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OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL LIV NO. 73 NOME, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18, 1952 Per Copy—15c
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General Kepner "
Says Alaska Could
Not Repel A
Sustained Attack
SEATTLE, (/P)—Alaska’s com
manding general said last night
he’d “need help in a hurry” if the
Russians launched a mass attack
against the Northern territory . . .
“and I think they could do it.”
Lt. Gen. William H. Kepner
said present American strength in
the north could halt a sudden
parachute invasion, but could not
repel a sustained Russian attack
in force.
“They could use airplanes but
I also think they could cross the
Bering Strait ice in winter or use
bcttts in the summer,” he said
in a newspaper interview7 on his
arrival with his aide from An
chorage.
Th general emphasized, how
ever, that no part of Alaska
would be abandoned in case of
of enemy attack, but “with-30,000
miles of coastline you can’t de
fend every part of it so the enemy
could seize some parts.”
Gen. Kepner said American
and Russian fighter planes some
times eye one another over the
Bering Strait but “they don’t
challenge or make passes . . .
There have been no shooting in
cidents.”
Senate Kills Measure For
$818 Million For Building
St. Lawrence R. Seaway
WASHINGTON, l/P»—The Sen
ate, spurning a last-minute plea
by Pesident Truman, Wednesday
killed a bill to authorize the
United States to join with Canada
in constructing the $818 million
St. Lawrence seaway and power
project.
The seaway, which at least six
U.S. presidents have supported,
would link the Great Lakes to
the Atlantic thereby permitting
ocean-going shipping to navigate
to the midwest.
Haeunde Explosions
Show’ No Evidence
Of Sabotage
PUSAN, Korea, UP) — U. S.
Army headquarters said Wednes
day thorough investigation of the
Haeunde ammunition dump fire j
and explosions Sunday showed no
evidence of sabotage.
The official probe into other
possible causes is continuing.
One American soldier was kill
ed, four were hospitalized, and
24 were injured in the blasts 13
miles northeast of here.
The Second Logistical Com
mand said two soldiers reported
missing had been found unin
jured.
ROY B. EARLING RETIRES AS
GENERAL MANAGER ALASKA
OPERATIONS U.S. SMELTING
The U.S. Smelting Refining and
Mining Company announces the
retirement of Mr. Roy B. Earling,
vice president and general man
ager of the Alaskan operations.
Mr. J.* D. Crawford has been
appointed general manager of Al
askan operations and Mr J. C.
Boswell the manager of the Fair
banks department. 1
Steel Strike Causes Halt
In Manufacture of
Mortar Shells, Rockets
WASHINGTON, (/P) — Econ
omic Stabilizer Roger L. Putnam
said Wednesday the steel indus
try has been assured of “friendly
and sympathetic” consideration of
a steel price boost if a strike set
tlement is achieved.
Putnam told a news conference
that he and John R. Steelman,
acting defense mobilizer, dis
cussed a $4.50 a ton increase dur
ing the negotiations which broke
down 16 days ago.
The 17-day strike of 650,000
CIO steelworkers was beginning
to pinch munitions production
seriously. A plant at Cleveland
halted making of mortar shells
and two firms at Detroit said
they would soon have to stop
making rockets. In addition to the
strikers, more than 100,000 work
ers in allied industries were idle
because of layoofs.
Senate Committee
Calls For Faster
Buildup Air Power
WASHINGTON, (&)—The Sen
ate Preparedness Subcommittee
called Tuesday for a faster build
up of U.S. air power and cited
testimony by the joint chiefs of
staff to support its stand.
' The subcommittee, headed by
Sen. Lyndon Johnson (D-Tex),
said everything must be done to
step up rates of production in
order to reach a goal of 143 wings
as quickly as possible and over
come a “terrifying” Russian air
superiority.
“To do otherwise would reduce
our defenses below safe levels
and be an invitation to disaster,”
the subcommittee said in a report
dealing with the recent “stretch
out” decision by President Tru
man and his advisors.
The report said the subcommit
tee established that the joint
chiefs of staff, headed by Gen.
