m NOME NUGGET
_ OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOlT LI. No. ~42~ NOME, ALASKA, FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 1949 Per Copy—15c
NEWS IN BRIEF
WASHINGTON, (/P)—President
Truman today nominated Stephen
T. Early, long time former White
House secretary ,to be under-sec
retary of defense.
WASHINGTON, (/P)—'The navy
is switching an admiral from the
ice and fogs of Alaska to the
warm beaches of Bermuda.
Rear Admiral Alfred E. Mont
gomery .commandant of the 17th
naval district and commander of
the Alaskan Sea Frontier with
headquarters at Kodiak, has been
ordered to command the naval op
erating base at Bermuda.
Rear admiral Austin K. Doyle,
present commander at Bermuda,
will come to the navy department
for further assignment.
The switch was revealed in of
ficers’ orders made public yester
day.
SEATTLE, </P) — The sheriff’s
office reported Wednesday night
Woodrow Lapier, 33, a diesel en
gineer from Anchorage, took his
life in the suburban home of a
woman friend.
Mrs. Elizabeth Irene Ross, 32,
reported she found Lapier’s body
in a back room of her house when
she returned from work Wednes
day. Deputies quoted Mrs. Ross as
saying she and Lapier had been
keeping company. She is getting a
divorce, she said, and Lapier told
her he was having marital trou
bles.
Lapier was shot through the
head with a pistol, deputies re
ported.
BINGHAMPTON, N. Y. ./P» —
Short wave radio brough* taxicab
service too fast for a Binghanrpton
housewife.
She telephoned for a taxi: the
cab company used its radio system
to notify a driver whose car was
next door to the woman’s house.
She had barely hung up the tele
phone, when the driver arrived.
'“I won’t ride with you.” rhe
said sternly. “You drive too last,
young man.”
She called another taxicab com-,
pany.
ST. JOHNS, Ffld. (/P>—A nurse
in a far north Labrador hamlet
sent out a plea for help today to
“avert the starvation” of 100 win
terbound fishefolk.
Premier Joseph Smallwood of
Canada’s new province, New
foundland, ordered planes to pro- j
ceed with supplies to St. Mary’s
Bay; from whence nurse Dorothy'
Jupp issued the appeal. |
^ Miss Jupp reported “babies are j
being fed on flour, water and mo- i
lasses-water.”
I
- - -- i ■— ■■ ■■ —
VICTORIA, B. C. (/P), The strike
bound Seaboard Queen didn’t sail
again last night.
Caught here by the Canadian
seamen’s union strike, the ship
took on a 30-man relief crew made
up of members of another AFL
union ,the Seafarers’ International.!
Twelve of them reportedly I
changed their minds yesterday,
[ however, and replacements again
are being sought.
KODIAK, (iP)—Striking Kodiak
Internation’l News
At A Glance —
Thursday, April 7. 1949
<By The Associated Press*
The Burmese government an
nounced today that Karen rebels
who have been fighting a civil
war for two months will lay down
their arms tomorrow.
The surrender ceremony will
take place at Insein, 10 miles
north of Rangoon, the capital.
Government sources said Saw Be
U Gyi, president of the Karen na
tional union, has arranged for a
cease-fire on all fighting fronts.
The Karens went on the warpath
last Jan. 31, demanding a separate
and independent Karen state.
Although the Karens formed
the spearhead of the rebellion, it is
still uncertain whether this will
mean the end of all strife in Bur
ma. There are other insurgent
groups, including communists. A
government spokesman said new
negotiations concerning the Karen
demand for a separate state would
follow the surrender.
Gloom pervaded Nanking, the
capital of nationalist China, today
following receipt of a communist
ultimatum to surrender. Acting
president Li Tsuhg-Jen reportedly
has rejected the terms dictated by
the communists at Peiping.
Observers said if the national
ists cannot win concessions, the
(Continued on Page Three>
Air Force Drops
Flag On North Pole
For Adm. Peary
FAIRBANKS. (/P)—Forty years
ago it took Adm. Robert E. Peary
38 days to go 473 miles and plant
the American flag on the North
Pole.
