May Abolish Indian
Affairs Bureau
WASHINGTON, (A1)— Senator
Langer (R.-N.D.), suggested today
that the government’s bureau of
Indian affairs be abolished and
its 236,000 Indian wards be “treat
ed like white people.”
Longer, chairman of the Senate |
civil service committee, offered,
this suggestion at a public hearing
on possible ways of trimming
down the present government pay
roll of more than 2,000,000 work
ers.
The Indian bureau has 11,000
employees.
William Zimmerman, acting
commissioner of Indian affairs,
commented that Langer’s proposal
“looks like you want to hang the
patient because the doctor gave
the wrong prescription.”
—
Yankees Offer
$150,000 For
“Mickey” Vernon
NEW YORK, (/P)—If Clark Grif
fith, owner of the Washington Sen
ators is desirous of picking up an
easy $150,000, all the eminent
gray-haired gentleman has to do j
is hand over James B. (Mickey) j
Vernon, his much-sought after i
first baseman, to the New York
Yankees.
This became obvious today fol
lowing Yankee President Larry
MaoPhail’s oratory yesterday ex
plaining the reason why the club
permitted Hank Greenberg to be
waived out of the American
league.
Pointing out that he had tried:
three times since last fall to land
the major league’s home run king
from the Detroit Tigers, MacPhail
said:
“We are in the market for a first
baseman and have tried repeated
yl to acquire Greenbeg. We ap
proached Detroit about Hank lastj
fall, again at the Los Angeles I
meetings in December and again
last week. Each time we were
turned down. We also have offered
and are willing to pay $150,000 fori
major league first baseman satis-’
factory to manager Bucky Harris.’’
• V 4 f # 4
Baseball Writers
Elect Four To
“Hall Of Fame”
NEW YORK, (^)—Four baseball
greats—pitchers Carl Hubbell and
Robert (Lefty) Grove, infielder
Frankie Frisch and catcher Gor
don (Mickey) Cochrane — today
joined 49 other immortals of the
diamond in the national pastime’s
hall of fame.
The quartet was elected to the
Cooperstown, N. Y., shrine by the
baseball writers of America in a
poll completed Jan. 15.
It was the first time since 1942,
when Rogers Hornsby, who led
the national league in batting in
seven different seasons, wa
named that any player received 75 j
perecent of the votes required for I
election.
Hubbell, famous “meal ticket’’
of the New York Giants, who won
253 games during his momentous
career, drew 140 of the 161 votes
cast to head the list.
Frisch, the “Fordnam flash” of
the Giants and the St. Louis Car
dinals, was second with 136 votes.
Trailing Frisch with 128 votes
was Cochrane, one-time catchin
great of the Philadelphia Athletic
and the Detroit Tigers.
Grove, Cochrane’s one-time bat
tery mate on the Athletics, follow
ed with 123 votes.
Harold (Pie) Traynor, outstand
ing third baseman and former j
manager of the Pittsburgh pirates, j
missed being selected by two votes,
polling 119.
Russia To Get 200
U. S. Locomotives
PORTLAND, Ore. UP) — The
prospective shipment of 200 rail
road locomotives to Russia was
disclosed here today by Portland
port authorities.
Capt. D. J. McGarity, port direc
tor, said railroad lines had agreed
to carry the locomotives from the
east to Portland under export
feight rates. They will be loaded
upon ships here McGarity said.
Another 50,000 tons of cargo, in
cluding machinery, steel and met
als also is in prospect for shipment
to the U.S.S.R. from Portland, Mc
Gariety added.
OPEN EVENINGS
POLAR
CURIO
SHOP
Drop in and see us.
Russia Covets
Spitzbergen As
Needed Base
(By J. M. Roberts, Jr.)
(A*) Foreign Affairs Analyst
Spitzbergen, main island of
the Evalbard group toward which
Moscow is making passes, had
been operating as an organized
community for only 17 years when
the Russians first began to covet
it.
That was during the first world
war, when the last Czar wanted to
buy out the private Norwegian
coal owners, who had. gone in
along with British and American
developers after 1900. The only ob
jective then, for a Russia which
was only slightly interested in the
northern shipping routes, was the
nine to ten billion tons of coal
which are estimated to lie beneath
the frozen surface.
Now Spitzbergen, which be
came a legal entity for the first
time in 1921 by a treaty under
which the world powers accepted
Norwegian sovereignty, reflects
the impact of world affairs from
several facets.
Soviet Russia first asked Nor
way to cede parts of Spitzbergen
in 1944 for bases which could have
been important then. Norway’s ex
iled government in London de
clined to act on such a matter un
til it was back home, since then,
important political angles have
entered the picture.
Spitzbergen lies northwest of
Iceland about half-way between
Iceland and Greenland. It lies
along the much-discussed rocket
route across the Arctic. It is be
tween Russia and Greenland, that
enormous island on the Atlantic’s
northern fringe which was pene- i
trated by the Germans so recently,
and whose staging stations be
tween Europe and America will be
more important in any future con
flict.
