231 NOME NUGGET
_OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS_
VOlT L. No. 24. NOME, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1948 PEK COPY — 15c
• NEWS IN BRIEF
_
WELLINGTON, N. Z„ l.TN—12
persons were killed and 40 injured
today when an express train de
railed near Blenheim, on New
Zealand’s south island.
RANGOON, Burma, (TP) — An
official announcement here today
said Burma and Russia will ex
change diplomatic representatives
Embassies will be established in
the respective capitals soon.
_-—
HIGH RIVER, Alta., (TP)—Fire
on a ranch owned by the Duke of
Windsor at Pekisko, 25 miles west
of here, killed 24 head of purebred
shorthorn cattle yesterday. The
loss was estimated at between
$15,000 and $20,000.
TOKYO, (TP) — The newspaper
Asahi says the United States soon
will get the bird from Japan—a
shipment of 10.000 Japanese ca
naries.
GETTYSBURG, Pa. </P), George
Washington White died on Wash
ington’s birthday.
White, a resident of nearby Lit
tlestown, was born 88 years ago on
Washington’s birthday.
WASHINGTON, (/P)—President
Truman Monday asked Congress
for $718,000 for the interior de
partment to cover increased con
struction costs of an Indian serv
ice sanatorium to be built at Sitka,
Alaska.
PARIS, (/P) — The independent,
newspaper L’lntransigeant say the
Russians have proposed unsuc
cessfully a meeting of President (
Truman and Prime Minister Sta
lin in Stockholm.
The newspaper’s London cor
respondent, Raymond Henry, re
ported Monday the proposal was
made by Gen. Mikhail Malinin to
U. S. Ambassador Robert D. Mur
phy in Berlin. Henry said Murphy
had rejected the suggestion.
PHILADELPHIA, (/P) — An 86
year-old blind woman, Mrs. Lou
ise Arbenz, accidentally walked
out her third floor bathroom win- j
dow Monday night and plunged to
^ the areaway below but escaped
with ankle fractures. She landed
in a snow bank.
NEW YORK {JP)—John H. Sor
rells, 52, executive editor of the
Scripps-Howard newspapers, died
of a heart ailment at his home
here early today. His wife, Ruth,
was at his bedside.
WASHINGTON OP)—The House
appropriations committee yester
day recommended a $131,015,385
deficiency supply bill giving vari-j
ous agencies more money to tide
them over the year.
Items include: Commerce de
partment, $152,000 for Arctic
coast surveys in Alaska by the
coast and geodetic survey.
INDIANAPOLIS {JP)—U. S. Dis
trict judge Luther M. Swygert
1 ruled against the international
typographical union in its effort to
block a Taft-Hartley injunction
filed against it. Judge Swygert de
. nied the union’s motion to dismiss
the petition for dT» injunction filed
(lommunists (Jain
i
Absolute PoVer
In Czechoslo va k i a
(By A. I. Goldberg)
PRAGUE, (/P)—The government
radio announced President Eduard
Bones bowed today before Com
munist demands, indicating re
moval of the last obstacle to iron
Communist control of all Czecho
slovakia.
The new cabinet includes Social
Democrats, who swung % back to
communist support this week after
several months of estrangement.
Other parties also are represented.
Growing demonstrations
brought the city to its highest pitch
thus far in the crisis, with the
threat of a Communist-led general
strike to enforce the demands in
creasing hourly. Soldiers armed
with submachine guns joined po
lice patrolling the capital as
crowds jammed the public square.
The radio, now in Communist
hands, said the president had ac
cepted the resignations of 12 anti
communist ministers from the
coalition cabinet. This would clear
the way for the Communist seizure
of complete power.
The president’s office declined
to make any statement immediate
ly but did not deny the report.
Communist Premier Klement
Gottwald went to the presidential
palace to present a list of minis
ters for a new cabinet. The radio
said an announcement of a new
government was expected momen
tarily.
