m NOME NUGGET
__OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS_
VOLj LI. No. 20 NOME, ALASKA, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1949 Per Copy—15c
NEWS IN BRIEF
. . - - I
MOSCOW, (/Pi — The Russians
now have a ball point pen. An an
nounce ment said the Sacco and
Vanzetti pencil factory already
had started production.
OTTAWA, </P)—They were slic
ing things fine when they figured
out the cost of building destroyers
in Canada.
H.M.C.S. Athabaskan, according
to a return tabled in the House
of Commons today, cost $7,647,
550.01.
That one cent at the end repre
sented the ship’s advance in cost
over a sister ship, Cayuga.
ANCHORAGE, (/P)—Accused of
slaying Bertha Sickles, two air
force sergeants appeared for a
preliminary hearing yesterday in
the U. S. commissioner’s cou.t
Lester Armagost, Brookville,
Pa., and Thomas M. Bashline, Fort
Allegheny, Pa., are charged with
fatally beating the native woman
earlier this month.
W A S H I N GTON, (/P) — The
House agriculture comm i 11 e e
unanimously approved yesterday
$44,000,000 in loan funds for farm
ers in the blizzard-battered areas
of the west and southwest.
Chairman Cooley (D.-N. C.) an
nounced he will ask immediate
passage by the House.
The bill, by Rep. Granger <D.
LTtah) make a revolving fund of
the regional egricultural credit
corporation available for loans.
< - ■—
SPOKANE, (/P) — The Rev.
Caryl Benson was rushing church
belongings out of the burning Sa
y lem Lutheran church when the
phone rang.
He put down the load he was
carrying. He returned to the
phone. He said politely:
“Could you call back, please?
Our church is on fire.”
SEATTLE, OP)—Alaska Steam
ship company announced today
the Coastal Monarch will take a
special army cargo to Whittier,
starting to load in Bellingham to
day, and scheduled to sail from
Seattle the 25th or 26th. Capt.
Henry Bums is master.
BUENOS AIRES, </P) — The
American embassy said today that
eight persons are believed to have
perished in the crash of a U. S.
army C-47 plane near Salta, Ar
gentina, south of the Bolivian bor
der.
• - - - - . \
, WASHINGTON, (/P)—The Sen
ate confirmed yesterday the nom
inations of these United States at
torneys:
Frank C. Bingham for Division
No. 2 of the District of Alaska.
Harry O. Arend for Division
No. 4, Alaska. • ‘ —
They have been serving under
previous appointments.
ANCHORAGE, (A3) — His head
covered by a heavy parka and
with a nearby machine shop mak
ing a lot of noise, Columbus Jones,
f 42-year-old Negro Alaska Railroad
switchman, did not hear a back
ing locomotive at the freight ter
minal yards yesterday.
He was killed almost instantly.
LIFTING THE LID
AT JUNEAU
Thursday. February 17. 1949
JUNEAU, (TP)—In its first night
session, the Territorial House of
Repreesntatives passed five bills,
topped by proposals for tobacco
taxes and revision of municipal
election systems.
Earlier, the Senate sent to Gov
ernor Gruening a measure to
quadruple fishtrap taxes. The vote
was 9-7 after several hours of oft
heated debate.
The tobacco measure would im
post a tax of three cents on the
standard pack of cigarettes and
proportionate taxes on all other
forms of tobacco.
The House earmarked receipts
for building and repairing schools.
Democrat Warren A. Taylor, w.T)
sponsorde the measure, estimated
i it would produce about one mil
(Continued on Page Five>
Floods, Slides,
And High Winds
Plague Northwest
(By The Associated Press)
A savage February storm flood
ed parts of Washington’s lowlands
yesterday and piled new slides on
| old in the mountains, tightening
I the chokehold on cross-state road
and rail travel.
The weather bureau forecast,
however, was for a slackening of
wind and rain and a drop in tem
peratures.
Mrs. Ray Brown,, 39, Port An
geles, was killed when a rain
loosened slide bowled into the
family home.
