THE
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
___ _ _ ■ -- ■ ’ - •
VOL. LIII No. 132_NOME, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1951_Per Copy—15<r
U. S. Freighter
Swept By Fire
In Pacific Storm
SEATTLE, (£>) — A Japanese
merchant ship pulled 12 surviv
ors of the ill - fated American
freighter George Walton from the
storm swept North Pacific early
today and moved on to rescue 25
others riding bobbing lifeboats
upwind from their burning and
sinking ship.
An explosion and fire aboard
the freighter late yesterday killed
three members of its crew and
drove the others to lifeboats to
await rescue from commercial and
Coast Guard vessels converging
on the disaster scene.
The Japanese freighter Kenkon
Maru, the first to reach the
stricken ship, battled rough water
and a strong wind through most
of the night to rescue 12 sea
men in a lifeboat nearest the
Walton. Seven were taken aboard
shortly before midnight and the
others rescued about four hours
later.
All were weakened by cold and
exposure.
The George Walton radioed for
aid at 3 o’clock yesterday after
noon, reporting its engine room
and crew quarters swept by
flames which followed an ex
plosion.
“Three men are dead and one
seriously burned,” came the fran
tic message from a radio operator
who was driven from his quar
ters every few minutes by the
smoke and fumes. He finally had
to follow the other crewmen over
side, carrying a portable radio
which sputtered out its last ap
peal for help shortly after 5
o’clock.
U.S. Casualties In Korea
Reach 97,514 Last Friday
WASHINGTON, (^—Announ
ced U.S. battle casualties in
Korea reached 97,514 today, an
increase of 1,922 since last week.
The Defense Department's
weekly summary based on noti
fications to families through last
Friday reported:
Killed in action . 14,691
Wounded . 70,220
Missing . 12,603
Total . 97,514
Following is a breakdown of
the casualties by services:
Army . 79,571
Navy . 1,118
Air Force . 903
Marine Corps . 15,922
Sen. Johnson Urges U.S.
Use of A-Weapons Against
Communists In Korea
WASHINGTON, (/P)— Senator
Edwin C. Johnson (D-Colo) Mon
day urged use of atomic weapon
against the Communists in Korea
—and said the possibility of re
taliation of Russia is “too absurd
to consider.”
Johnson, a member of the Sen
ate-House Atomic Energy Com
mittee, spoke out against, the
background of the latest series erf
atomic tests in Nevada. He de
clined to discuss information he
has about the outcome of these
tests, except to say they showed
“great progress” in building Am
erica’s atomic might.
Vishinsky Address
Will Set Tone Of
U.N. 6th Assembly
PARIS, (/P) — Soviet foreign
minister Andrei Vishinsky asked
the United Nations Assembly to
day to take up the question of
a Chinese representation, a major
unsolved issue, at the current ses
sion.
The Soviet delegate tossed in
this request as new and important
proposals for easing East-West
tension were expected from the I
Western big three.
The American-British-French
plans, believed tto contain pro
visions for a count of the world’s
atomic weapons, are scheduled to
be disclosed at midnight. This
will mark the major event thus
far in the sixth assembly session
which opened yesterday with a
call from France’s president Vin
cet Auriol for a Truman-Stalin
Churchill meeting in Paris.
The handling of the Auriol pro
, posal in the Soviet press sug
I gested a cool reception. The dis
patches published in Moscow
questioned the sincerity of Aur
iol’s proposals.
Big oratorical guns open up on
the floor of the assembly tomor
row, and observers say that upon
the tone of Vishinsky’s address
depends much of the prospects
for this session.
Alaska Arctic Oil Reserves
Estimated To Contain
60 to 150 Million Barrels
| DENVER, (/P) — An advisory
board to the secretary of the
Navy met here today to review
the results of exploration for oil
in Alaska.
Capt. Robert H. Meade, direc
tor of naval petroleum reserves,
said the petroleum experts will
revaluate Alaska findings. They
include, he said, the discovery of
oil reserves estimated to contain
between 60 million and 150 mil
lion barrels of oil.