Omar N. Bradley, recommended
a 143-wing air force, consisting of
126 combat wings and 17 sup
porting wings, not later than the
end of 1954, with mid-1954 pref
erable.
The report contained this tes
timony by Bradley:
“In general, the effect of the
stretch-out on security will be to
postpone until 1956 the full reali
zation of the United States mili
tary capabilities that were origin
ally planned for achievement in
1954.
“Thus, the stretch-out program
will seriously reduce the antici
pated military capabilities off the
United States and the North At
ra n t i c Treaty Organization to
withstand successfully any all-out
attack on the part of Russia prior
to 1956.”
A further memorandum from
the joint chiefs said:
“The joint chiefs of staff de
sire to reaffirm that they consider
the general period of 1954 to be
the most dangerous for the sec
urity of the United States in the
foreseeable future. Adoption of
the reduced program . . . post
poned our military capabilities to
meet this threat.”
In Shipping Strike:
Chamber Appeals
To Truman Citing
Need For Action
With the seriousness of the
effect of the Sailors' Union
strike becoming more critical
every day, the Chamber of
Commerce made direct appeal
to President Truman in which
they cited steps already taken
and lack of response to date.
The Arctic Circle Chamber of
Commerce at Kotzebue has also
wired for speedy relief, as fol
lows:
“We earnestly implore all ave
nues of mediation be explored to
lessen hardships and irreparable
economic setback created by ship
ping tieup coming at beginning of
construction and short transpor
tation season.
“Far northern ports of Nome and
Kotzebue and all villages of area
particularly vulnerable to delays
in receipt of building materials
and heavy equipment of all types.
Our season too short to allow
building and development plan
ning on any but full and intense
utilisation of short operating sea
son.
“Delays creating serious bottle
neck threatening receipt of freight
into far northern ports too late to
«
allow bulk transportation up riv
ers due to mid-season low water
followed by freeze-ups.
“Kotzebue business program for
entire year threatened. Our prob
lems already complicated beyond
those of ordinary business condi
tions due to isolation, weather
conditions, and ordinary trans
portation difficulties.
“We cannot be sympathetic to
planning which further penalizes
us.”
Gruening Lists
Nome Vicinity
Hardship Area
SEATTLE, (>P) — Gov. Ernest
Gruening of Alaska pointed de
finitely at the Nome vicinity Tues
day as a hardship area because of
the current shipping strike.
The governor advised the Seat
tle-Alaska Lifeline Committee that
he had wired to the Alaska Mili
tary Command headquarters:
“Believe time now close when
government should sent a vessel
to Nome area, which is rapidly
reaching a desperate situation,
and for which no commercial ves
sel has yet been found available.”
The governor added that he
will continue his efforts, how
ever, to get commercial service
for the area.
Thomas M. Pelly, chairman of
the Lifeline Commitee, estimated
a tourist industry loss “well in
excess of a half million dollars”
has resulted from the strike.
He said the Alaska tourist pro
moters were expecting the great
est season in history and more
than 2,000 travelers have been hit
by cancellation of north and
I
south voyages.
“The situation will seriously
jeopardize the Alaska tourist in
dustry this year and in future
years unless a program is devel
open to insure uninterrupted ship
transportation to Alaska.”
Joseph Earl Cooper
Nominated as Judge
For Second Division
WASHINGTON, (A1) — Joseph
Earl Cooper of Alaska was nomi
nated by President Truman today
to be U.S. district Judge for the
Second Division.
Russians Make Move to
Settle $11 Billion
Lend-Lease Account
WASHINGTON, <A>) — A sur
prise offer by the Russians to
give back 186 American ships was
regarded by State Department
officials Tuesday as advancing
negotiations for settling the So
viet Union’s 11-billion-dollar u
viet Union’s $11 billion World
War II lend-lease account.
Moscow made the offer Monday
in an unexpected renewal of neg
otiations which have dragged on
more than five years. The ships
are among 670 turned over to the
Soviets by this country during
the war.