In the last war planes and ships
from Spitzbergen could have
met the German planes and ships '
from Norway which so harrassed
the Allied convoys to Murmansk, j
But much as this little spot may
lie across the communication lanes
of the modern world from which
it was so long isolated, the recent
Russian moves have placed it even
more squarely across the path of
American policy.
The United States wants a sys-\
tem of bases which, #eoupled with
the availability of British strong
points, can be used to help keep
any future war at a distance. She
is working hard to develop Alaska
and the northern Pacific, plans
bases in far northern wastes, di
rectly across the pole from Rus
sia’s own Arctic outposts, retains
north Atlantic bases under long
term lease from England, wants to
work out better security with re
gard to such places as the Azores,
and is continuing civilian aviation
operations in Iceland, near those
same northern sea routes to Rus
sia, on a basis which contains an
open implication of what will hap
pen in war.
Russia probably sees Spitz
bergen as an opportunity to meet
us, as far from home as possible,
at one more point. But she also
foresees valuable use in the future
for every argument we put up
against it. Nothing would give her
more pelasure than to catch us tes
tifying against ourselves.
Wife: Don’t you think I look as
nice as those movie stars?
Hubby: You put that chair down
and I’ll answer that!
Senate Asks
Marshall For His
Views On Policy
(Continued From Page One
attend the Moscow meeting even
though he left the question open
temporarily.
He buckled down to his first
full day’s work at his big mahog
any dack in the state department
with praise still being heard from
both Republican and Democrtic
members of Congress for his ex
pressed determination to run the
nation’s foreign affairs on a “non
political” basis.
The statement Marshall issued
shortly before he took the oath in
President Truman’s office yester
day was widely interpreted as not
only removing the general from
the list of 1948 Presidential pos
sibilities, but taking foreign policy
even further away from partisan
politics.
Senator Bridges (R.-N.H.), call
ed Marshall’s declaration a “strong
fine statement,” and added:
“It should make his wrork easier.
It certainly should assure the co
operation of all parties and fac
tions in our country in the conduct
of our foreign affairs.”
Rep. Halleck of Indiana, House
Republican floor leader, said
“Marshall’s announcement is cal
culated to strengthen his hand in
the great task before him.”
Senator Connally <D.-Tex.),
former chairman of the foreign re
lations committee, declared the
general’s statement “will strength
en his position as secretary of
state and give added prestige to
his wonderful character and repu
tation.
WASHINGTON, (/P)—'The Sen
ate banking committee today
unanimously approved President
Truman’s nomination of Dillon
Myer for administrator of the
United States housing authority.
Previously Senator Taft, (Ohio)
head of the Republican steering
committee, had told reporters he
would abide by the banking com
mittee’s decision.
~--—i
Be Wise—Nugget Advertise
Employers May
Charge Off Portal
Payments
WASHINGTON. t,Vh-Thr treas
ury ruled today that employers
who have to pay back wage claims
1 under portal-to-portal suits may
charge the payments off against
I taxes for the years involved.
! Since corporate taxes were con
siderably higher through 1945 be
cause the excess profits tax was
then in effect, the ruling means
much higher refunds than would
be the case if the deductions were
taken from current tax rates.
The excess profits tax imposed
a net levy of 85 Vt per cent on cor
porate earnings about the 1936
1939 average.
The regular income tax for cor
porations through 1945 was 40 per
cent. Effective with 1946 earnings,
corporations pay a regular rate of
38 per cent and no excess profits
tax.
The treasury ruling was an
nounced by secretary Snyder as a
Senate judiciary sub-committee
continued hearings on legislation
i to void or limit back pay portal
suits.
Undersecretary of commerce
William Chapman Foster testified
that portal pay suits may force
many firms out of business even
if the full amount claimed is not
allowed.
War department officials said
yesterday that army cost-plus con
tracts might entail a loss up to
$500,000,000 if back pay claims
prove successful.
———■ -i. ... ■
‘BLIZZARD DOESN'T SCARE
BRIDGE PLAYERS
Disregarding the gusty winds
and blizzard last evening an en
thusiastic group of bridge players
turned out for the weekly game at
the Bering Sea club. Winners for
the evening were Mrs. Joe Kenoe,
Richard Webb and Grace Edmon.
STANDARD OIL RAISES
PRICE ON OIL
Local dealers today were noti
fied that The Standard Oil Com
pany has raised the price of all
oils, fuel or lubricating, effective
today, Vi cent a gallon.
Watch Repairing Service
Three Day Service
McVICKERS JEWELRY STORE
WATCHES - DIAMONDS - GIFTS
Box 1336 Anchorage, Alaska
. • a . * .
BERING SEA CLUB
Dancing every Saturday and Sunday Night
HYDE’S ORCHESTRA
Bridge Every Tuesday Night
All Bridge Players Invited
NORTHERN
LIGHT & POWER CO.
“BETTER LIGHT - BETTER SIGHT’’
G.-E. Mazda Lamps Refrigerators
Electrical Appliances Washing Machines
Wiring Material
Phone MAIN 105