The little town of Connell, 35
miles northwest of Pasco was par
tially engulfed in flood waters
from rapidly melting snow Wed
nesday night. Three to four feet
of water covered the Pasco-Ritz
(Continued on Page Five)
Alaska Fishing
Prospects ‘Gloomy’
SEATTLE, </P)—Alaska fishing
prospects look gloomy this year, to
a trade bulletin by McGovern,
Seattle fish brokers reports. It
said:
“The outlook for Alaska is very
dismal due to impending tax mea
sures being prepared by the Terri
torial legislature, and the fishing
restrictions imposed by the fish
and wildlife service.
“Based on present information,
trap license fees, trap fish taxes,
per case taxes, boat taxes and in
come taxes will add about two
dollars per case to the cost of pro
duction.
“The income tax bill has al
ready passed—and the other bills
are in the hopper with assurance
of passage. With the cost of tin
plate up, and labor and fish prices
still to be reckoned with, many
packers seem ready to call the
whole thnng off.”
Railroad officials said they plan
ned a full investigation.
His next of kin was listed as
Mrs. Maple Harris, Sacramento,
Calif. _
BULLETINS
JUNEAU, (.^P) — The general
property tax bill passed the Sen
ate this morning 12 to 4. The mea
sure to impose the first Territory
wide property tax of ten mills
now goes back to the House for
consideration of Senate amend
ments, but passage virtually as
sures the tax becoming law this
session.
The only votes against the bill
were four Republicans: Dawes,
Garnick of Juneau and Jones and
Munj of Nome.
Taxes levied under the general
property tax measure on property
within incorporated cities or towns
independent school districts or in
corporated school districts, will be
assessed, collected and enforced
in the manner prescribed by the
property tax law of the munici
pality or district. All of the tax
levied under this act which is so
collected shall be turned back in
full to the municipality or school
(Continued on Page Four)
Internation’1 News
At A Glance —
(Thursday, February 17, 1949)
(By The Associated Press'*
The new-born State of Israel in
augurated its first president to
day.
Dr. Chaim Weizmann, 74-year
old Jewish elder statesman, who
has served as provisional head of
the infant state since its incep
tion last May, formally took office
in Jerusalem.
His right hand raised, the head
of the first Jewish State in 2,000
years solemnly swore allegiance to
Israel.
Thousands of spectators cheer
ed as Dr. Witzmann drove through
the streets of the Holy City to the
ceremonial session of the assem
bly.
Ceremonies took place in the
shadow of the old walled city, still
held by the Arab Legion as an af
termath of the fierce fighting that
accompanied the birth pains of the
new nation.
At Munich, Germany, the U. S.
army, partially lifting a heavy
veil of secrecy from a spy trial,
today publicly sentenced Fronti
sek Klecka, 31-year-old waiter on
the Orient Express, to 20 years at
hard labor.
The eight-man U. S. - military
commission ordered by Gen. Lu
cius D. Clay to relax its secrecy,
made known the name of the first
defendant and invited the press
to hear the verdict—but it did not
reveal the specific charge against
Klecka.
Neither would it disclose any
details of the testimony taken in
the past two days behind locked
doors. The proceedings concern a
Czechoslovak spy ring case.
Bulgaria has set Feb. 25 as the
date for the trial of 15 Protestant
leaders on charges of treason, spy
ing and illegal exchange dealings.
The indictment of the 15, mem
bers of the United Evangelical
Church, was announced a week j
ago, just after the trial in Hun-,
(Continued on Page Three)
‘Pact* Nations Seek
U. S. Proteetion
(By John M. Hightower)
WASHINGTON, (JP) — Western
European nations were reported
still hopeful yesterday of obtain
ing American agreement to
open promise of military support
in the proposed North Atlantic Se
curity treaty.
Diplomatic informants predict
ed that when the Europeans next
meet with secretary of state Ache
son they will again press on to
point.
They are expected to urge on
Acheson some reference at lejst
to the possibility of military ac
tion by all of the members of the
security organization in event of
ar. attack.
It is understood that, provided
the “military” reference was suo
ordinate to other kinds of action
along diplomatic and political
lines, Senator Vandenberg <R.
