22 NOME NUGGET
_OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS_
VOL L. ~No~144 NOME, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER"fTi948 PER COPY—15c
NEWS IN BRIEF
_
A wire was received by Edi’h
Thompson from Minnie Munz who i
left here Sunday on a nine-day
trip to Hollywood to be filmed by
Universal Studios. She states that •
she was met by a crowd of news
paper men and camera men in
Hollywood and started work yes
terday morning. I
_
SEATTLE, (lP) — A coast guard
cutter is standing by the (ib-ton
freighter Kasilof which is reported
aground but safe at Dry Bay,
Alaska. 160 miles northwest of
.Juneau.
The cutter Unalga reported the
crew of eight was in no immediate
danger though winds of 40 to 50
miles an hour threatened to hinder
rescue plans.
The Seattle-bound Kasliof went
ashore while towing a 100-ton
scow. Earlier, it had been reported
on the rocks at Lituya Bay, 40
miles southeast of Dry Bay.
SEATTLE, (/P)—Crews are mak
ing temporary repairs on the army
transport Sgt. Charles E. Mower
which split at a Whittier dock Sat
urday.
Its 240 passengers will he
brought to Seattle by the USAT
Gen. LeRoy Eltinge which left
here Monday.
Port of embarkation officials
said a nine-foot split above the
waterline will be sealed and the
Mower will be unloaded and re
turned empty to Seattle by way of
the Inside Passage.
SEATTLE, (/P) — Three Ketchi
kan (business men passed through
here Monday night on their way
to Washington, D. C., to protest a
reported plan ot re-establish 17th
district coast guard headquarters
at Juneau.
They were Norman Walker, Wil
lian Boardman and Robert Jern
berg
The coast guard has already an
estimated three million dollars
worth of plant and equipment at
Ketchikan, Jernberg said. Setting
up of the headquarters at Juneau
would mean duplication of some
of it, he added.
MEXICO CITY, (/PX — Ernest
Gruening, Governor of Alaska,
was (scheduled to leave today for
Taxco to investigate a projeot for
exchanging Alaskan and Mexican
craftsmen.
The project is being studied by |
the U. S. department of Indian af
fairs. Gruening expeots to be I
about a week in Taxco, a center
for Mexican craftsmen and par
ticularly silver workers.
JUNEAU, (£>)—John Torvineh.
78, died here over the weekend af
ter a brief illness. He came to Jun
eau in 1897 to open a tailor shop,
retiring eight years ago. Among
the survivors are his widow of
Reno, Nev., and two sons, Roy of
Reno and Albi of Seattle .
ANCHORAGE, (/P)—Two Alas
ka girls planning to make Hawaii
their permanent home have booked
passage on the inaugural North
west Airlines flight from Seattle
(Continued on Page Three)
Internation’l News'
At A Glance — j
—
Tuesday, November 30. 1948
(By The Associated Press)
German communists, who act at j
Russia’s pleasure, set up today a
separate "government’ for block
aded Berlin. It is opposed to the
elected anti-communist govern
ment which will hold elections in
Western Berlin Sunday despite
communist and Russian boycotts.
The communist action virtually
completed the division of the city
just when hope arose for a solu
tion in hte United Nations of a I
blockade the Russians imposed
last June.
The Reds set up their “govern
ment” at a rally called for what
was termed “decisive measures for
the protection of a united Berlin.”
They elected their own mayor,
Friedrich Ebert, 54, namesake of
the first German president under
the Weimar republic. Then they
elected a magistrate for the city
giving places to men long since
disowned by other parties.
Argentine foreign minister Juan
Bramuglia got Russian acceptance
to a compromise Berlin plan pro
viding for a neutral commission of
(experts to handle technical and
procedural phases of the conflict.
The blockade itself and Russian in
sistence that only Soviet-backed
currency circulate in Berlin are
the main issues. The western pow
I ers accepted in principle.
