22 NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LI- No. 53 NOME, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 1949 Per Copy—15c
NEWS IN BRIEF
SELDOVIA, (/Pi — A citizen’s
committee is campaigning to raise
$3,000 as its share of funds to
maintain the general hospital here.
Dr. Robert Gorman, physician in
charge, said the Territorial gov
ernment has agreed to match
funds with the city. Cannery op
erators and owners have pledged
some $1,500.
KODIAK, (/P)—Lack of business
was given by officials here for
closure of the U. S. employment
service local office.
ANCHORAGE (/P)—'Police chief
Charles Stowell has warned mer
chants that Anchorage now
^ "abounds in shady characters,”
and it’s time they start locking
their doors at night. A recent
check, he said, showed three stores
with unlocked doors during the
early morning. One merchant left
his keys in the lock.
ANCHORAGE, (/P) — Bids for
three new Anchorage independent
► school district classroom buildings
will be opened June 9. Voters al
ready have authorized a $1,600,000
bond issue to finance the project.
KODIAK, (/P) — Merchants are
"digging down” to equip the Grif
fin memorial hospital here with
an electro cardiograph machine.
Nearly all local businessmen
have agreed to give the fund five
percent of their gross receipts
from sales at their stores May 6
and May 13.
^ The machine, used to diagnose
heart ailments, costs about $1,000.
KODIAK (/P)—Mel Vokacek has
taken over as city superintendent
of streets and utilities for a one
year term. He was appointed by
the city council to succeed Reuben
Tesarik.
Other city employees were re
tained for the new year.
JUNEAU, (/P)—Leong Loy, 79,
the only Chinese in this area, died
in a hospital here Monday after a
brief illness. For many years he
operated a restaurant at Yakutat,
where he was a special favorite of
the children. His wife died in
China some time ago.
PULLMAN, i/P) — Appointment
of Clarence C. Hulley, head of the
University of Alaska history de
partment, to a temporary vacancy
of the Washington State College
department staff, was announced
today. Hulley now is on leave
from the Alaska school and will
stay here, only until-the end of the
6 present semester. . .,.v .
SEATTLE, (SP) *— Tom Martin,
veteran Seattle-Alaska ship stew
ard, died yesterday after an ill
ness of several months. He had
been chief steward of the Alaska
Steamship company passenger
ship Aleutian and other vessels of
the line.
WASHINGTON, (/P)— President
Truman asked the Senate yester
day for $15,000,000 to be used as
a revolving fund for loans to the
Alaska housing administration as
authorized by recent legislation.
He also asked $75,000 for admin
istrative expense.
Chinese Reds
Capture Kwangteh
(By Fred Hampson)
SHANGHAI, (/P) — Kwangteh,
important city midway between
Wuhu and Hangchow, has been
captured by Red troops, the Pei
ping communist radio said yester
day.
The radio claimed victory for
; the communists in a battle on the
i borders of Kiangsu-Anhwei and
Chekiang provinces. The radio
said 2,400 nationalists were cap
; tured.
i The report has not been con
firmed by any other source. •
Efforts to telephone Hangchow,
121 miles southwest of here,
brought the reply the lines were
“out of order.”
The communist radio said also
that Tatung, 125 miles west of Pei
ping, had been taken. The city,
last nationalist bastion north of
the Yangtze except surrounded
Tsingtao, on the coast, surrender
ed on May 1, the radio said.
Tsingtao is the base of the U. S.
Western Pacific fleet.
A nationalist garrison commun
ique earlier said that six Chinese
| warships captured at Nanking by
the communists had been sunk by
I government planes.
The assertion came a few hours
i after the rumble of artillery was
' heard to the northwest of Shang
hai. There was no sign of ap
proaching Reds. But the chaos in
| the financial market grew during
the day.
Two American army officers
who watched the communists
cross the Yangtze expressed the
opinion here yesterday the Reds
(Continued on Page Six)
.
