as NUGGET
_OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS_
VOL. XLIX. No. 75_NOME, ALASKA, MONDAY,"JUNE 23, 1947 PER COPY — 15c~
NEWS IN BRIEF j
t
SEATTLE, (/P)—‘The AFL-ship
scalers union held short stop-wor :
meetings at the start of the day
shift at two shipyards today to
sign a telegram to Sen. Harry P.
Cain (R.-Wash.) demanding he
vote to sustain President Truman’s
veto of the Taft-Hartley bill, Fred
G. Berry, business agent, an
nounced.
Two hundred signed the tele
gram at the Todd drydocks, stop
ping work from 7:30 ajn. to 7:53
a.m. and 47 signed at the Puget
Sound Bridge & Dredging Co., in
15 minutes, he said.
SAN FRANCISCO (JP)—A mod
erate earthquake of the undula
tory type rocked San Francisco
and the surrounding area for
about four minutes, starting at
3:29 p.m. (PST) yesterday, but
damage was confined to a few
broken windows and dishes jolted
from shelves.
The 'quake, originating in the
San Andreas Fault, was felt as
far south as Monterey Bay, 80
miles away.
JUNEAU, (JP) — Owen Alvin
Lewis, 16, was electrocuted here
last week as he was adjusting a
moving picture theater projector.
His body is being taken by his
parents to Eugene, Ore., their for
mer home.
* __
TAMIMENT, Pa. (/P)—Norman
Thomas says he’s through running
as the Socialist candidate for
President because “it isn’t good
for a man to run so many times.”
“Two or three times is all right
but after that it gets to be a ges
ture” he told, the 13th annual
Tamiment economic and social in
stitute Friday night. Thomas was!
the Socialist Candidate five times.
* -
* j
TAHOE CITY, Calif. (^P)—A big 1
pine, 100 feet high and five feet
thick, crashed across highway 89 (
late Friday, killing a bridegroom
and injuring a bride who were
honeymoon-bound in their coupe.
William Albert McCuen, 21, of
Napa, was crushed to death. His
bride of a day, Nina, was in a
Reno hospital today suffering
from skull injuries and shock. .
_._._ i
WASHINGTON, (>P>—1The com
munications commission Friday
granted a construction permit for
a new radio station to the Alaska
Broadcasting Co., Seward, Alaska,
1340 kilocycles, 250 watts, 5 p.m.
to midnight.
AKRON, O. (ff) — Tire heiress
Martha Parke Firestone, a fair
haired 21-year-old girl with a
happy smile, became the bride
Saturday of William Clay Ford,
22, grandson of the late Henry
Ford. The sojcialite-studded event
was one of the most elaborate
weddings of 1947.
ANCHORAGE, (ff)—Frank Her
mann, Juneau, was elected dis
trict governor and George Green,
deputy governor, at the annual
Territorial Lions Club convention.;
Ketchikan was chosen for the 1948
session.
$10,000,000 Damage
In LosAngeles Ship,
Fire, Explosion
I
-- '
WILMINGTON, Calif. (/P)—,At!
least two, and probably 14 men
were dead today after a $10,000,
000 ship explosion-fire—Los An
geles harbor’s costliest calamity,
which only fate and foresight ap-,
parently kept from becoming an 1
other “Texas City.”
The 11,083-ton tanker Markay
blew up with 2,940,000 gallons of
fuel in a triple explosion that
razed several docks and—harbor
authorities said — missed igniting
huge petroluem storage tanks only ;
because of favorable winds.
Two bodies were recovered from
the harbor shtortly after the blast
yesterday and searchers planned
to board the shell of the tanker
today to remove others which
were spotted by coast guard ob
servers last night after the vessel
stopped burning.
The blaze—at its height visible
some 12 miles at sea—required
hours to bring under control.
The harbor, since the Texas City
disaster, had been alerted for just
such a blast. Within moments fire
equipment rolled from as far dis
tant as downtown Los Angeles 23
miles away, under an emergency
disaster plan, and fireboats raced
out from Long Beach. k
As investigators began their
probe today, 12 men were listed
as missing, with some 30 injured, |
12 sufficiently to be hospitalized.!
