the NOME NUGGET
_OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS_
VOL. LII. No. 52 NOME, ALASKA, FRIDAY, MAY 5, 1950 Per Copy—15c
NEWS IN BRIEF
FAIRBANKS, (/P)—-Latest word
from the sentinels at Nenana is
that the Tanana River ice was
elushy yesterday, but still un
moved.
SEWARD, (/P), Alexander Lake,
69, who died here April 27, was
given a Catholic burial yesterday.
He had no known family or rela
tives. Lake had been in the Terri
tory since 1917.
NEW YORK (JP)—William Rose
Benet, 64, Pulitzer prize-winning
poet and noted critic and editor,
collapsed on a street last night
and died a few minutes later.
Benet was stricken after at
tending a meeting of the council
of the National Institute of Arts
and Letters.
Police said death was due to
natural causes.
FAIRBANKS (A5)—Col. William
Eacies took over command of Eiel
son Air Force Base this week,
succeeding Col. John L. Nedaed,
who has been rotated to head
quarters, Continental Air Com
mand, at Mitchell Field, N. Y.
Colonel Eades came to Eielson
from Norfolk, Va., where he was
a member of the Armed Forces
College staff. His wife and two
children accompanied him.
RIO DE JANEIRO, (/P)—A bus
stalled in a heavy rainstorm
caught fire here today, burning 12
persons to death and injuring 20.
The bus was caught near the
botanical gardens by Rio’s heav
iest downpour since January,
1949. The driver tried to open the
doors when the bus caught fire
but passengers stampeded and
jammed the exit.
CORDOVA, (/P>—The unsealed
slopes of 19,000-foot King Peak
will be tested by a 71-year-old
Canadian Alpinist. The climber,
N. H. Read, arrived here yester
day with Bill Berry, pioneer guide
and trapper. They will set up a
base at McCarthy where they will
receive their supplies by air.
Read was the first man ever to
climb 19,850 foot Mt. Logan, east
of here.
McChord Air Force Base, (/P)—
The new commander of the Mc
chord Base said yesterday “It is
high time the residents of the
Northwest acquired a new confi
dence in the value of their real
estate.”
The optimistic view was taken
by Col. T. Alan Bennett, who said
the Northwest’s air defenses are
on the alert #“seven days a week
and 24 hours a day.”
FAIRBANKS, (£*)—A year’s ill
ness ended in death yesterday for
George Calerb Berg, 47, a car
penter here since 1945. He was
born in Cameron, Wis. Three sis
ters arrd two sons survive him in
Seattle.
KETCHIKAN, (/P) —The mail
boat Eureka went aground on
Round Point in Portland Canal
late Wednesday, but was proceed
(Continued on Page Seven)
.IfliJOfflt' ■
Chrysler Strike
Ends: Workers Get
i j
Pension; Pay Hike
DETROIT, (/P) — The billion
dollar-plus Chrysler strike was
stttled yesterday—an hour and a
half before it became 100 days old.
The CIO United Auto Workers
and Chrysler Corp. signed a con
j tract at 8:25 a.m. Thursday, car
rying $100 monthly pensions, in
cluding social security benefits,
for workers 65 years old with 25
I years service.
The contract also boosts wages
in some parts plants, and hikes
medical, hospital and insurance
benefits of employees. The pen
sion section runs five years, that
1 covering wages and other items
for three.
I The wages and insurance sec
; tion may be reopened once after
July 1, 1951, and once after July
i 1, 1952, by either side.
The 89,000 striking Chrysler un
! ionists will begin returning to
work Monday. Most of the fifty
thousand idled in supplier plants
will follow them, though some
supplier firms already have re
called their workers.
, Chrysler is shooting at a maxi
mum ear and truck production
within two weeks in its 25 Chrys
, ler, Dodge, De Soto and Plymouth
! plants across the country.
Local unions will vote on rati
(Continued on Page Seven'
SPECIAL MEETING OF CITY
COUNCIL AND HEALTH DEPT.
