m NOME NUGGET
_OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS_
VOL. LI. No? 26_NOME, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 1949_Per Copy—15c
NEWS IN BRIEF
WASHINGTON, (/P)—Secretary
of the Interior Krug asked Con
gress yesterday for authority to
establish lodges, camps, garages
and other accommodations for
tourists using the Alaska High
way.
Krug said in letters to the House
ard ’he Senate that it is planned
to establish four units for accom
modations of tourists. He did not
indicate where the lodges would
be located.
The secretary told Congress that
the tourist business promises to be
on of the largest in the Territory
• if not its greatest potential indus
try.
SAN FRANCISCO, </P) — Z. E.
Eagleston. Anchorage, has asked
the supreme court to review a cir
cuit court decision rendered Jan.
7, affirming his three-year prison
sentence on charges of assault
with a deadly weapon on Frank
How ley.
The high court has not yet said
whether it will review the case.
Testimony at Eagleston’s trial
indicated the two men had a busi
ness quarrel, and that Rowley
suffered a fractured skull. The in
cident took place at Anchorage on
July 30, 1946.
The circuit court also affirmed
a civil suit judgment of $37,000,
which Rowley had won from
Eagleston. He was sentenced Jan.
10, 1947.
CLEVELAND, (JP)—The Cleve
land Plain Dealer said today Pres
ident Truman has been holding
secret night sessions on the na
tion’s economic condition with
“industrial and financial bigwigs.”
In a dispatch from its Washing
ton bureau, reporter Fletcher
Knebel wrote:
“The President, it was learned,
has summoned business leaders to
Blair House his temporary abode,
and quizzed them closely on eco
nomic trends.
“In the last three weeks, there
have been four after-dark meet
ings at Blair House with men
prominent on Wall Street, in au
tomobile manufacturing, equip
ment lines and basic industry.”
WASHINGTON, -OP) — Legisla
tion to authorize federal courts in
Alaska to determine the value of
mink lost because noisy army air
planes caused old mink to kill kit
tens was approved yesterday by
the House. It now goes to the Sen
ate.
Fred L. Kroesing of Anchorage,
estimated his loss at $7,070 while!
Hilda Links and E. J. Ohman of
Anchorage estimated their loss at
$12,799.
The mink farm owners told the
House judiciary committee that in
the spring of 1941. shortly after
the young mink were born, army
airplanes engaged in maneuvers
over Anchorage and the two mink
farms.
The unusual noise, they said
caused the old mink to kill the
kittens and ruined their business.
The owners originally filed
claims for larger amounts with
the army. They were not allowed'
on the ground they had not been)
filed within one year.
MacDonald Scoffs
At Rail To Alaska;
Wants Road Link
FAIRBANKS (Ah—The "Father
Of the Alaska Highway,” Donald
McDonald, labels as "another pile
driver to drive a tack” the pro
posal that President Truman ne
gotiate with Canada for the con
struction of a rail link from
Prince George, B. C., to Kobi on
the Alaska Railroad.
The project, MacDonald said,
was "an effort to unload on U. S.
taxpayers the Canadian govern
ment owned railroad, which like
the Alaska Railroad, is unable to
pay its own way.”
MacDonald recommended in
stead the construction of a 550
mile stretch of highway which
would shorten the present road
connection between Seattle and
Fairbanks by 1,000 miles. The
highway would run from Fort St.
James to Atlin, B. C., and would
(Continued on Page Seven)
LIFTING THE LID
AT JUNEAU
Tuesday, March 1, 1949
(By James Hutcheson)
JUNEAU, (A*)—While the Sen
i ate spent yesterday afternoon
j hearing testimony, the House
I passed three bills and one memo
rial, killed another measure and
then cancelled a scheduled over
time night session:
Gaining House approval were:
A bill providing motor fuel tax
monies collected from marine
equipment should revert to con
struction and maintenance of wa
terfront harbor and marine facili
ties. The vote was 19 to 4.