! American, British and French
military governors tried in Frank
furt to settle differences over the
occupation statute which will
show how much power the western
German government is to have.
French fear of a strong Germany
is the main obstacle.
Chinese communists trapped
about 140,000 nationalist troops
145 miles northwest of Nanking,
greatly increasing the peril to the
capital. Beyond the encircled 12th
army group, there is little to stop
the communists short of the Yang
tze river bank opposite Nanking.
The U. S. embassy said naval
planes will start evacuating Amer
ican dependents from the city.
Mrs. Chiang Kai-Shek flew on
toward Washington with an urgent j
appeal for more help. Her recep
tion is expected to be polite but
chilly.
Britain dropped her insistence
in the U. N. that Israel give up the
Negev derest of southern Pales- j
tine. A spokesman said the British
position is close to the American.
France appeared to hold the de
ciding vote in the security coun
cil over Israel’s p lea for member
ship.
French diplomats said the west
ern European Union countries
want the projected 50-year North
Atlantic Defense Pact with the U.
S. and Canada to be a political, so
da lan dcultural treaty as well as
military. Negotitions start shortly
in Washington.
A Jesuit priest returning to Ger
many from the Soviet Union said
Russia has a plan to persecute the
leaders. Josef Cardinal Facings
vounched for the story of the Rev.
(Continued on Page Two)
Townsend Will I
Desert Redhead
On World Flight
EDMONTON, Alta., (/Pi—Mich- ;
ael Townsend, navigator for Mrs.
Richard Morrow-Tait on the Bri
tish aviatrix’ attempted flight
around the world, was to leave Ed
monton yesterday for Winnipeg
and Montreal en rou'e home to
England.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Morrow-Tait,
who still is stranded by lack of
money to repair her plane, said she
“will not abandon the flight under
any circumstances.”
Mr. and Mrs. “Whitey” Wilson
of Edmonton have offered her tem
porary accommodation in their
home after reading of her plight
and an oil company here also of
(Continued on Page Seven*
Army Halves Jan.
Call For Draftees
WASHINGTON, (/P)—1The army *
yesterday cut in half its proposed
January draft call for 20,000 men.
Lack of money was given as the
reason.
At the same time, the army an
nounced the February call would
be for only 5,000 men.
“The reductions were necessi- |
tated by the limitation of the bili- '
tary budget for fiscal 1950 to fif- !
teen billion dollars, of which
$600,000,000 are for stock-piling of
strategic raw materials,” the na- !
tional military establishment said
in a statement announcing the
army plans. *
The new draft calls are far be
low the 30,000 a month average
which army secretary Royall es
timated last June when plans were '
being made for the peacetime
draft.
The first call for November was
10,000 and the December call
15,000.
To Seek Sales Tax
For Cities Only
SITKA, (A3)—A group of Alaska
mayors, after watching Sitka’s ex
ample in trying out a 2 per cent
sales tax, decided to ask the com
ing legislature to legalize a sales
tax for cities only
The tax was started here be- j
cause school funds were low, and
because continued operation of the
school was admitted to be a neces
sity no opposition such as a court
test has been tried.
It has been raising about $5,000
a month, city officials told last
week’s mayors’ conference.
The mayors also decided to ask
the legislators to include towns in
various revenue-sharing measures
to be introduced. Among them are
the net income tax, any excise on
tobaccos, pinball machines, punch
boards and amusements and the
present tax on fuel for internal
combustion engines.
Atty. Howard Stabler, Juneau
city counsel, will be asked to rep
resent the cities at the legislature.
Mayor Waino Hendrickson of Juff
eau and Mayor Bob Ellis of Ketch
ikan, will be advisors.
Gigantic Business
Of Post Exchanges
Under Scrutiny
WASHINGTON, I/P)—A defense
establishment committee is study
ing the multi-million dollar busi-1
ness of army post exchanges and
navy ship stores to see, among
other things, if there is unfair
competition with private business.