A special meeting of the Coun
j cil was held last evening with
Public Health Department heads
i Dr. R. Smith and Florence Eby in
connection with the health situa
i tion here in Nome.
Dr. Smith read a pamphlet fully
explaining the duties of the Pub- j
lie Health Nurse in Nome, a copy ;
of which was given the City Clerk
for future use of the Council.
An open discussion was held on
the serious condition of the TB. |
problem in Nome, especially the I
advanced cases known to be min
gling with the people here in pub- !
lie eating houses, theater, etc.
Dr. Smith explained that the
department has worked more
toward trying to care for the
people who were curable than
with those who were past curing.
He also stated that there were iso
lation units at Kotzebue and
Bethel.
Dr. F. Langsam stated that he
felt Nome should have an isola
tion unit and offered his services
free for the care of these people
if placed iri quonset huts or other
suitable quarters near the hospi
tal with adequate care of a nurse.
He stated that there are at least i
twelve known cases of advanced j
TB. about town and in homes!
where there are children. He also j
stated that there are 30 cases of j
TB. which should be hospitalized,
but no beds are available.
Dr. Smith stated when ques
tioned about the incline of TB.
in the Territory, that this was due
to the continuous search which
finds miny,1 hidden cases which
can be taken in hand and cured at
an early stage in the disease.
Latest TB Report I
Shows Increase
The number of known cases of
tuberculosis in Alaska increased
by 34 from January 1 to February
1 to bring the total TB victims
listed to 5,279, according to a mid
March report issued by Dr. Grace
E. Field. Dr. Field is acting direc- j
tor of the Division of Communi
cable and Preventable Disease
Control of the Alaska Department
of Health.
The report was made from in
dividual patient record cards filed
I in the ponderous TB Case Regis
; ter and showed that 3,184 of the
leases are without hospitalization.
Only 485 of the known cases are
hospitalized in Alaska’s 439 tuber
i culosis beds and in hospitals Out
side.
Another 568 patients with ar
S rested or inactive tuberculosis are
j at their homes. There are also
1,042 “suspects” registered who
are believed to be tuberculous but
in whom the disease has not been
positively idetified as yet.
Many Get Well
As of December 31, 1949, the re
port states, 63 who had been list
ed as “suspects” were removed
from the register after their cases
were diagnosed as negative. An
1 other 583 cases were closed at the
end of the vear. These included
patients who were cured, whose
cases were “arrested” and those ^
who had died.
The number of deaths due to
(Continued on Page Three>
Will Not Raise
Price Of Gold
WASHIN GTON, (/P) — The
world monetary fund’s board of
directors declared Wednes day
there is “no economic justifica
tion” for raising the price of gold
above $35 an ounce.
With that, the board rejected a
South African proposal that half
of all newly-mined gold be per
mitted to be sold in international
markets at any higher price that
could be obtained for it.
The $35 rate, which also has
been the official U. S. price for
more than 16 years, has in effect
fixed a ceiling on international
selling and buying prices for the
fund’s 47 member countries.
South Africa, as the world’s
biggest producer of gold, stood to
gain the most profit from premi
um price sales abroad if the fund
changed its position and author
ized them.
The United States, although
ranked the third biggest gold pro
ducer—Canada is rated the sec
ond—strongly opposed the South
African proposal, partly on the
ground it would amount to a sub
sidy and a form of involuntary U.
S. aid to foreign gold producers.
(Russia, which is a top ranking
gold producer itself and is be
lieved by some U. S. officials to
be second only to the U. S. in ac
cumulated holdings of gold, is
not a member of the fund. One
•iL." •*
Soviet satellite, Czechoslovakia, is
In the fund, and another, Poland,
recently quit it.)
Truman Laughs At
Stassen’s Charge of
“Worst President’"
WASHINGTON, (^—President
Truman said yesterday he doesn’t
feel the cold war is close to turn
ing into a shooting war with Rus
sia. In fact, he said, he thinks the
international situation is much
better now than it was in 1946.
Mr. Truman voiced his optim
ism for world peace at a news
conference. He spoke out after a
reporter told him Senator Tydings
(D.-Md.> had said this country is
close to a shooting war with Rus
sia.
