ssi NOME NUGGET
I OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LI. No. 29 NOME, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 1949 Per Copy—15c
NEWS IN BRIEF
NOME—The efficiency of wo
^ men in public office will be dem
onstrated next Saturday morning
when the^local Girl Scout troop
will take over the town from 10
until twelve o’clock.
Troop members will act as Ma
yor, Chief of Police, Fire Chief,
City Attorney, City Clerk and the
six members of the council.
After fulfilling their civic du
ties they will be guests at the Of
ficers Club for a luncheon with
their Scout Council and leaders.
At six-thirty Saturday evening
the Troop will broadcast a spe
cially prepared program over
WXLN.
WRANGEL. (/P) — Search for
Harry Hart of Stikine Flats con
tinued today after a coroner’s jury
identified a body found floating
near Sokolof Island Friday as that
f , of his wife.
The couple started for Wran
gell in an open boat about Feb. 1
from their Stikine Flats home
stead.
ANCHORAGE, (/P) — An F-80
jet plane of the 66th fighter
squadron crashed at noon today a
short distance west of here, kill
ing the pilot.
Tenth rescue squadron officials,
who located the wreckage near
the shore of Big Lake, said the pi
i lot had been thrown clear but his
body was found close to the plane.
His name was withheld until next
of kin could be notified.
JUNEAU, (/P) — Braving the
snarls of spinsters, Democrat Wil
liam Egan introduced a bill to the
Alaska House of Representatives
last night calling for a tax of $50
'f a head on single women.
He said its intent was to “fur
ther the institution of matrimony,
relieve the housing shortage and
'levy a special tax on the privilege i
of being single.”
The bill was referred to the
ways and means committee.
SAN FRANCISCO, </P) — An!
earthquake shook the San Fran
cisco Bay area early today, caus
ing no serious damage.
But scores of burglar alarms
went off, electrical fixtures sway
ed and rocks rolled off Telegraph
Hill, and with considerable con
cern some San Franciscans re
called the great quake of 1906.
There were two shocks felt be
tween 4:29 and 4,30 a.m., from the
Santa Clara Valley, 60 miles south
of San Francisco, to Sacramento,
90 miles northeast.
One house in the San Francisco
Mission district, reported a water
pipe broken as the house wall
swayed.
Light fixtures at the Telephone
building in the center of town
swayed back and forth six inches.
JUNEAU, </P) — House speake”
Stanley McCutcheon released to
day a telegram from Sen. Joseph
O’Mahoney stating the interior
and insular affairs committee “felt
ample time has been given for all
persons interested in Governor
Gruening’s appointment to ex
press themselves.
“Nevertheless,” he said he had
LIFTING THE LID
AT JUNEAU
Tuesday. March 8. 1949
(By James Hutcheson*
JUNEAU, (/P) — The Senate
passed a long-debated bill yester
day afternoon for collection of
wage claims by the Territorial
commissioner of labor at Territo
rial expense.
The vote of 12 to 4 came after
two amendments were added to
the measure. One eliminates foot
ing of the bill by the Territory if
the collection is above $300. The
other provides that a worker must
sign an affidavit he can not af
ford to cue for the claim himself.
The bill now goes back to the
House for action on the amend
ments.
The Senate also passed, 9 to 7. a
bill limiting liability of bank
stockholders and sent it to the
House.
a tnira measure, approved oy
the Senate 15 to 1 allows Alaska
officials to travel to the States at
Territorial expense on urgent Ter
ritorial business if* they have the
approval of their superiors. The
only vote against was by Sen. Wil
liam Munz, Nome Republican. The
bill, previously passed by the
House now goes to the governor
for his signature.
Ten bills were introduced in the
Senate yesterday to beat the Wed
nesday deadline for filing.
In the House, which went into
a night session, unanimous ap
proval was given two bills. One,
sponsored by Rep. Glen D. Frank
lin, Fourth Division Democrat,
provides for establishment of a
Territorial accountancy board to
license all accountants. The other,
introduced by Rep. Warren A.
