m NOME NUGGET
_OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS_
VOL. LII. No. 60 NOME, ALASKA. MONDAY. MAY 22, 1950 Per Copy—15c ;
NEWS IN BRIEF
KETCHIKAN, (/P)—A coroner’s
jury found Friday that Pete Iver
son, 46-year-old former Seattle
resident, died from causes un
known.
Iverson’s body was found float
ing in Ketchikan harbor Thursday.
He was a member of the crew of
the Seattle halibut boat Columbia.
WASHINGTON. (/P) — The
switchmen’s union will start new
wage-hour talks with 10 western
railroads Tuesday—instead of go
ing on strike that day, as original
ly scheduled.
The walkout was postponed Fri
day—until June 1—by union pres
ident Arthur J. Glover, after the
National (railway) medi a t i o n
board promised to begin new
peace talks here this week in a
last-ditch effort to break the
deadlock.
The dispute affects some 6,000
switchmen in vital yard service
on lines operating west of Chicago.
None of these lines was involved
in the fiermen’s strike which end
ed a week ago.
WASHINGTON, (/P), The Demo
crats are still the kings of the
Congressional baseball world.
Friday night the Democrats
breezed by the Republicans, 8-4,
for their third straight victory in
this annual contest.
The game, sponsored by the
Washington Evening Star, raised
money fo ra summer camp for un
derprivileged children.
SEATTLE, UP) — The Alaska
Steamship Company said Satur
day it will accept perishable
freight for upper Yukon river
points between Nenana and Fort
Yukon for transportation on the
steamer Baranof, scheduled to sail
May 27.
A company statement said:
“It is important that all ship
pers make special note of this sail
ing, since it will not be until the
latter part of August that the next
Alaska Railroad boat sails up riv
er from Nenana, advice received
today from the railroad headquar
ters at Anchorage indicates.”
i
—
SEATTLE, (/P)—Aubin R. Bar
thold is moved up to the presi
dency of the Alaska Packers Asso
ciation, succeeding A. K. Tiche
nor, resigned, as the result of elec
tion by the directors after the
stockholders annual meeting held
at San Francisco.
Tichenor will continue to serve
on the board with all other direc
tors, also re-elected, and D. T.
Saxby, a new member.
SEATTLE, (/P) — The steamer
Aleutian, flagship of the Alaska
Steamship company, sailed on its
first voyage of the season Sunday,
Captain Carl Nilsen in command,
with 150 passengers for Alaska.
Among the passengers making
this initial Aleutian trip is a Seat
tle Chamber of Commerce party
led by President Thomas Pelly.
Special meetings will be held
by this party in Ketchikan, Jun
eau, Anchorage, Fairbanks, Sew
ard, Valdez, Cordova and Peters
(Contlnued on Page Two)
Electricians’ Strike
Cuts Most Of
Fairbanks’ Power
FAIRBANKS, UP) -Two-thirds
of Fairbanks’ regular power sup
ply was cut off at 8 a.m., yester
day when 24 AFL powerhouse
electricians joined 240 fellow un
ion members on strike.
No serious effects were felt im
mediately. Residents cooperated in
voluntary rationing of electricity
and some emergency power was
obtained from auxiliary sources.
The walkout was at the power
plant of the Fairbanks Explora
tion department of the U. S. S.
R. & M. Co., which furnishes about
65 per cent of the city’s electric
energy.
The company’s other members
of the AFL International Brother
hood of Elecrical Workers left
their dredging and mining jobs
six days ago after contract nego
tiations were stalemated. Princi
pal issue in the IBEW’s demand
for a union shop.
Neither side has budged since
then, and union spokesmen said
the strike will continue until the
company agrees to the union shop
clause.
The union’s only concession was
a temporary agreement to keep
the power plane operating during
the strike. This was cancelled late
last week and the walkout was or
dered for yesterday.
Meanwhile, city att o r n e y s
checked on the legal aspects of
seeking a court injunction! against
the union on grounds that a power
shortage create a menace to pub
lic health through curtailed use of
water, sewage and refrigeration
facilities. A report was to be made i
to the city council today.