Hangchow Falls
Without A Fight
(By Fred Hampson)
I SHANGHAI, (/P) — The govern
; ment confirmed today it has yield
ed Hangchow to the Reds without
a fight.
Loss of this port and rail city
100 miles down the coast cut
Shanghai’s escape route to South
China.
A Shanghai garrison communi
que said Hangchow’s defenders, a
provincial peace preser v a t i o n
corps, withdrew at noon yester
day. Chinese press dispatches said
a force of 4,000 communists took
over. (Hangchow’s population is
about 400,000).
The new Red advance trapped
nationalist forces remaining in the
big triangle bounded by Hang
chojw, Changhai and Nanking, 160
miles inland. One Red radiobroad
cast, elaborating on earlier claims,
said $0,000 nationalists were cap
; tured in this triangle. 'This was ]
not confirmed elsewhere).
Only sea lanes remained open
to the government defenders, and
they were using them. Evacuation
of troops by ship was continuing
on a fairly large scale today.
Reports that Generalissimo Chi
ang Kai-Shek was still in Shang
hai persisted. It has been suggest
ed he is here to see that no “deals”
are made (selling out to the Red
(Continued on Page Three)
Four Powers Meet;
May Lift Blockade
NEW YORK, (/P) — Russia met
with the three Western Powers to
day to work out details for lifting
the 10-month-old Berlin blockade
and for a meeting of the council
of foreign ministers.
The conferees met at; 12:31 p.m
amid reports that the blockade
will be lifted May 12 and the for
eign ministers will gather Maj
23.
The British press associatior
said Sir Alexander Cadogan, Bri
tish representative at the Unite
Nations, had notified London o
j these dates. There was no confir
mation here immediately.
Today’s meeting was called t(
' work out “details” of the twc
dates.
Today’s meeting at the Unitec
States’ United Nations headquar
ters here marked the first tim<
that representatives of the fou
great powers had sat down to
gether on the Berlin blockade is
sue since talks broke up in Mos
cow last summer.
Russia agreed last night to have
the United States call in Britair
and France.
The Soviet deputy foreign min
ister, Jakob A. Malik, arrived a
the United States delegation head
j quarters at 2 Park Avenue jus
after 12:30 and went into sessior
with Dr. Philip C. Jessup, U. S
; ambassador at large, Cadogan anc
Jean Chauvel of France. The west
ern power conferees were in Jes
sup’s office waiting for Malik. P
crowd of several hundred millec
about outside the building.
Red Satellites
Must Recognize
“■Human Rights”
VV A S H I N GTON, (JP) — The
United States is consulting with
other nations on steps to compel
three Russian satellites to abide by
human .rights pledges.
Secretary of state Acheson told
a news conference that Bulgaria,
Hungary and Romania have re
jected American charges that they
are violating their peace treaty
guarantees “concerning human
rights and fundamental freedoms.”
The charges were based chiefly
on the persecution of religious
leaders.
As a result of the rejection,
Acheson said, the United States is
now discussing with other coun
tries the next stepsj to be taken.
In response to a question, Ache
son added that he believes action
(Continued on Page Pour)
BULLETIN
(Special to The Nugget)
WASHINGTON;, (/F) — The Big
Four powers hare agreed to lift
the Berlin blockade and counter -
blockade measures. The state de
partment announcement of this
gave no date. It said “It can be
said specifically that agreement
has been reached, and* all restric
tions imposed in Germany, which
have been the subject of conversa
tions. will be mutually lifted."
Truman May Carry
Labor Bill Fight
To Citizens
—
(By Jack Bell)
WASHINGTON, f/P)—'The stun
ning House defeat of administra
tion efforts to repeal the Taft
Hartley labor law raised the pos
sibility today that President Tru
' man might carry his case directly
to the people.
Mr. Truman’s assertion last
last week that a vote on this issue
would be regarded by him as a
1 test of party loyalty backfired
• with a 217 to 203 House vote yes
. terday approving the Republican
backed Wood labor bill.
