™E NOME
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS ; {
VOL. LIV No. 22 NOME, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1952 • Per Copy—15^
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Sliishmaref Eskimos Organize
First “Ike For President” Club
The first outstanding political^
move in Northern Alaska comes
from Shishmaref,' Alaska, where
for the first time in the history
of Alaska, Eskimo citizens of the
United States (citizenship granted
to all Eskimos, Aleuts and Indians
and Alaska by Calvin Coolidge,
Republican President) and native
born residents of Arctic Alaska,
even though they cannot vote for
President, have organized an
“Ike For President” club.
Their earnest desire is that Ike
be nominated for President at the
Republican convention to be held
in Chicago in July this year.
Shishmaref is an Eskimo vil
lage located on the shores of the
Arctic Ocean only 125 miles from
Russian Siberia. Eskimos and all
other Alaskans can only express
themselves in this manner, sug
gesting to those Alaskans who be
come Republican delegates to the
Republican convention that they
►
vote o for Ike. Shishmaref Es
kimos urge all their fellow Es
kimos and suggest to all Alaskan
voters that they organize “Ike For
President” clubs in their own
villages.
This isolated Eskimo group
which listens to the radio regular
ly, believes that Ike as President
will be of great help and benefit
to all Alaska, should the present
Democratic - controlled Congress
fail to keep its party pledge in
granting statehood to Alaska.
It is their belief that Ike will
urge legislation by Congress to
grant Alaskans the right to elect
their own governor and other
now-appointive officials and that
they will be permitted to write
their own constitution as well as
settle Indian rights claims.
Ike is an honorary member of
Igloo No. 1, Pioneers of Alaska,
(Continued on Page Three)
Predicts Alaska Coal
Production Will Be
Trebled In Couple Years
WASHINGTON, {IP) — Alaskan
coal production probably will be
trebled within the next couple of
years, says a Bureau of Mines
spokesman.
The prediction was made by J.
J. FoTbes, bureau director, in urg
ing a House Appropriations sub
committee to approve $15,000 to
build a coal-testing laboratory in
the territory.
“Due to our military work in
Alaska.” Forbes said, “there is
increased production and a great
er demand for coal analysis. . . I
understand that within the next
couple of years the production of
coal in Alaska will probably be
sharply upward, in the neighbor
hood of three times what it is at
the present time.”
No hint was given as to the
possible location of the Alaska
laboratory, if approved.
19-Year-Old Housewife •
Wins Two Firsts For U.S.
In Olympic Ski Games
OSLO, (/P)—Mrs. Andrea Mead
Lawrence, 19-year-old skiing wiz
ard from Ruland, Vt., completed
an Olympic double today by win
ning the women’s slalom ski race
with an amazing second run after
taking a tumble on her first de
scent.
The flying housewife was
clocked in 1:03.4—fastest of the
day—for her second trip down the
difficult 508 - yard Rodkleiva
course which drops 196 yards
from its summit and winds
k » through 49 sharply angled control
gates.
Mrs. Lawrence won the first
god medal for Uncle Sam by cap
turing #the giant slalom race on
opening day.
Reds Insist Russia Be
Included On Neutral
Supervisory Team
MUNSAN, Korea, (/P) — Com
munist insistence that Russia be
invited as a neutral nation to help
supervise a Korean truce stalled
armistice talks today.
The Allies offered “in the in
terest of progress” to pare their
troop rotation figure from 40,000
monthly to 35,000. But the Reds
would not even talk about it.
The United Nations Command
already has approved Poland and
Czechoslovakia.
U.N. delegates refused to in
dulge in a debate on the neutral
ity of Russia in the Korean con
flict despite repeated Red hints
they would like such an argu
ment.
The Allies said simply that
Russia, as sponsor of Red Korea
and Communist China was not
“acceptable” as a neutral super
visor.
DROPPED CIGARET
CAUSES DEATH OF
10-WEEK-OLD BABY
KODIAK, Alaska, (JP)—A fath
er’s dropped cigaret caused the
death Sunday night of his 10
week-old baby, left in bis care
while his wife and son attended
the movies.
Police said the father, Bill J.
Weist, was lying alongside the
baby smoking in bed when he
apparently dozed off and his cig
aret slipped from his fingers.
When Mrs. Weist returned she
found their home filled with
smoke from the smouldering mat
tress and her baby dead of as
phyxiation.
Her screams brought neighbors,
who pulled Weist unconscious
from the bedroom.
Senate Leader
Looks For Early
Vote On Statehood
ANCHORAGE, {/P)—The valid
ity of Alaska first Property Tax
LaW—a one per cent levy on real
and personal property—has been
upheld by Judge George W. Folfca
in an opinion filed in First Dis
trict Court.
The law, passed by the 1949
legislature, had been attacked by
Luther Hess, Fairbanks, and the
Alaska-Juneau Gold Mining Com
pany as intervening plaintiff.
Hess and the gold mining com
pany attacked the statute as lack
ing in uniformity and quality
and claimed the measure was
ambiguous in its provisions for
the valuation of mining claims.
The Juneau judge said in his
opinion that it was inevitable that
certain differences would result
in requirements of the bill but
they were not such as would re
sult in a lack of uniformity or
quality.
The act provides for a board of
equalization for each territorial
division but does not provide for
a territorial board of equalization
to equalize assessments between
divisions.
In this connection, the court
ruled there had been no indica
tion of systematic discrimination
to the prejudice of either Hess
or the mining company.
As to language employed in a
section of the act referring to
valuation of mining claims, the
court felt while it might be pos
(Continued on Page Two)
Road Work In
Vicinity of Nome
Set For This Year
John Cooley, district engineer
for the Alaska Road Commission,
-who returned over the week-end
from a meeting of divisional
heads at Juneau, reports that sev
eral parts of the road program
were decided upon while other
phases of it are still pending de
cisions.