Mich.) would have no personal ob
jection to the wording.
Vandenberg’s concern is report
ed to be with the idea that the
treaty should conform strictly to
the spirit of the United Nations
charter in which military action is
listed as the last of many steps to
be taken in stopping or prevent
ing an aggression.
Supplies Flown To
Needy Hooper Bay
.
ANCHORAGE, (/P> — A Jato
equipped C-47 plane of the 10th
Rescue squadron is scheduled to
leave Elmendorf Field today with
4,450 pounds of emergency food
for villagers at Hooper Bay on the
Bering Sea coast.
The Alaska native service re
ceived the request from the coop
erative store there, saying the 290
villagers were short on staples.
The A.N.S. bought the food from
the army and the Alaskan Air
Command volunteered to fly it to
the village.
Freezing rain conditions at
Hooper Bay kept the plane from
making the trip yesterday after
noon.
The plane will carry 20 cases of
milk, 40 bags of flour, 10 sacks of
sugar, 10 cases of coffee and 50
pounds of tea.
The ski-equipped plane plans to
land on a frozen lagoon if condi
tions permit, otherwise it will
make a parachute drop from low
alittude.
The villagers did not have suf
ficient money to order enough sta
ples last spring in order fdr it to
be placed aboard ship. Now the
villagers have the money, the food
must be flown to them, an official
explained.
He said the villagers were not
in any danger but the food was
being sent to supplement the na
tive diet.
CORRECTION
Accidentally the notice of the
Municipal and School Election,
carried the date April 15, 1949.
The date should read April 5,
1949, and has been so corrected.
Nome Bests Kodiak
Palmer Team
Beats Fairbanks;
ANCHORAGE. f/P> — Palmer
high school upset the defending
champion Fairbanks five 34-31
Wednesday in the opening Class
A game of the double-elimination
"Fur Rendezvous” basketball
tournament.
I n‘he other Class A game, An
chorage trounced Seward, 63-35.
Kodiak finished strong to gain a
31-17 victory over Cordova in the
only Class 13 game.
The other “13” game was post
poned when the Wsailla team
failed to arrive because of snow
blocked roads.
Yesterday’s schedule: Fairbanks
vs. Seward and Anchorage vs. Pal
mer. In Class B action Kodiak was
to meet the winner of the Nome
Wasilla game.
During the regular season, Fair
banks beat Palmer three times
and Seward defeated Anchorage
twice.
ANCHORAGE, (£>)—Anchorage
high school moved into the final
round of the Class A division of
the double-elimination "Fur Ren
dezvous” basketball tournament,
beating Palmer, 41-27, yesterday.
Fairbanks dropped out of the
tourney by losing a 41-36 decision
to Seward. Palmer and Seward
meet tomorrow for the right to
play Anchorage.
Nome moved into the finals in
the Class B bracket by edging Ko
diak, 31-29. Kodiak will meet Cor
dova for the other final berth.
Wasilla, snow-halted for the sec
ond straight day, failed to appear.
Tension Rises As
Soviet Police
“•Murder” German
(By Thomas A. Reedy)
BERLIN, (/P)—Soviet-controlled
German police killed another Ger
man while tightening their block
ade within a blockade, and the in
cident heightened tension today
between communists and their
foes, who charged the shooting
was “murder.”
Sporadic fist fights were re
ported on subway and elevated
trains between German passen
gers and communist-controlled
police, who sought to search and
seize thei» belongings.
A German man and a 14-year
old girl, innocent bystanders,
were wounded in another sector
border incident.
Meanwhile, rumors of a new
Soviet zone currency reform sent
the Russian-sponsored eastern
mark tumbling on German money
markets, despite Russian denial
that any change is impending.
Against this background, the
Western German constit ution
committee advised Gen. Lucius D.
Clay, the American military gov
ernor, that it has completed draft
ing a basic law to serye for a
democratically-governed Germany
of the future.
Clay said tlie target date of May
1 for establishment of the West
German government “now looks
nrettv good.”