The President said he thinks
Tydings was unduly alarmed if
he said that. He said he thinks the
situation is improving. He said he
may be an optimist in saying that,
and added that one has to be an
optimist to be President of the
United States.
Mr. Truman said that he dis
agrees with former President
Hoover on Hoover’s proposal to
reorganize the United Nations
without Russia. But, he said, he
feels Hoover is right in suggesting
that moral forces be strengthened
for world peace.
The President said the nation’s
defense budget will be smaller for
the 1951-52 fiscal year ^beginning
Julyl, 1951) and he is not alarmed
in any sense of the word. This
was in answer to a question whe
ther recently proposed increases
in the 1950-51 defense budget
were based on alarming world
conditions.
Informed of arguments that be
cause of the present deficit the
nation could no longer afford the
Marshall Plan, the President re
plied that is the old argument
which its opponents have made
ever since the plan was started.
He contended the deficit exists
because Congress refused to levy
sufficient taxes to support the
government’s need. The Marshall
Plan, he asserted, is much cheaper
than a shooting war.
He said there is nothing to
^Continued on Page Four)
Bible School
May 22 to June 2
w
Plans are progressing nicely for
the third annual Daily Vacation
Bible School which will begin
Monday following the closing of
public school and continue for
two weeks.
Departmental leaders are in pos
session of teachers’ and pupils’
workbooks and are busy planning
the presentation of lessons. Teach
ers and hand-work or recreation
al assistants for each department
are being solicited. Anyone inter
ested in helping with this project
is invited to contact your minis
ter.
Sessions will start at 9 a.m. and
close at 11:30 for younger chil
dren and at 12:00 for the older
ones. Watch for further announce
ments.
The Nome Ministerial Assoda- ]
tion is sponsoring the school.
Ill I’rtW ,||-*.M t •«< • *» yen 'Iim! Ml .
News of the \\ orld
At A Glance - - -
Friday, May 5, 1950
Washington informants said to
day an American proposal to end
the western occupation of Ger
many in 18 months will be placed
before the Big Three foreign min
isters meeting in London next
week.
Secretary of State Dean Ache
son will carry the proposal to the
foreign ministers of Britain and
France, the informants said. He
leaves for London by way of Paris
tomorrow.
The American plan, well in
formed officials said, calls for re
moval of all civil occupation ap
paratus but will leave behind
Western defense forces to hold a
front line in the cold war rather
than as occupation armies.
The plan was said to be based
on recommendations of U. S.
High Commissioner John J. Mc
Cloy. His reported theory is that
any occupation continued too long
loses its effectiveness. This view
was said to agree with a similar
opinion held by General MacAr
thur, Allied occupation chief in
Japan, that any occupation begins
to lose its value after five years,
when a growing resentment in
the subject population sets in.
The American proposal rails
for the integration of Western
Germany into the Western Euro
pean family of nations.
I . S. Sends Russia
Final Caustic Note
In Baltic Sea Case
WASHINGTON, CP) — The
United States charged Russia to
day with flouting its international
obligations in dealing with the
Baltic plane incident.
In a new note to Moscow, the
State Department declared Rus
sia had put forward an “erroneous
account” of the shooting down of
the American plane on April 8.
The note said:
“The Government of the United
States must warn the Government
of the Soviet Socialist Republics
of the seriousness with which it
regards the attitude of the Gov
ernment of the Union Soviet So
cialist Republic in matters of such
grave consequence.”
Rejecting for the second time
the Soviet claim that the missing
(Continued on Page Three)
A SAUCER - ?
The Police Department as well
as several individuals were alert
ed this morning about three-thirty
when a strange formation appear
ed in the sky from south to north,
clearly outlined by the sun.
There has been some specula
tion as to what plane could have
left a vapor trail at that time of
the morning, as no plane had been
heard—if it was a vapor trail.
It has been ascertained from
Army officials that the plane was
a weather reconnaissance plane,
and due to the atmospheric condi
tions left a perfect vapor trail.