Before the strike spread to the
powerhouse, a run on gasoline
burners and camp stoves cleaned
out stocks in local stores.
.
I
Armed Forces Day
Speakers Urge j
Preparedness
(By The Associated Press)
The American people were told
Saturday that preparedness to the
point of sacrifice is their best in
surance against possible Russian
aggression.
A call for mobilization of
strength and resources sounded in
major cities across the nation
where key defense officials spoke
in observance of the first Armed
Forces Day.
President Truman and Secre
tary of Defense Johnson led those
who urged preparedness by call
ing Friday night for extension of
the draft law.
Speaking extemporaneously at
an Armed Forces dinner in Wash
ington, Mr. Truman advocated a
universal military program for
the welfare and defense of the na
tion.
He said there never would have
been a cold war is Congress had
voted a draft law in 1945 when he
asked for it, instead of waiting
three years.
Appearing with the President,
(Continued on Page Six)
600 Tons Ammimi-1
tion Explodes;
Kills 26 In N. J.
SOUTH AMBOY, N. J., (fP)—A
thunderous ammunition explosion
that ripped this waterfront city
and was heard in three states left
possibly 26 persons dead and at
least 312 injured Saturday.
The big blast of 600 tons of am
munition being loaded on barges
shook the earth at 6:25 p.m. Fri
day night.
Mayor Lohn Leonard of this 10,
000 population city 21 miles south
west of New York said every
house in South Amboy was dam
aged by the shattering blast. It
appeared to have snowed glass in
the streets of the city.
The number of injured was an
nounced by the American Red
Cross. Ten were in critical condi
tion.
Four bodies lay in an improvis- :
ed morgue, two identified. One of
the identified was listed as among
those loading ammunition. There
were two others still unaccount- '
ed for.
Among those listed as missing
were three sons of the president
of the firm which was loading the
barges, the James Healing Co.,
stevedores.
In New York the Isbrandtsen
Line said ammunition in South
Amboy was destined for one of
its vessels, the Flying Clipper. But
a spokesman said it was not j
known if that was the ammuni- ;
tion which exploded.
Defense officials in Washington j
said they believed it was probably )
part of a commercial shipment.
Speculation that the shipment
might have been bound for Pak- ,
istan was not confirmed at the
(Continued on Page Threet
Truman Flays
Soviet’s Boycott
Of United Nations
(By John M. Hightower)
WASHINGTON, (JP)—.President |
Truman today assailed Russia’s
boycott of the United Nations over 1
the Chinese communist issue as a
“willful flouting” of the U. N.
charter.
He told Congress the world or
ganization is sensibly carrying on
“business as usual.”
The chief executive attacked
the Russian refusal to attend U.
N. sessions with Chinese National
ist delegates, in a report to Con
gress in which he also said that
the year 1949 produced a tighten
ing of the east-west conflict.
After reviewing numerous spe
cific issues on which he said the
Soviets blocked constructive ac
tion in the U. N. last year, Mr.
Truman declared:
“The year ended with a deepen
ing of the tension which has mark
ed international relations through
out the postwar period.”
He said this was true for many
reasons—which still hold good in
the middle of 1950. Among them
he listed failure to agree on an
atomic control plan, failure to
(Continued on Page Two)
Phosphorus Fire
Adds To Horror
Ai South Amboy
*
SOUTH AMBOY, f/P) — Blast
torn South Amboy returned to
business-as-usual today, but army
officials said it would be three to
four days before the danger of
live shells is removed.
Demolition squads combed the
waterfront area and the mile
square city for shells and fuses
which were scattered everywhere !
in Friday night’s blast disaster
Lt. Hugh Casey, in charge of
the demolition team, warned that
there would be more blasts as
mines are detonated during the
next few days.
He said more than 3,000 mines
already had been picked up amid
the wreckage of the week-end dis
sater that took 27 lives.
School children, meanwhile,
were on a holiday, their class
rooms damaged beyond immedi
ate repair.