The reserves are located in
Naval Oil Reserve Four, north of
the Brooks Range in Alaska,
Capt. Meads said. He explained
that extreme cold would prevent
commercial development of the
reserves in the foreseeable future.
Temperatures of 50 degrees be
low zero and winds up to 100
miles an hour are not uncommon
in the region he said, and pre
sent exploration and drilling
problems not found elsewhere.
Korea War Situation . . .
By GEORGE A. McARTHUR
U.S. 8th ARMY HEADQUAR
TERS, Korea, (/P)—Allied troops
attacking through the mud today
recaptured one of three hills lost
to Chinese assaults since Sunday.
Elsewhere along the western
sector, rain dampened the savage
infantry fighting of the past three
days. Artillery duels thundered
along the sector as the U.N. tried
to soften up Chinese still holding
two peaks they seized Sunday.
Communist jet pilots challeng
ed Allied jets in North Korea
Wednesday for the first time in
three days. They fought three
brief engagements. The Fifth Air
Force said nobody was hurt.
Supreme Court To
Test Non-Resident
Fisherman License
WASHINGTON, (£>)—'The Su
preme Court agreed Monday to
say whether Alaska may impose
a $50 a year license fee on non
resident fishermen when it
charges Alsakans only $5.
The U. S. Circuit Court in San
Francisco has held the territory
cannot. The Circuit Court said the
higher fee on non-residents was
an unconstitutional burden on in
terstate commerce.
The ruling was given on a suit
by the Alaska Fishermen’s Union
on behalf of some 3,200 members
who are non-residents of Alaska
and who fish in the territory each
year.
The Supreme Court review on
the dispute was asked in an ap
peal filed by J. Gerald Williams,
attorney general of Alaska. He
contended, among other things,
that Alaska had shown that “the
inconvenience, burden and ex
pense” of collecting the tax from
non-resident fishermen is sub
stantially greater than that of
collecting from residents.
Air Force Postal
Clerk Pilfers
Registered Mail
ANCHORAGE, (fl>) — An Air
Force sergeant who confessed to
stealing hundreds of registered
letters and inadvertantly throw
ing some military operations off
kilter, has been arrested here, Air
Force officials announced.
Postal inspectors said he was
Sgt. James R. Carruthers, of Car
etta, W. Va., a member of the
Fourth Air Postal Squadron at
Elmendorf Air Force base.
At the time of his arrest, U. S.
postal officials said, Carruthers
had in his possession a stolen
registered letter. Complicating
matters, however, is the sergeant’s
confession that except for an es
timated $1,500 in cash he ob
tained he burned the entire con
tents of all the mail he pilfered.
Officials said many pieces of
the lost mail contained important
government documents and sev
eral phases of military operations
in the Alaskan theater were dis
rupted by disappearance orf of
ficial communications.
What did he say he did it for?
To buy new clothes, the postal in
spectors said.
11 - In. Snowstorm
Buries St. Louis
ST. LOUIS, (/P)—St. Louis was
buried under 11 inches of snow
Tuesday in its greatest 24-hour
snowstorm in 39 years—the fifth
heaviest in St. Louis history.
Traffic was stalled throughout
the city and the sntfw continued
to pile up at the rate of an inch
an hour. The weather bureau saw
little prospect of a letup later in
the day.
One death was attributed to the
storm.
The snowstorm, which started
about 5 p.m. Monday, is the city’s
greatest for this early in the year.
Congressional Committee Holds
Hearing Here On House Bill 4388
With Arctic Native Brotherhood
A capacity crowd greeted the Congressional party •
last evening at the Board of Trade for the dinner spon
sored by the Chamber of Commerce in their honor,
immediately after which the hearing on H.B. 4388, in
-<
Anchorage Garage
Fire Costs $250,000
ANCHORAGE, (/P)— Fire de
stroyed the Anchorage City Trans
it Bus Garage Monday night,
causing damage estimated at
$250,000.
One hundred volunteer fire
men fought the blaze in near
freezing temperatures and kept
it from spreading ter other build
ings in the area.