, For the President, this roll call
, vote represented a major political
defeat on his campaign premise to
j wipe off the books the Taft-Hart
.; ley act passed by the Republican
2 80th Congress. This was true even
r though the Wood bill was still
. subject to final House action.
Rep. Priest <D.-TennJ saw a
. “fair chance” the House would
send the bill back to its labor com
, mittee. However, that would leave
, the House with no Taft-Hartley
repealer before it at all.
The White House kept silent to
t day on how the President felt
(Continued on Page Six;
Treasury Owes
Half Million
JUNEAU, UP)—Alaska’s general
| Territorial fund was $453,525
j short of being able to pay the bills
at the end of April.
A brief statement by treasurer
{Oscar G. Olson said there was
$225,551 in the fund after the
books were closed, but against this
balance were unpaid vouchers in
the auditor’s office totalling $679,
076.
NLRB And CIO
ILW Battle Over
Injunction
—
SEATTLE, (/P)—'The NLRB and
CIO longshoremen’s union jock
eyed in court Monday over picket
ing of the idled Juneau Spruce
corporation plant and will con
tinue their legal maneuvers this
afternoon.
The union asked a U. S. district
court order to prevent the national
labor relations board from seeking
an anti-picketing injunction in
federal court at Juneau.
In response to a show cause or
der, Patrick H. Walker, NLRB at
torney moved for dismissal of the
union’s request.
Federal judge Lloyd L. Black
ordered both sides to return at 2
p.m. today to argue the motion.
The Juneau local of the interna
tional longshoremen’s and ware
housemen’s union contends the
Juneau district court does not
have the authority to issue an
anti-picketing injunction.
The ILWU has kept the Juneau i
mill closed for a year in a juris-,
dictional dispute with the CIO
woodworkers union over loading j
work.
House Returns
Labor Bill To
Committee
(By Max Hall)
WASHINGTON, (/P) — Truman
Democrats today won a fight to
send the Wood labor bill back to a
House committee.
Their margin on the motion to
recommit was three votes—212 to
209.
This outcome left the House
with no labor bill before it — in
effect ending the great labor bat
tle with a stalemate.
The administration was unable
| to put through its bill to repeal
1 the Taft-Hartley law and enact la
bor statutes more to the liking of
; the unions.
On the other hand, it succeeded
I in preventing passage of the Wood
bill which would repeal Taft
Hartley in name, but keep most of
its essential provisions.
House leaders indicated that—
in event of such an outcome—they
| would let the matter rest in the
House for a while.
I Their strategy is to wait now
and see what kind of bill the Sen
ate may be willing to pass.
The outcome of the recommittal
vote was an upset for Republican
leaders, who put the Wood bill
over in the House yesterday with
strong support from southern
Democrats.
Yesterday’s voting turned up a
margin of 217 to 203 for the Wood
bill. That meant the administra
iContinued on Page Three*
I Navies Didn't Run
Out On Shanghai
" 1 "■ ■
SHANGHAI (yp)—United States,
British and French naval craft left
the Shanghai waterfront last week
because of a reported communist
plot to block their passage to the
sea, a U. S. navy spokesman said
i yesterday.
The spokesman, from the staff
of U. S. Vice Adrm Oscar C. Bad
ger, said “reliable sources” told
the United States navy that com
munists planned to scuttle a ship
near Woosung, the Chinese na
tionalist garrison, that would have
blocked the larger ships from the
sea.
The spokesman evidentally dis
closed this “plot” to offset accusa
tions that the U. S. navy had “run
out” on communist threatened
Shanghai.
Details of this “plot” came from
the same source which had previ
ously tipped the navy the com
munists had a similar plan to bot
tle up naval vessels in Tientsin
earlier this year, the spokesman
said.
The navy evacuated numerous
persons from Tientisin shortly be
fore the city fell and the route to
the sea was cut.
The navy spokesman said the
Woosung “plot” was “nipped in
the bud.” He declined to give de- ,
tails saying it was a Chinese mat
ter.
He said after the plot was “nip
ped" the American President Lines
liner President Wilson came up to /
(Continued on Page Six)