Cause of the explosion was un
determined, but crew members
charged the operating company,
Keystone Shipping Co., of Phila
delphia, with negligence. A com- (
pany agent, however, declared!
that “all ordinary precautions and
many more” were observed.
William Anderson, division su
perintendent for Keystone, said
investigation would be made at
once but declined comment until
“we account for everybody.”
At least 15 crew members were
believed aboard the Markay,
which Jiad been loading high-oc
tane gasoline, when the first blast i
split the 520-foot vessel at 2:05
a.m. (PST> yesterday. Fllmes
leaping 200 f$et ox more, engulfed
the ship, and leaped across oil
flows to the American President
Lines docks.
:
SUPPORTS NATIONAL
CEMETERY IN ALASKA
Appearing before the war de
partment sub-committee of the
House appropriations committee.
Delegate Bartlett heartily support
ed the war department’s plans for
Establishing a new national ceme
tery in the vicinity of Juneau.
The department is asking Con
gress to appropriate money at this
time to begin initial work on the
project which is estimated to cost
approximately $1,300,000. The
cemetery would provide facilities
not only for World War II dead
but also for Alaska veterans and
the members of their families.
The present national cemetery
at Sitka - will remain permanent
and will continue to be maintain
ed '
Foreign Ministers
To Discuss “Aid
Europe” Plan
LONDON, (£*) — The foreign
ministers of Soviet Russia, Britain
and France will meet in. Paris Fri
day to discuss the Marshall plan
to put Europe back on its feet.
Moscow, where official publica
tions last week attacked secretary
of state Marshall’s proposals as an
attempt to extend the Truman
doctrine and “dollar diplomacy,” |
announced today Soviet agree
ment to have V. M. Molotov meet
with Britain’s Ernest Bevin and
France’s Georges Bidault. Bi
dault’s office announced the three
would convene Friday, while in
London Bevin told the Home Of
fice:
“I hope good results will fol
low.”
Bidault said the Russian agree
ment to participate in the talks
“gives rise to hope in a matter
which concerns the future of hu
manity.”
“The choice of Paris, he told
members of the French Assembly,
“will be dear and comforting to
all Frenchmen.”
Today had been set by Bevin
and Bidault as the deadline for
Mos<jpw’s answer to their invita
tion to a conference on the Mar
shall proposals—a plan which one
state department official has said,
may call for $5,000,000,000 for sev
eral years.
Russia’s note agreeing to the
conference said Europe needed
quick rehabilitation and that this
task could be helped by the United
States, “whose production poten
tialities, far from declining, in
creased during the war.”
Maritime Peace
Seems Near
SAN FRANCISCO </P>—Nathan 1
P. Feinsinger. ace trouble-shooter
for the labor department*, went
into contract talks • with• two. CIO |
unions and the waterfront em- .
ployers Saturday in an attempt to 1
transform the Pacific Coast Mari
time truce' into an early final set
tlement. . .
Feinsinger, who negotiated the
temporary agreement which ePded
a four-day tieup earlier last week,
said that a final peace may re
quire “another day or two.”
Contracts covering the two re
maining unions, the CIO marine
cooks and stewards and the Amer
ican communications association
(the radio operators', are expected
in general to parallel those signed
with East Coast unions, including
a five per cent wage raise and
nine paid holidays a year.
Maritime activity was back to
normal Saturday and the railroads
again were moving shipments to
coast ports.
A spokesman for the waterfront
employers said “Headway has
been made in clearing the back
log of work resulting from the
four-day tieup and aU ships are
now sailing on schedule.”
(Ed. Note—Word was received
just at press time by Tom Keating,
local Alaska Steamship Company
• • • *
Senate Still
Undecided About
Overriding Velo
WASHINGTON, </P) — Frazzled
Senators still were far from agree
ment on fixing a time for a vote*!
on President Truman’s veto of the
Taft-Hartley labor control bill. An
end to their all-day, all-night j
wrangling was nowhere in sight
after nearly 24 hours of continu
ous session.
As a small band of veto sup
porters continued their desperate
effort to delay a final judgment,,
Senate Republican leader Wnite ni
Maine said an effort will be made
to reach an agreement for a vote
today.