Lost in the fire were nine
buses, including a reconditioned
one which was scheduled to start
the first Anchorage-Seward bus
service today; one jeep, 17,000
pounds of new spare parts, a
newly installed furnace, and the
garage itself.
Firemen said the fire appar
ently was started by a workman
using an electric drill on a water
filled gas tank. A small quantity
of gas left in the tank dripped
on the drill and ignited it. There
was no explosion but the fire
spread quickly through the build
ing.
There were no injuries. The
loss was partly covered by insur
ance.
Weather Delays Search
For Fairbanks Couple
Lost In Light Plane
fAIRBAINTRS, (/P) — Bad wea
ther delayed an aerial search
Monday for two persons missing
on a flight from Fairbanks to
Anchorage.
The missing pair, identified as
Bob Rouse, a construction super
intendent, and Viola O’Brien, a
Fairbanks cafe cashier, left Fair
banks Saturday afternoon in a
light Cessna plane.
Tenth Rescue Squadron officers
said ithere was a chance the
plane may have made an emer
gency landing at Lake Chelatna
where Rouse owns a cabin. The
Air Force planned to check the
cabin when the weather im
proved.
Juneauite Killed In Jet
Crash On Aircraft
Carrier Off Korea
WASHINGTON, (JP) — Four
Navy men were kliled and 10 in
jured Sunday when a jet fighter
crashed into parked planes on the
carrier Antietam off Korea.
The Navy, announcing the mis
hap today, gave this account:
The fighter, a F9F Panther jet,
failed to pick up the arresting
gear and crashed through safety
barriers into other planes on the
flight deck. Two other jet fight
ers were badly damaged and four
received lesser damage.
One of the men killed was Air
man Edward Laverne Clark, son
of Mrs. Cloie May Clark bf Ju
neau, Alaska.
>relation to aboriginal claims, was
held at the Court Room in the
Federal building.
The party, headed by Rep.
Chester D. McMuller of Florida,
included Noris Poulson of Cali
fornia, Wayne Aspinall of Colo
rado, Wesley D’Ewart of Mon
tana, Frank Bow of Ohio, Dele
gate E. L. Bartlett, and Preston
Peden, attorney for the group.
Hugh Wade of the ANS also ac
companied the party. Mrs. Clark
from Anchorage was the reporter
for the group.
Enroute to Nome from Fair
banks, a hearing was held at Kot
zebue where native leaders, Ab
raham Lincoln, John Richards,
Percy Ipalook and others ex
pressed their satisfaction with the
House bill which Delegate Bart
lett has presented.
At the opening of the hearing
last night it was explained that
the primary purpose of the bill
was to settle once and for all, the
claims of the natives of Alaska
and set up a commission of three
members to adjudicate all these
claims with settlement to be
made in land or money.
Another and separate phase of
the bill would appropriate $40
million to help the natives re
habilitate themselves both edu
cationally and economically.
Don Hurlbert, representing the
Chamber of Commerce, stated
that the Chamber recommended
the bill should be divided into
two bills with the first part left
entirely to the natives to decide,
and the second part more clearly
stated, before the Chamber could
comment on it. The Chamber fa
vored the settlement of all claims
(Continued on Page Two)
Korean Buffer
Zone Situation . . .
MUNSAN, Korea, </P) — Red
truce negotiators submitted a new
buffer zone counter proposal to
day strikingly similar to the Al
lied plan—with but crucial differ
ences.
Under the Red plan a buffer
zone would be created now along
the existing front. If subsequent
fighting changed the front lines
materially, either side could pro
pose a change in the military de
marcation line for the zone. But
there was no guarantee the other
must agree to the change.
“No adjustments could be made
in the demarkation line as the
communists obviously would not
agree,” said Maj. Gen. Henry I.
Hodes, head of the U.N. subcom
mittee.
“It would be a de facto cease
fire. It’s the same thing they have
brooight up for three days.”
However, Brig. Gen. William
P. Nuchols, U.N. spokesman, said
the allies had made no “final
judgment” on the Red plan.