The communists clamped a grip
(Continued on Page Four)
Marshall Plan
Could Lead To
Bad Depression
(By Douglas B. Cornell)
WASHINGTON, (/P)—Steel man
Ernest T. Weir said today ‘the
Marshall plan might lead to a de
pression here more serious than
any threat of “collapse and com-1
munism” in Europe.
Yet, the chairman of the na-;
tional steel corporation contended,
the administration is using “a tre
mendous propaganda campaign”
to try to win quick approval for
its multi-billion dollar European
recovery program.
Weir outlined his views in a
statement prepared for House for
eign affairs commmittee hearings
on the plan.
“To those who are alarmed by
the prospect of on expansion of
Russian communism,” Weir de-!
dared, “I say that a serious de
pression in the United States is
the greatest thing to fear.”
And one is sure to come, he said,
if huge sums “wasted through in-1
efficient spending abroad” are
piled onto the “fantastic cost of
government at home."
Weir said he was not making
the point that all aid should be de
nied Europe.
by the office of Robert N. Den-!
Ijam. general counsel of the Na
tional Labor Relations Board.
The judge announced he would
hold a hearing March 3 on the in
junction petition.
Pilotless Plane;
Takes AWOL from
Loeal Air Base
i
Many pedestrians casually ob
served a small plane late Monday
afternoon which circled and bank
ed over Nome in perfect spirals
for about half an hour and grad
ually went farther and farther
away, toward the setting sun.
Few of them knew that the
plane was an Aeronica Champion,
a student i training plane, flying
around without a pilot—having
left the local airport while student
Sgt. Baker was warming it up pre
paratory to taking it up.
The owner of the plane, Cyril
Seeds, when notified of the antics
of his plane immediately took off
with Bill Munz, hoping to shoot
the plane down before it did any
damage. They followed the plane
in the direction of St. Lawrence
Island for about 50 miles, until
dark but were unable to bring it
down. Cyril Seeds stated that it
still had about an hour of gas left
at that time.
As the ice is pretty solid along
the route of the plane, and also be
cause it was circling he expects to
find it on the ice.
An attempt was made to look
for it yesterday but the fog made it
impossible to see anything.
f
“Truman Hasn't A
Chance"—Pravda
MOSCOW (VP)—A Tass dispatch
in Pravda today said leaders of
the Democratic party in the United
States now are convinced Presi
dent Truman hasn’t a chance of
being re-elected. It said these
leaders are searching for another
candidate in desperation.
The article said Henry. A. Wal
lace is receiving support in large
key states such as California, I
Michigan, Illinois and New York.
Partition Plan May
Be Repealed
LAKE SUCCESS, (/p)—Delay in
partitioning Palestine and perhaps
even repeal of the whole scheme
appeared possible today in the
light of security council develop-!
ments.
Colombia asked the United Na
tions to consider a special session 1
of the general assembly to recon
sider the splitup plan. The United
States asked for a Big Five com
mittee of study and conciliation.
With this background, the coun
cil returned to debate on the deli
cate issue.
The biggest question remaining
is: “What will Russia say?”
Well-informed sources said del
egate Andrei A. Gromyko prompt
ly dispatched the text of the;
American speech to the Kremlin.1
Moscow’s version of what to do
about Palestine thus was expected
to include some comment, perhaps
sharp, on the American stand.
The U. S. and Russia, in a rare
instance of co-operation, joined
last Nov. 29 to support partition
in the general assembly. The plan
calls for Jewish and Arab coun
tries to be created next Oct. 1.
Snow-Fog Mav
Have Caused Para
troopers Deaths
SEATTLE, (/P> — Three para
troopers who leaped to their death
Dec. :17 in going to the aid of six
B-L'9 crash survivors north of
Nome, Alaska, probably lost their
lives because of an Arctic phe
nomena—an almost impenetrable
snow-fog.
This theory was advanced yes
terday by Frank Whaley, famed
Nome bush pilot who braved bit
ing winds and sub-zero weather to
help fly the six airmen to safety.
Whaley and William Munz. an
other Nome flier, shuttled the 95
miles between Nome and the
crash scene for three days before
they succeeded in bringing out the
marooned superfortress crewmen.