Wednesday the B-29 superfort
ress crew of the “Polar Queen”
flew the 1,820 miles from Eielson
air force base near here to the
pole in 7 hours and 40 minutes.
There, on top of the world, at
9:14 a.m., (PST* Wednesday, a
flag billowed out and floated
down on the frozen ice cap. It had
been presented to the air force by
the Circumnavigators Club of
New York City. For the anniver
sary occasion. Peary reached the
pole April 6, 1909.
Capt. Earl F. Dunphy of Crow
ley, La., headed the 13 crewmen
aboard.
Air force officials here said the
flag-dropping trip was “routine.”
Such flights have been made reg
ularly the past two years.
high school students demanded
yesterday that two school board
members resign.
Twenty-nine students walked
out three days ago in protest of
the board’s failure to renew the
contract of Supt. L. T. Utterback.
In a letter to the Kodiak Mirror,
the students complained two board
members also serve on other
boards “in conflict with the
school.” Both are on the board of
the community center. Utterback
long has been at odds with the
center director.
BULLETIN
(Special to The Nugget)
WAS HINGTON. UP) — Ernest
Gruening's re-appointment for the
third term as Alaska's Chief Exec
utive was confirmed by the Sen
ate today by unanimous action.
Park ServiceWants
Funds To Develop
Nat’l Monuments
<(/P) Special Washington Service'
WASHINGTON, (/P) — The na
tional park service says it would
like to spend about $3,500,000 to
get Glacier Bay national monu
ment, Alaska, into operation.
It also would like to establish
some facilities at Katmai national
monument ,and wants more ade
quate funds for Mount McKinley
national park, said service direc
tor Newton S. Drury.
Glacier Bay, Katmai and Mount
McKinley are the three major
units of the park service in Alas
ka. The first two still are com
pletely undeveloped.
“With millions visiting parks of
the mainland, the national park
service cannot logically contend
that Alaska areas should have pri
ority over the parks more heavily
used,” said Drury.
“Yet if the policy of the govern
ment is to stimulate travel to
'Continued on Page Four)
SENATOR HOWARD LYNG
BACK FROM LEGISLATURE
Howard Lyng, Second Division
Senator returned home on Pan
American Thursday after one of
the busiest sessions in the history
of the Alaska Legislature. Be
cause of his fine legislative record
his name was mentioned in sever
al publications as a successor to
Governor Gruening should he not
be re-appointed.
Mr. Lyng plans to remain in
Nome until a meeting' of the Wel
fare Board is called in Juneau at
which time it is hoped, slated Mr.
Lyng, to have a representative of
the Board again located in Nome
for the Second Division, as the sit
uation is acute due to the fact that
there has not been one here for
some time.
I
Hospital Fire Head
Set At Seventy-four
EFFINGHAM, 111. UP) — The
hunt for bodies in the ruins of St.
Anthony’s hospital was nearly
ended today, with 71 known dead
and three persons still missing.
The official toll of 74 was fixed
by Msgr. Jesse Gatton, diocesan
superintendent of the institution
which was destroyed early Tues
day by fire.
His list showed 61 identified
dead and 10 unclaimed bodies.
Mayor H. B. Rinehart said any
unclaimed bodies would be given
a mass funeral if they are not
identified by noon. Many of them
were charred beyond recognition.
The cause of the fire “may
never by known,” state fire mar
shal Pat Kelly said late yesterday
Destruction of the building ham
pers investigators, he explained.
Western Powers
Agree On Western
Germany Control
WASHINGTON (/Pi. The United
States. Britain and France an
nounced today they are ready to
end military control over Western
Germany as soon as a proposed
“German federal republic” is set
up.
Occupation forces would remain
in Germany under top civilial con
trol.
A joint communique said “com
plete agreement” on “the whole
range” of outstanding German is
sues was reached in conferences
here among the foreign ministers
of the three powers—secretary of
state Acheson. foreign secretary
Ernest Bevin, and foreign minister
Robert Schuman of France.
