, poorly equipped
and poorly advised gold-seekers
was expressed today by B. D.
Stewart, Territorial commissioner 1
of mines, at Juneau.
Very significantly and wisely
the well-informed and experienced
placer miners of the Territory are
refraining from joining the unfor
(Continued on Page Three^
Pentagon Trouble
Ousts Navy Chief
Admiral Denfeld
WASHINGTON. (/P) — Admiral
Louis Denfeld told a demonstrat
ing crowd of 250 enlisted men to
day that alohtugh he has been
ousted as chief of naval opera
tions “no service and no individ
ual will stop” the navy.
The sailors—from offices and
barracks near the Pentagon—be
gan gathering at Denfeld’s office
early in the morning.
They keynoted the angry re
sponse of at least a portion of the !
navy to the decision of secretary
Matthews, backed by President '
Truman, to fire Denfeld for his
opposition to defense policies that
cut down on the navy and put
what he calls overemphasis on big
air force bombers.
Nearly a full day after the White
House announcement of Denfeld’s
(Continued on Page Four)
Chamber ( M i loin
mere Meld Very
Sneeessfnl Dinner
The Chamber of Commerce held
their monthly dinner meeting last,
night with all tables filled to ea-!
pacity.
First guest to be introduced was
Russ Apple, Boy Scout field exec
utive, who explained the present
set-up of Boy Scout activities in j
the Territory. He showed that I
since Alaska has had its own
council the number of Scouts of
Alaska has grown from 251 to
1300. He stated that the goal of the
organization is 4000 members, and
asked the support of the commun
ity in the drive which took place
today. *
Col. D. C. Jamison, commander
of the local post expressed plea
i sure at the fine co-operative spirit
between army and civilians and
hoped it would continue.
Mrs. T. A. Peterson, business
woman of Teller expressed the de
sire that the NWA Chamber would
aid her community in getting a
small crab cannery as a means of
livelihood for those in that dis
trict. She also stated that the U. S.
Tin Mines plan to operate on a
year round basis next year which
will be of benefit to Teller.
In relation to mining, W. Mc
Donald and T. Scott both stated
their view clearly as not being in
favor of the increased assessment
on each mining claim as proposed
in Washington, as they felt it was
a burden that the mining industry
could not bear and would only be
a set-back in the industry.
Jack LaCross, mining partner
of Chester Milligan at Council ex
pressed appreciation to the busi
ness people of Nome for their co
operation during this past season.
Senator Chas. Jones called at
tention to the fact that the price i
of gold has not changed during a
period when expenses to mine
same is up 300% and the proposed
increased tax on gold mining will
(Continued on Page Four)
WHO SAID COLD WAR ? ..
I thought That
THING WAS
OBSOLETE
J _
News of the \\ orhl
At A (flanee . . .
Thursday. October 27. 1949
Premier Marshal Tito of Yugo
slavia has tossed more hot words
of defiance at the Soviet Union
and its satellites in retaliation for
recent Russian moves against his
regime.
“We shall fight—and we shall
fight enduringlv” to prevent Yu
goslavia’s subjugation by Russia,
he said in a speech last night in
Belgrade.
The Communist rebel’s fighting
words came shortly after Russia
had demandede the recall of Ti
to’s ambassador from Mocow and
had charged that he was lavishing
; diamonds on an “American spy.”
The espionage agent was named
as the Yugoslav-born metropoli
tan opera soprano Zinka Kung
Milanov. The singer, now in Bel
grade. said the charge published
in the Moscow literary gazettes
I is “just silly.”
, Tito, in his speech to a visiting
group of Italians who had fought
alongside his partisans during the
lust war, made no reference to
unconfirmed rumors of Soviet
troops movements in the sur
rounding Communist satellite
countries.
Tito’s strength in opposition to
Russia stems from the fact that
he was a national military hero
whose partisans attained their
dominant position without direct
aid of the Red Army.
At Lake Success, the united
Nation s Political Committee
struggled with another aspect of
the troubled Balkans problem.
The United States, Britain, Aus
tralia and China called on all
countries to keep arms from
reaching Albania and Bulgaria
until it has been determined they
have stopped aiding the Greek
guerrillas.
Yugoslavia is believed to have
stopped aiding the Greek guerril
las.
Recent Athens reports said the
guerrillas are moving their base
from Albania to Bulgaria as a
possible threat against Tito. Am
erican advisors have recommerr
ded a reduction in the Greek Ar
my.
Oslo dispatches said the Nor
wegian communist party has ex
pelled a former party secretary
for “Titoism.” blaming such de
viation for communist reverses in
elections of two weeks ago.
The Indian home ministry in
New Delhi announced that N. V.
Godse and Narayan Apte will be
hanged Nov. 15 for the assassina
tion of Mohandas K. Gandhi.
BULLETIN
Mayor Steve Anderson has re
ceived a message from the Con
gressional party which is com
posed of a sub-committee of the
Merchant Marine and Fisheries
Committee that their itinerary has
been changed and they will arrive
in Nome Saturday. Arrangements
have been made for a hearing to
be held at 7:30 Saturday evening
in the Court Room of the Federal
Bldg. All citizens are urged to at
tend the meeting.