The bill providing an enabling
act to allow municipalities to en
act a sales tax up to 2 per cent if
approved by popular referendum.
The vote was 18 to 5.
A bill providing procedure for
enlarging school districts by.peti
tion and election. The vote was 23
to 0.
Unanimous backing also was
given to a memorial introduced by
Rep. Amelia A. Gunderson, First
Division Democrat. Addressed to
the President, Congress and fed
eral agencies, it asks a $2,000,000
appropriation for permanent im
provements on Ketchikan’s water
front thoroughfare.
The bill killed by indefinite
postponement would have re
stricted sales of certain so-called
habit forming drugs without pre
scriptions. It. previously had been
approved by the Senate.
Testimony heard by the Senate
was on the House-approved bill to
give the labor commissioner wage
collection responsibilities.
The fuel tax measure, intro
duced by Rep. C. (Red) Carlson,
and Alfred Owen, Jr.,'both Third
Division Democrats, provides that
65 per cent of the marine fuel lev
ies collected in incorporated towns
shall revert to them.
Thirty-five per cent of city and
town collections, plus collections
in outside areas, would go for ma
rine facilities in unincorporated
(Continued on Page Two)
lnternation’l News
At A Glance —
Tuesday. March 1, 1949
<By The Associated Pre.-^s*
The United States army ordered
a Russian repatriation mission to
day to leave the American zone of
Germany by midnight. Otherwise
it will ‘probably be escorted to the
border.”
Russia protested the ouster or
j der violently. One informant said
I the Russians told the U. S. the
, eight-man mission would be con
' sidered deserters if they left the
U. S. zone. The Russians have
been seeking since the war ended
to return about 100,000 persons,
mainly Ukrainians, Latvians, Es
tonians and Lithuanians who want
no part of Russia.
The British-licensed Social
Democrat in Berlin said the Rus
sians have put out new peace feel
ers on the Berlin blockade.
Russia has announced price cuts
on 45 classes of food, clothes and
'other goods. The Russians used
the decree for propaganda in
praise of Stalin. Trud commented
i typically that “living is becoming
1 better all the time.”
The communist new s p a p e r
■ Pravda told Russians that in the
1 United States “production is fall
1 ing, chaos increasing, the army of
(Continued on Page Three)
i
Joe Louis Gives Up
j Heavyweight Title
! MIAMI BEACH Fla. (A5) —Joe
! Louis yesterday formally resigned
j as heavyweight boxing champion
j of the world.
He requested and received per
mission from the national boxing
association to sponsor a fight be
tween Ezzard Charles and Jersey
Joe Walcott to determine the new
world’s champion.
The new champion will be
crowned at a 15-round fight to be
held in Chicago in June.
Louis submitted his formal res
ignation by letter to N.B.A. com
missioner Abe J. Greene and Fla
men B. Adae, president of NBA.
The letter of resignation was
presented by Harry Mendel, the
Brown Bomber’s publicity agent.
Louis himself was not present.
Louis notified the NBA that he,
Arthur M. Wirtz and James D.
Norris had formed the Interna
tional Boxing Club which will
maintain offices in New York and j
Chicago. It will stage the fight to
determine the new heavyweight
champ.
Louis said he had obtained the
(Continued on Page Four)
LAND OFFICE CELEBRATES
lOOih ANNIVERSARY
The District Land Office at
Nome will be open for public in
spection on Thursday, March 3rd,
in honor of the establishment of
the Department o{ the Interior in
1849 and a century of conserva
tion of government's resources.
At the time the department was
established it was called the
"Home Department." Thomas
Ewing of Ohio, served as its first
secretary.
Bartlett Asks Sale
Of Public l and
In Alaska
WASHINGTON — A sweeping
change to facilitate the disposal of
public land in Alaska has been
proposed by Delegate Bartlett
through introduction last week in
the House of a bill to authorize
the sale of public lands in the
Territory.