The Nome-Council road work
will be continued with the relo
cating of the road out of the
rver bottom at Fox River.
Another section of the road be
tween the Safety and Solomon
ferries will be gravelled.
A section of the Cape Nome
bluff will be widened and the
section of road at HVz mile will
be built up.
The Dexter road will be ex
tended up Nome River to the
railroad bridge on Nome river.
General maintenance of the
roads in the Nome area and those
in the outlying areas will be main
tained as usual, Mr. Cooley stated.
No statement was available at
this time concerning the Nome
Teller road.
s
Judge Folta of First District Court
Upholds Validity Of Property Tax
WASHINGTON, (j*P)—A Senate*?
leader pointed today toward an
early vote on Alaska statehood
legislation.
Majority leader McFarland said
yesterday he would seek agree
ment today to limit debate on an
expected motion to send the bill
back to committee and for a
vote on the bill itself if the re
commital motion is defeated.
Groundwork for the move was
laid yesterday by Senator Stennis
(D-Miss) the first of the bill’s op
ponents to take the floor against
it. He said statehood would con
tribute nothing to the defense erf
Alaska or the United States, and
read into the record newspaper
articles quoting military leaders
as describing the Alaskan peri
meter as “indefensible.” If such
is the case, he said he would pre
fer to see Alaska remain a terri
tory “for psychological reasons.”
>-' - . ..
Statehood supporters challenged
Stennis’ views with Sen. Morse
(R-Ore) voicing “complete disag
reement wth almost every conclu
sion on nearly every major pre
mise.”
Senator Moody (D-Mich) argued
that statehood for Alaska would
bring with it a population growth
to develop the territory’s agricul
tural and mineral resources.
Moody recalled that Michigan
had only 60,000 population when
it was admitted to statehood 119
years ago. Alaska has about
140,000.
In his anti - statehood speech,
Stennis asserted that all statehood
would do, is give Alaska two U.S.
senators and set a precedent that
eventually might delegate to “dis
connected areas” a major part of
the Senate’s control over national
and international affairs.
84 Stitches Taken To
Close Wounds Inflicted
By Alaska Malemute Dog
FAIRBANKS, (JP) — A four
year-old girl who was attacked
by a huge Alaskan malemute dog
at Gold Creek on the Alaska rail
line had to have 84 stitches taken
in her face to close the wounds.
The little girl, Mickey Botner,
was collecting the pans after her
family dog team had been fed
last Friday, it was reported by
Earl Smith, manager of the Curry
Hotel, 16 miles south of Gold
Creek. One of the animals jumped
on her and threw her to the
ground, slashing at her face until
Mrs. Botner could drive the ani
mal off.
Smith flew a railroad nurse,
Gladys Simmonson to the scene
and then took the little girl to
the Anchorage hospital after first
aid had been given.
The stitches were taken at An
chorage. “Her face was just a
mass of blood and wounds when
we got there,” Smith related.
DICK BUTTON LEADS
IN OLYMPIC MEN’S
FIGURE SKATING
OSLO, </P) — America’s Dick
Button, showing the same skating
mastery that won him the 1948
Olympic* and four world titles,
swept into the lead in the Olym
pic men’s figure skating cham
pionship Tuesday as the compul
sory school figures were skated.
Button, of Englewood, N. J.,
scored 111.1 points to virtually
clinch his title again. The free
skating will be held Thursday.
His forte is the free skating.
Closest to him was Helmut
Seibt of Austria, with t06.4, fal
lowed by Jimmy Grogan of Col
orado Springs, Calif., with 103.
Low-flying Plane Kills
Woman Standing Atop
Mexican Monument
MEXICO CITY, (/P) — The
summit of the centuries-old pyra
mid of the Sun was stained today
with the blood of a U.S. diplo
mat’s wife, killed by a low-fly
ing private plane which hit her
as she stood atop the 216-foot
monument 28 miles from here.
The dead woman was Mrs.
Eleanor Wernimont, of Aurora,
111., wife of Agricultural Attache
Kenneth Wernimont of the U.S.
embassy here. Her sister and
niece and another friend, to whom
she was showing the historic pyra
mid, were injured by the plane.
The 18-year-old pilot of the
plane, Jose Galil Velazquez, of
Bogota, Colombia, landed his air
craft safely amid the ancient ruins
surrounding the pyramid.
He and another 18-year-old fly
ing with him, Francisco Garcia,
of Mexico City, were held on
charges of homicide by negli
gence.
333 Casualties In Korea
Listed For Last Week
WASHINGTON, (jP)—Announ
ced U.S. battle casualties in Ko
rea reached 105,841 today an
increase of 333 since last week.
The new totals are: killed in
action, 16,427; wounded, 76,794
and missing 12,620.
Casualties by services: Army,
86,730; Navy 1,226; Air Force
1,037; Marine Corps 18,848.
NOTICE
Federal offices, including the
Post Office, will be closed on Fri
day, Feb. 22, in observance of
the birthday of George Washing
ton.
Most business houses will ob
serve the national holiday by clos
ing at one o'clock in the afternoon.
/ _
PRESENTED BY THE NOME ESKIMO DANCERS
Thursday Night, Feb. 21 — None School Gym
Curtain 8 p.m. — Adult Admission $1.00 — School Children 25^
AN EXPOSITION OF ASTONISHING MONODIC MELODIES,. ORIGIN ALL Y
USED FOR RELIGIOUS RITES, FULL OF SURPRISES, SINGULAR
FEATS, AND RHYTHMICAL, PRIMITIVE CHORUS