The survey is being made by a
unit of the munition board’s com
mittee on facilities and services
| for the armed forces.
It includes a check to find whe
ther and how much consolidation
could be accomplished at military
installations adjoining or near
each other. In some instances, an
army or air force post exchange
store operates in the same area
where navy servicemen' do their
buying at a ship’s store. (A ship
store may be located ashore as
well as aboard ship).
A spokesman for the defense es
tablishment said:
“The study includes the sugges
tion that the sales of PX’s and ship
stores be reduced or restricted
closely to prevent unfair compe
tition with civilian merchants.
“However, the committee has
not completed its survey and it
probably will be some time before j
it can make a report.”
The question of competition al-1
ready has been raised on Capitol
Hill. A new request that Congress
look into the situation was voiced
earlier this week by the United
States Chamber of Commerce.
The chamber said both the army
and navy “appear to have exceed
ed their proper sphere of activi
ties.” The business organization
described this as the sale of “small
items of personal necessity, con
venience and comfort” to military
men and their families .
Four Maritime
Contracts Still
To Be Signed
SAN FRANCISCO, (/P) — The I
west coast maritime strike was 90
days old yesterday, with settle
ments yet to be reached between
employers and three sagoing un
ions. A jurisdictional question in
volving a fourth union also re
mained undecided.
Only CIO longshoremen, whose
deadlocked negotiations precipi
tated the long strike last Sept. 2,
have ratified a new work contract.
Independent marine firemen late
Monday ordered their negotiators
to continue talks with the Pacific
American shipowners association
until a complete “package deal”
could be submitted to the workers
for approval.
Still to be negotiated, too, are
PASA contracts with CIO marine
cooks and stewards and the CIO
radio operators.
SAN FRANCISCO, ^)—Two of
the three striking maritime unions
still at odds with the Pacific ship
owners were reported “very close”
Uk settlement today.
They were the CIO marine
cooks and stewards and the unaf
(CnnttmipH r»n Pa tta
Montana Protests
Overland Mail
Route To Alaska
SEATTLE. (A*)—Sharp protests
from Montana over the govern
ment’s new overland Seattle-Alas
ka mail trucking route were re
ported yesterday. Montana offi
cials insist Great Falls should be
the terminus.
In Washington, D. C., however,
P^ul Aiken, second assistant post
master general, said the new serv
ice from Seattle has been success
ful and is cheaper than sending
ing the mail by ship.
The overland route was started
I because of the maritime tieup.
James J. Flaherty, Montana
1 chamber of commerce president,
(Continued on Page Five)
Army Stages
Grand Party
For Draftees
DENVER, UP) — Colorado’s first
postwar draftees pinched them
selves and wondered if this is the
army.
The army threw them a swank
party Monday night. It made them
Cinderella generals. Tough old
sergeants jumped at their com
mands. The Brass looked on and
smiled. There were dates and
bands and songs and comedy. And
there was food that never graced
a wartime chow line.
When it was all over, they went
back to warm hotel rooms instead
of the cold tents of wartime induc
(Continued on Page Five)
Vote Recount Gives
Demos House Seat
WASHINGTON, (JP)— A vote
recount giving Democrats another
House seat in New York confirms
the edge of 91 seats they will hold
over Republicans in the House in
the new Congress.
The line-up, on the basis of the
New York recount showing John
C. Davies <D) elected over incum
bent Hadwen C. Fuller (R) in the
35th (upstate) district, will be:
Democrats 262, Republicans 171,
American-Labor 1, vacancy 1.
Th& vacancy, also in New York,
is in a normally Democratic dis
trict (Brooklyn) which had been
represented by the late John J.
Delany <D>, who died after the
election.
At the start of the present Con
gress the line-up was: Republicans
246, Democrats 187, American-La
bor 2.
SHOPPING DAYS
Till ruvitTMji**