The measure provides that the
Secretary of the Interior may sell
at private sale or public auction
any tract of public land, up to 100
acres, which the Secretary may
classify for such disposal. Excep
tion is made with regard to land
within national parks or monu
ments, national forests, Indian
lands and military reservations.
However, with the consent of the
department or agency for whose
use or in whose interest the areas
were withdrawn or reserved, such
lands may be disposed of under
(Continued on Page Six)
Treasury Dept.
Gets 1,500 More
Tax Collectors
WASHINGTON. (/P;—Funds to
hire 1,500 new tax enforcing
workers were approved yesterday
by the House appropriations com
mittee.
The treasury had asked for 7,000,
saying they were needed to avert
the “threat of a weakening in tax
payer morale.”
1 But the committee thought
otherwise and said that to add
7,000 employees would be to ap
proach the “point of diminishing
returns” in tax collections.
(Committee records show that
the addition of 1,500 enforcement
workers would give the internal
revenue bureau about 50,000 em
ployees in all.)
At the same time, the commit
tee called for a hike in postage
rates especially those on publica-!
tions under second class permits. |
The committee’s action was in j
(Continued on Page Six)
$70,500 McDougali
Fund Given To
Nome Hospital
The Joseph Glenn McDougall
Memorial Fund was today turned
over to the Women’s Division of
Christian Service of the Board of
Missions and Church Extension of
the Methodist Church, for Nome’s
new Maynard-McDougall Hospi
tal.
In line with an agreement made
by the trustees of the fund and
he Women’s Division board mem
bers, the fund is to be used in
connection with the construction
of the new hospital in the City of
Nome.
Other agreements were to the
effect that any licensed physician
be permitted use of the hospital
facilities, and that should the so
ciety sell or cease to operate the
hospital for a five-year period,
the amount of the fund contrib
uted will be returned to the City
of Nome.
The building, now under con
struction, will be completed this
year.
i _^
Gold Buyers Are
Willing To Pay
Above Ceiling
NEW YORK. (iP)—Man again is
turning to gold as the ageless
storehouse of value.
And the value of gold in terms
of money is rising. It is pushing
through ceiling prices set by gov
ernments, and one way and an
other it is finding its way into the
hands of people.
Some of these people are en
titled to hold gold legally. But
most of the world’s gold is owned
by governments.
The greatest owner of gold ia
the United States government,
which has more than $24,000,000.
000 worth of monetary gold. Your
share of that is about $163, if it
were divided up.
Tha greatest producer of gold is
South Africa, which last year
(Continued on Page Five)
AIR FORCE BOMBER COMPLETES
AROUND-WORLD NON-STOP RUN
■* .., * — — s
FORT WORTH, 1/P) — An Air-1
force bomber today completed the
first non-stop flight around the
world.
The B-50 superfort “Lucky
Lady II,” carrying a crew of 14,
arrived over Carswell airforce
base at 7:21:0 a.m., (PST> less than
four days after it left the same
field.
It refueled four times in its his
troic eastward flight.
The plane landed at 7:30:55 a.m.
(PST).
Unofficial elapsed time for the
world-girdling trip was 94 hours,
one minute; an average speed of
238 miles per hour.
It was unofficially estimated
that the Lucky Lady II flew
23,452 statute miles from its take
off in Fort Worth around the
world non-stop and returning to
7*
Carswell airforce base. The
world-girdling bomber took off
from Carswell base at 9:21 p.m.,
(PST> Feb. 26.
It headed eastward, its first re
fueling point at the Azores Islands
about 3,000 miles away.
The next flying gas station was
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, 5,200
miles from the Azores.
The third refueling point was
above the Philippines, a 4,900
mile trip.
Longest flight between tanker
superforts which started on a
round-the-world training flight
last July. The 3 bombers from the
43rd bomb group, Tucson, Ariz.,
took off from Tucson July 22 on
the globe-girdling flight. Two of
the planes made the flight suc
cessfully.
(Continued on Page Seven)