Taylor, also a Fourth Division
Democrat, would regulate real es
tate operators. Both sponsors said
their measures were for the pro
tection of the public.
By a vote of 21 to 1, the House
approved a bill appropriating
$50,000 for assistance needed by
communities. Immediately in line
for aid are Seldovia, Wrangell,
K1 awock, Petersburg, Cordova,
Valdez, Haines and Sitka.
JUNEAU, (JP) — The second
House liquor control bill of the
session—after the first died by in
definite postponement—escaped a
similar fate last night and sur
vived with all its alcoholic vigor
to head the House calendar today.
Franklin’s motion to indefinite
ly postpone the controversial mea
sure was withdrawn to allow Atty.
(Continued on Page Three)
told nine Alaskans opposing Sen
ate confirmation of Gruening’s
appointment, “the committee al
lows you until Monday to state
the nature of the grounds of your
opposition.”
He pointed out the nomination
was received Jan. 27.
MoCutcheon said yeste r d a y
O’Mahoney telephoned confidence
that Gruening would be confirm
ed after a week’s delay.
The messages were addressed to
McCutcheon as head of the Demo
cratic members of the House and
Senate who urged immediate con
firmation.
Demo. Caucus Asks
Re-Appointment
Of Gov. Gruening
<By James Hutcheson*
JUNEAU, (/P) — Democ r a t i c
members of the Alaska legislature
voted at a caucus late Monday to
ask the United States Senate to
confirm the re-appointment of
Gov. Ernest Gruening immediate
ly
The caucus authorized four leg
islators, headed by House speaker
Stanley McCutcheon, to telegraph
or telephone the Senate interior
committee and:
1. Cite the Alaska Democratic
party platform’s endorsement of
Gruening.
; 2. Urge that the committee not
recognize any Republican protests
against the governor’s appoint
ment.
A statement issued by the party
committee'charged that only two
Alaska Republican legislators had
protested Gruening’s nomination.
In Washington, the interior com
(Continued on Page Five)
i
: Alaska Railroad
Asks For Bids On
Building Program
ANCHORAGE, (/P) — Alaska
Railroad officials announced re
cently that bids on the road’s rec
ord 1949 building program would
he requested.
This year’s work is part of a
three -year rehabilitation job
which is expected to cost $75,000,
000. The work, originally sched
uled to last* five years at a cost of
$35,000,000, was cut down to three
years with the cost at first jump
ing to -50,000,000.
Col. John P. Johnson, head of
the railroad, said the size of the
1949 program would depend on
the appropriation authorized by
Congress.
He said he testified before a
House appropriations sub-commit
tee as to why the railroad needs
about $35,000,000 for the current
year ending July 1, 1950, to finish
rehabilitation of the line into first
class shape.
About $40,000,000 already has
been appropriated or can be taken
out of operating revenues. That,
plus $35,000,000 requested, must
Tumagain Arm project, which,
when completed will be a key fink
(Continued on Page Three)
Internation’1 News'
At A Glance —
Tuesday, March 8. 1949
Communist Bulgaria today sen*
tenced the four top defendants in
her spy trial of Protestant clergy
men to life imprisonment.
The other 11 defendants in the
trial, which has aroused indigna
tion among churchmen throughout
the western world received sen
tences ranging up to 15 years.
The four leading defendants
were sentenced additionally to
loss of civil rights and confiscation
(Continued on Page Five)
Recommend More
Alaska Public
Health Funds
I
1 - I
! ((/Pi Special Washington Service)
WASHINGTON (/Pi—The House
appropriations committee today
recommended $1,300,000 for dis
ease and sanitation investigations
i and control in Alaska for the year
starting July 1.
President Truman recommend- ,
ed only $1,000,000, a decrease of
$1 15,000 below the amount voted j
■ this year.