With the establishment of the
German republic ,the commuivque
said, the military governors in
Germany will be replaced by high
commissioners and military com
manders will remain only to head
the occupation forces.
It was added that “the functions
of the allied authorities will be
(Continued on Page Six'
Rules Against
Longshoremen In
Jurisdictional Row
WASHINGTON. (JP) — The na
tional labor relations board ruled
against the CTO longshoremen’s
union in a jurisdictional dispute
■ with the CIO woodworkers union
at a lumber company in Alaska.
The case involved the Juneau
Spruce coorporation, of Juneau.
The dispute was over the loading
of lumber barges. It has closed the
big Juneau plant for the past year.
The board decision was 3-2. The
majority ruled the longshoremen
have no legal claim on the loading
jobs. The two dissenters, Abe
Murdock and John M. Houston,
said the board should refuse to
make a determination now be
f Continued on Page Six>
Congress Roundup
(3y Jack Rutledge)
WASHINGTON, UP) — The ad
1
ministration’s proposed new farm
program ran into a wall of Ques
tion marks in Congress today.
“Tell me more’’ was the general
reaction to a plan designed to j
make everybody happy bv (l) cut-'
ting consumer grocery bills, and
(2> keeping farmers prosperous at
the same time.
Secretary of Agriculture Brann,
who outlined the program yester
day before a joint House and Sen-.
ate committee meeting, was called j
today to answer questions raised :
by the House agriculture commit- |
tee.
The plan is a sharp departure
from the government’s present
system. Briefly, it would let prices
of certain perishables such as
meat, poultry, eggs and vegetables ’
drop in case of a surplus, thus cut-1
ting consumers .costs, but at the
same time guarantee farmers their j
(Continued on Page Six)
Labor Situation
Over Tbe States
(By The Associated Press*
New York City officials were
reported hopeful the week-old
taxicab strike would end Tuesday
night. Union leaders, however,
said the walkout would be inten
sified.
In Washington, D. C., publica
tion of four daiiy newspapers re
turned to normal after a 25-hour
wildcat walkout by AFL press
men.
Police said two-thirds of New
York’s 11.000 cabs are back in
service. The larger companies
claimed the strike “is broken” but
the union, a branch of the United
Mine Workers, said the stoppage
is 80 per cent effective.
The cabbies’ union is seeking
wage incerases, a closed shop and
other benefits.
Orders from the international
president of the printing press
• Continued on Page Five)
Seattle Opposes
Fisheries Stabiliza
tion Corp.
SEATTLE, (/Pi — Opposition to
the proposed establishment of a
fisheries stabilization corporation
by Congress was voiced Thursday
by John H. Perry, chairman of the
Seattle chamber of commerce’s
Alaska division.
The chamber opposes formation
of the body because of the “dicta
torial” powers it would have in
controlling the price of fish pro
ducts through loans, purchases,
payments and other operations,
Perry said.
“The corporation would have
the power to regulate the price of
fish and fish products through
loans, purchases, payments »and
other operations . . . the powers
. . . arc so dictatorial in their na
ture that private enterprise would
soon be compelled to withdraw
entirely from the field.” said
Perry.
Many Destroyers
Transferred To
Atlantic Fleet
PEARL HARBOR. (/P»—Trans
fer of 20 destroyers to the Atlantic
leaves the Pacific fleet with only
48 of these “tin cans,” fleet head
quarters disclosed yesterday.
The transfer to the East Coast
represents a 25 per cent cut in Pa
cific destroyer strength. The sub
stantial reduction in the Pacific
surface forces follows drastic cut
back in fighter and bomber
strength.
The remaining destroyers, plus
five destroyer escorts, represent
the navy’s major anti-submarine
weapon available for deployment
along the West Coast, in Alaska,
and in the waters of China and
Japan.
The Pacific fleet mustered more
than 300 destroyers when the war
with Japan ended. These were
supported by scores of destroyer
fCnntimtP/^ p" 'D.-.*-** tt..—'