This announcement came after
White conceded it would be vir
tually impossible to force a vote
before that time on the veto which
the House easily overrode Friday
almost immediately after it had
arrived from the White House.
Senator Morse 'R.-Ored, one of
the group determined to delay a
vote until the nation has to
react to Mr. Truman’s radio ad
dress Friday night supporting his
veto message, still held the floor
this morning.
There was no opportunity for
the Republican leaders, dead set
in their hopes of overriding the
veto and making the bill law, to
dicker for a vote Monday until
Morse quit talking.
Senator Pepper <D.-Fla.), like
Morse an opponent of the bill,
earlier had tried a similar move,
but the Republicans, aided by n
number of Democrats, smashed
that effort, 50 to 14. Opponents
have been holding out to prevent
a vote before Tuesday at the ear
liest.
i
The White House said several
hundred telegrams have been le
ceived in response to Mr. Tru
man’s veto message and his radio
address of Friday night.
Eben Ayers, assistant press sec
retary, told reporters the rano
was about 5 to 1 in support of the
President’s stand.
!
Union Pickets
Halibut Boats
KETCHIKAN, (£>)—’Three Seat
tle halibut fishing boats, the Com
mando, Masonic and McKinley,
were picketed Saturday by mem
bers of the deep sea fishermen’s
union after their arrival from
Alaska fishing grounds.
Union officials contended the
vessels were manned by crewmen
who paid a nominal fee “to make
them part owners.” The union
charged the action was a subter
fuge to permit the boats to oper
ate without a union crew.
Eleven other Seattle vessels
were listed by the union in the
same category. The bulk of the
halibut fishing fleet has been tied
up in Puget Sound since May 1 by
an owner-union dispute over
shares of the catch.
agent that the Square Knot sailed
from Seattle for Nome on Sunday.*
Many Dead And
Homeless In States
Blizzards, Floods
<Bv The Associated Press*
Tornadoes, flash floods and1
howling blizzards claimed at least
lives, left hundreds homeless
and trapped up vacationists in a
v.y'.rling snow storm yesterday as
a reception to summer.
Hardest hit was Nebraska where
at least 15 were known to have
perished as a 12-foot wall of wa
ter from an overflowing creek
surged through the town of Cam
bridge at dawn, taking the 1,100
inhabitants by such surprise that
many were unaware of the disas
ter until their homes were sent
sprawling from their foundations.
At least three persons died in
the cold of the blizzard which left
snow drifts as much as 15 feet
deep at Beartooth Pass between
Yellowstone National Park, Wyo.,
and Red Lodge, Mont.
The floods in several areas of
Nebraska followed cloudbursts
which brought an estimated 12
inches or more of rain at Burwell
and Broken Bow.
Mayor Lloyd C. Richardson of
Cambridge said about 100 were
homeless there, and North Loup,
in the north central part of the
state, was inundated. Streams
throughout the state went out of
their banks. Ashland, in eastern
Nebraska, was flooded for the
fourth time this year.
Nine persons were known to
have drowned at Cambridge and
four others were missing. J. M.
Hollingsworth, an insurance man,
saH he was certain two other
children had drowned.
Almost 200 persons were res
cued from trees and housetops.
Several communities along the
Republican river and other
streams were without communica
tions and Harry D. Borunk, pub
lisher of the McCook Gazette, ex
pressed belief the death toll would
rise as soon as these facilities
could be restored.
Hundreds of miles of railroad
trackage was washed, out.
Nine persons were injured by
(Continued on Rage Four)
Wallace To “Lead
To Victory''*
J.
OLYMPIA. (IP) — Urged to
“march forward to victory with
Wallace in ’48, delegates to the
first state convention of the Pro
gressive Citizens of America were
told by executive director H.
Richard Seller yesterday that the
special Third District Congres
sional election showed “that inde
pendent labor and progressive
fighters can and will emerge vic
torious” in next year’s balloting.
Seller said that “this very meet
ing is adding to the trembling of
reaction,” and Charles R. Savage,
Democratic candidate defeated in
the recent election, said Democrats
learned by their loss the necessity
of liberalizing the party.
Savage told the approximately
150 delegates that his defeat was
caused by “a Republican smear
campaign.”