Monday’s State Department
meeting was the first to take up
the long-standing dispute since
last August. It left the two gov
ernments as far apart as ever on
other major issues. Officials said,
however, the proposal to turn
back some of the vessels was at
least a step toward settlement.
The United States is expected
to accept the proposal but to re
new a demand for the return of
other vessels.
A further meeting ofpn .Tit
The craft Moscow says it is
now willing to turn back are
small naval vessels, mostly tor
pedo boats and submarine chas
ers.
Swedes Call Reds
Liars In Downing
Of Patrol Aircaft
STOCKHOLM, Sweden, (/P) —
Swedes called the Russians liars
Wednesday and the Danes alerted
their airmen to shoot back if at
tacked by Soviets.
The Swedish cabinet met in an
urgent special session to discuss
the shooting down Monday by
Soviet jets of an unarmed Swed
ish Catalina rescue plane which
was searching for another lost
plane.
The cabinet had before it the
translation of a Russian note stat
ing that the Swedish plane was
over Soviet territory and had
opened fire first. The Russians
claim their territorial waters ex
%
tend 12 miles into the Baltic. The
recognized limit is three miles.
The Soviet claims said that the
Swedish plane flew over the Rus
sian-held island of Dagoe near
the Estonian coast, opened fire on
Soviet fighters when they ordered
it to land, and flew out over the
Baltic Sea after the Russian
planes returned the fire.
One Swedish authority denied
every major point of the Russian
contention.
The plane he said was abso
lutely unarmed and could not
have opened fire against anybody.
There is not the slightest shade
of doubt that the Catalina was
shot down over international
1 waters.
First Step Taken
To Settlement Of
Sailors’ Strike
SAN FRANCISCO, >(/P) — An
agreement to end the bitter juris
dictional dispute off two rival ship
stewards’ unions, if approved by
a federal court, was announced
Tuesday.
The agreement was reached af
ter an all-night discussion be
tween shipowners and union rep
resentatives.
It calls for the setting up of a
central registration agency for all
cooks and stewards.
Members of the Independent
Union of Marine Cooks and Stew
ards and the rival AFL union,
which has been backed by the
AFL-Sailors’ Union, would go
from their halls to the central
registration agency.
The agreement was announced
as the first step taken toward
possible settlement of the AFL
sailors’ strike.
At Seattle, the Times said the
jurisdictional dispute has been
one erf the “important” factors in
the background of the crippling
Sailors’ Union of the Pacific
strike, although the main Sailors’
issues have been announced as
wages and working conditions.
The Times also said: “Most
waterfront observers believe that
resolving of the jurisdictional is
sue would help to clear the way
for an agreement to end the Sail
ors’ strike.”
62,000 of 80,000 POWs On
Koje Island Are Dispersed
KOJE ISLAND, Korea, UP) —
U.S. troops today moved 11,600
more Red prisoners of war from
two Koje compounds without a
hitch.
During the move, 300 anti
communists broke away from the
5,600 prisoners in compound 85
and were put in separate camps.
Since the transfer to smaller
compounds began June 10, about
1,100 prisoners have signified
they are anti-Communists by
breaking away from their com
rades.
The moves boosted the nine
day total of POWs transferred to
62,000 of the 80,000 prisoners on
this island off South Korea.
Allies Impose 3-Day
Recess at Panmunjom
MUNSAN, (JP) — Smarting un
der an Allied imposed three-day
recess, the Reds sent their liaison
officers to Panmunjom today with
a complaint that the United Na
tions walkout was unjustified.
Allied liaison officers counter
ed by telling the Reds that U.N.
planes still had found no mark
ings on four Communist prisoner
of war camps despite Communist
assertion that the camps were
properly marked.
U. S. BATTLE CASUALTIES
WASHINGTON, (/P)—Announ
0
ced U.S. battle casualties in Korea
reached 109,971 Wednesday — an
increased of 259 since last week.
Killed in action 17,318, an in
crease of 218; and missing 12,517,
an increase of 39.
By services: Army, 88,993;
Navy 1,383; Air Force 1,198; and
Marine Corps 18,397.