The committee said in increas
! ing the amount in the labor-fed
eral security money bill that a se
rious health problem had existed
I in Alaska for some years and is
getting worse. It reported to the
House:
‘‘A recession in funds would
materially retard what had been
conceived to be a mass attack on
the immense problems of tubercu
losis, venereal disease, sanitation
conditions including water sup
: plies and other health problems.
Therefore the budget estimate has
been exceeded by $300,000.”
The program is a joint Territo
1 rial-public health service project.
; _
House Committee
Approves Alaska
Statehood
—
((iP) Special Washington Service* j
(By Harrison Humphries)
WASHINGTON, iff) — The
House public lands committee yes
terday approved statehood for
Alaska and Hawaii.
One committee member voted
against each of the two bills.
Rep. Morris (D.-Okla.) cast the i
dissenting vote on the Hawaiian
statehood bill by Delegate Far- •
rington (R.-Hawaii.)
Morris told the committee he
had serious misgivings about this!
nation’s reaching out and embrac
ing non-contiguous areas as
States. He said he is still studying
the question and would be most
pleased if he can “satisfy my con
science” and vote for the bill in
the House.
Rep. Marshall (D.-Minn.) cast
the only vote against statehood for
Alaska. He said he is not opposed
to the bill, but did not want the |
committee vote on Alaska “to be
any different than that accorded I
(Continued on Page Seven)
Bartlett Urges
Appropriation For
Nome Breakwater
Special Washington Service)
WASHINGTON, UP) — Delegate
Bartlett of Alaska urged a House
appropriations sub-committee to
day to approve $1,020,000 for pro
tection of the Nome. Alaska, har
bor.
The amount was recommended
in President Truman’s budget for
the year starting July 1. Bartlett
told the committee that it would
be divided, $1,000,000 for a rock
mount wall and $20,000 for dredg
ing the harbor.
He said the wall is needed to
protect the harbor from southerly
storms which are gradually eating
away the beach at Nome.
Nome is the sole supply center
for northwest Alaska, he said, and
the army deems it important to
maintain the harbor for security
reasons.
Bartlett also asked the commit
tee to approve an item of $500,000
for continuing work on Wrangell
Narrows.
Rep. Fisher Asks
For ‘Ample* Radar
Screen In Alaska
(By Charles D. Watkins)
0/P) Special Washington Service!
WASHINGTON, (£>)—Rep. Fis
her <D.-Tex.) planned today to
urge the House to approve an am
ple radar screen for Alaska which
he calls “the most vital of all our
strategic spots.”
He said he would speak on the
bill to provide a radar screen for
the nation. He made his prepared
speech public though uncertain
just when he would talk.
He said in it that Alaska needs
more troops for defense against
any sort of an attack, and needs
housing not only for the military
but also for its civilian population.
“There is no question today but
that Alaska is woefully underde
fended,” Fisher said.
“There is no secret about that
fact.
The Alaskan Command has
publicly stated that the Territory
is presently vulnerable to enemy
thrust and that defenses are pres
ently inadequate to repel a possi
(Continued on Page Four)
Odom Makes Record Non-Stop Light
Plane Flight Honolulu To New York
TETERBORO, N. J. OP) — Big
Bill Odom soared in from Hono
lulu shortly after noon yesterday,
setting a 5,000 mile world’s non
stop record for light planes.
The 29-year-old former world
war 2 ferry pilot, already holder
of the world-circling speed record,
touched down his tiny monoplane
at this north Jersey airport at
9:06 a.m. 0PST>, 36 hours and one
minute after leaving Honolulu.
It was Odom’s second attempt
to bring his single engined, 185
horsepower plane non-stop from
[ Honolulu to Teterboro, which is
about four miles west of New
York City across the Hudson
river.
He carried 288 gallons of gaso
line.
The exact mileage of the long
distance hop awaits an official
check of his sealed instruments,
but flight sponsors estimated it
between 4,999 and 5,010.
Bill Odom, 29-year-old career
pilot, came into prominence in.
April, 1947, when he and Milton
(Continued on Page Seven)