Officials said there would be no
more classes for thq remainder of
(Continued on Page Two)
Wage And Hour
Law (Changes
Affects Overtime
9
Recent changes in the Fair La
bor Standards Act (Federal wage
and hour law* directly affect
many industries in the Second Di
vision, by reason of the extension
of coverage, it was pointed out
here today by Leonard E. Evans,
of Juneau, Territorial representa
tive of the Wage and Hour and
Public Contracts Divisions, U. 3.
Department of Labor.
“The original Act gave mini
mum wage and overtime pay pro
tection to employees engaged in
handling outgoing foreign com
merce,” Evans said. “The amend
ments extend such coverage to ;
workers engaged in handling in
coming foreign commerce, so that ]
now both incoming and outgoing
foreign commerce is covered.
“This change means that em
ployees engaged in hand ling
goods received from any country
or from the States must be paid
at least 75 cents an hour and at
least time and one-half for all
hours they work over 40 in any
work week.
“Another important change in
coverage is the extension of min
imum wage benefits to employees
engaged in canning fish and em
ployees of air carriers. This cov
erage is established by the amend
ments for the first time.
“Child labor sections of the Act
were amended to directly pro
hibit the employment of under- ,
age children in . interstate com- |
merce or in the production of
goods for interstate commerce.
The original Act contained only a
ban on shipment in interstate
of goods produced in an establish
ment where oppressive child la
bor had been used within a spe
cified time of such shipment.
“The record keeping regula
tions issued under the Act require
certain time and payroll data must
(Continued on Page Three)
i » ,
f
News of the \\ oriel
At A Glance - - -
Saturday, May 20, 1950
(By The Associated Press)
Diplomatic observers in London
said today France is challenging
Britain’s historic leadership in
Europe with a dynamic new pol
icy pulling the West together po
litically and- economically.
A concrete example of the new
French policy is the gold plan an
nounced by foreign minister Rob
ert Cchuman of pooling French
and German heavy industries.
This surprise package was de- i
livered on the eve of the Big
Three foreign ministers and for
the past two weeks France has
been making her new policy more
and more clear. She is attempting
to line up Western Europe, with
or without Britain, into a power
ful “third force.”
President Truman this week
strongly supported the French
plan to pool her coal and steel re
sources with her traditional ene
my, Germany. American officials
long have bee nattempting to prod
Europe into some kind of politi
cal and economic union.
Now, observers say, France is
throwing herself wholeheartedly
into the role as leader, calling for
action not words to rebuild Eu
rope.
Observers said Schuman at the
Big Three talks and the subse
quent 12-nation Atlantic Council
meeting played down talk of the
cold war. He asked that reference
to it be omitted in communiques.
He wants to rally Europe around
a more constructive note.
A French spokesman said the
revampel French policy is not
anti-American. He put it this way:
“The United States is very much
under the pressure of cold war
ideas. . . . But the nations of Eu
rope are at present looking at
things from a slightly different
angle than the United States.
They are deeply concerned with
their future ability to stand on
their own feet.”
Leaders of Britain’s Labor par
ty went into a secret huddle at
Dorking to map plans for the next
general election. Because of the
shaky majority Labor received in
the Feb. 23 election, it is general
ly expected the election will come
this fall.
Monday, May 22. 1950
Peru launched an airlift today
to speed emergency aid to the an
cient Andes city of Cuzso, struck
by an earthquake which killed al
least 50 persons and laid waste
that onec-thriving seat of Inca
civilization. More than 175 were
injured.
The 12-second quake hit in mid
day Sunday, causing terror among
the 45,000 residents of the city
which lies 340 miles southeast 01
Lima. Many knelt in prayer be
fore a statue of Christ in Cuzco’s
main plaza. Centuries-old stone
buildings crashed to the ground
An exact count of the casualties
awaits search by rescue parties
through the ruins.
The Peru disaster was one o:
several abroad. In London a freak
tornado twisted through three
(Continued on Page Two)