“A queer condition prevailed
which we bush pilots know, in
which the ceiling is unlimited but
visibility is zero,” Whaley said
from his hospital bed where he is
being treated for a neck stiffness
caused by exposure to cold winds
during open-window rescue
flights.
“Storm gusts pick up powdery
surface snow so that if you are on
the ground a man and dog team
can pass you a few feet away and
all you can see is the man’s head
and shoulders moving along like
a ghost. Sometimes the snow-fog
reaches as high as 200 feet.”
Whaley theorized that the haze
of surface snow prevented the
three Ladd Field paratroopers
from reaching the B-29 wreckage.
Their bodies were found several
days later only a few hundred
yards from the site.
The veteran Alaska flier said
(Continued on Page Seven"*
Wallace Says
Marshall Plan Will
Cause War III
(By Reiman Morin)
WASHINGTON, (/P)—Henry A.
Wallace told an attentive House
foreign affairs committee yester
day the Marshall plan for Euro
pean recovery would “take the na
tion down the road to world war
III.”
The third party Presidential
candidate said that “Wall Street
monopolists" have transformed it
into an instrument for enslaving
Europe.
It was the first time Wallace,
who used to preside over the Sen
ate as vice president, has made a
formal appearance at the Capitol
since 1946. In the fall of that year
President Truman ousted Wallace
from his cabinet because of differ
ences over foreign policy.
The House group is studying the
Marshall plan.
Just before Wallace got going
chairman Eaton (R.-N. J.> said he
wanted it “distinctly understood” |
the committee of both Republicans
and Democrats is bipartisan in.
foreign affairs.
A smile on his lips but a stern
note in his voice, the chairman
added:
“We are not in support of Mr.1
Wallace’s or any other candidacy
for the President at this time."
Planning Surprise
Attack On
Pear! Harbor
QUINCY, Mass., f/P)—Lt. Gov.
Arthur W. Coolidge says a foreign
power is "launching a new sur
prise attack on Pearl Harbor"
through activities cf Communist
agents in Hawaii.
Speaking at a National Brother
hood meeting last night, the Mas
sachusetts Republican executive
said:
If Inis attack is successful, it
will be fully as harmful to our na
tional security as was the sneak
blow delivered by Japanese
bombs."
Coolidge said his information
came from Gov. Ingram M. Stain
back of Hawaii who reported the
Communist agents were acting on
"secret orders of a foreign govern
ment."
Coolidge did not name the for
eign power directly but referred
later to the hammer and sickle.
The lieutenant governor said the
Hawaiian leader sent him a pho
rtat copy of the "secret order."
"All the way through the docu
ment," he added, "the centra]
theme is attack, attack, attack."
Steel Price Boost
Being Investigated
(By Sterling F. Green)
WASHINGTOS, (/Pi — Official
criticism of the steel price boost
mounted today as the government
hunted for signs of a new infla
tionary spiral.
President Truman’s order
which sent FBI agents digging
into steel industry records for evi
dence of possible anti-trust law
violations, won quick approval of
Republican and Democratic lead
ers alike.
Senator Taft <R.-Ohio» told re
porters he was “glad to see’’ the
administration taking steps to de
termine whether the law was vio
lated. Taft is chairman of the Sen
ate-House economic commltt e e
which has summoned three steel
industry leaders to a hearing
March 2.
Senator Barkley <Ky.\ the Dem
ocratic leader, said: “Everybody is
wondering why the terrific price
increase was made. The people
are entitled to know whether it
was justified.”
And the Republican governor of
a leading steel state, James H.
Duff of Pennsylvania, said the
price hike showed a “shocking
disregard for the national wel
fare.”
Mr. Truman’s call for a full
scale investigation went to three
agencies—the justice and com
merce departments and the coun
cil of economic advisors.
WATCHER WATCHED
TAMPA, Fla. </P)—T. J. Young
love bundled himself in a blanket,
armed himself with a shotgun and
kept a week-long vigil for chicken
thieves.
Then, one night some dogs
started running his Jersey year
lings. While he was after the dogs,
somebody slipped into his chicken
house and stoic 15 pullets.