Tent Town In
Operation At
Little America
(By Alton L. Blakeslee)
<</P) Correspondent representing
combined American press.)
Aboard the Mt. Olympus, (De
layed)—Three thin-skinned ships
of the Antarctic expedition sailed
from Little America tonight, seek
ing safe passage through the for
midable ice-pack. Rear Adm. Rich
ard E. Byrd and 197 men were left
behind for a three weeks stay in a
tent town perched on a windswept
ice-cap.
A flight over the South Pole
has been mapped as one of the
possible activities before Byrd’s
base finally is evacuated about
March 1. Whether Byrd himself
might make the polar flight
aboard one of the six photographic
R4D planes has not been dis
closed.
Exploratory flight lines radiat
ing out in a semicircle from Little
America have been outlined, but
the weather probably will be the
determining factor.
A tractor trip toward the moun
tains far to the southeast of Little
A:i erica also has been considered.
‘It is a matter now of getting
into action after all this planning,”
Byrd said.
Byrd left his flagship at 6:30
p.m. He will be quartered in a
wannigan, one of three box-like
14 by 6 feet dwellings on skis al
the edge of the tent town. The
men are quartered in stove-heat
ed tents banked with snow for in
sulation.
Rear Adm Richard H. Cruzen
went aboard the ice-breaker
Northwind at 5 p.m. to lead the
Mt. Olympus’ cargo ships Yancey
and Merrick through the ice-pack,
which has been perhaps the worst
encountered in this area. Some
ships suffered light damage on the
journey down, and there is danger
the pack might freeze suddenly.
The downward journey through
the 600-mile wide pack took 14
days, but the pack was reported
much improved, and Cruzen said
he hoped he would lose the dollar
bet made with Byrd that the re
turn passage would take at least
seven days.
132 Billion Limit
| For Budget
WASHINGTON, (/P) — Republi
can Congressional leaders were
said today to be near agreement on
a $32,000,000,000 top limit for next
j year’s budget—a figure they con
| tend would leave $7,000,000,000 for
• tax cutting and debt payments.
The 20 per cent “across the
board” tax reduction plan would
cost $3,500,000,000.
Persons in a position to know
said that GOP members of * the
Senate-House budgetary commit
tee, meeting in secret sessions, ar
| rived at the $32,000,000,000 figure
j by listing a possible cut of $2,000,
j 000,000 in President Truman’s
$11,200,000,000 item for national
defense.
Mr. Truman proposed an over
all budget of $37,500,000,000. He I
estimated revenues at $37,700,000,-1
000. However, Colin Stam, revenue!
expert for the joint committee has i
estimated that these revenues will j
be $200,000,000 higher.
To this, the Republicans have
added the $1,100,000,000 in addi
tional revenue that will be avail
able if the Senate, like the^ House,
approves keeping the wartime ex
cise taxes on luxuries after July 1.
Thus, by the Republican figur
ing, revenues will total thirty-nine
billion, a seven billion spread over
outgo. If this were split equally, it
would take care of the 20 per cent
income tax slash proposed by some
party members and still leave
three and a half billion to apply
on the national debt.
It was estimated that final agree
ment is yet to be reached on the
proposed two billion slice in de-!
fense appropriations.- Some Re
publican members of the joint i
committee were reported to have
opposed vigorously any trimming
of the army-navy outlay.
On the other hand, the secret
conferences brought testi m o n y
from some experts that the de
fense expenditures might be trim
med as much as 20 per cent with
out damaging the efficiency of
either the army or the navy.
I know a girl who is so fastidi
ous she wears garters to keep the
wrinkles out of her liquid stock
ings.
OPEN EVENINGS
POLAR
CURIO
«
Drop in and see us.
Report Of Seattle
Lighterage Hearing
In a hearing at Seattle last week
before the U. S. Maritime Com
mission on Bering Sea lighterage
rates, the Alaska Development
Board continued an attack it be
gan in a similar hearing at Nome
last September upon what it al
leges is a “loading” of the rate
base of the Lomen Commercial
Company by the inclusion of large
salaries paid officers of the light
erage concern who spend all or
most of their time in Seattle.
According to George Sundborg,
General Manager of the Alaska
Development Board, who attended
the Seattle hearing, the Board in
tervened in the case on the grounds
that lighterage rates at Bering Sea
ports are “so high as to be a bur
den upon inhabitants of these
ports and to hinder economic ac
t.vity and development.”
Rates of the Lomen Commercial
Company for lightering shipments
to Nome from vessels lying from
one to three miles offshore are 50
per cent of the rates charged for
carrying the same commodities
fom Seattle to Nome, a distance oi
2300 miles.
The Development Board con
tends that salaries paid four mem
bers of the Lomen family are out
of all proportion to the scope of
lighterage operations and to the
services performed by these indi
viduals.
In response to criticism by the
Board, the Lomen company pro
duced figures at the hearing show
ing that each of four officers of
the company collected from light
erage proceeds alone in 1946 the
following:
Salary, bonus and insurance an
nuities exceeding $19,000. A share,
along with several other stock
holders, in $40,000 in dividends.
The use of company-owned houses
at Nome at rentals of $25 per
month. The use of company-owned
automobiles.
Members of the Lomen family,
each of whom benefited from light
erage revenues on the above scale,
were: Carl Lomen, president;
Ralph Lomen, vice president; Al
fred Lomen, vice president, and
C. V. Austin, vice president. Aus
tin is a brother-in-law of the other
three.
The returns detailed at the hear
ing were in addition to those from,
other family enterprises such aj
the Lomen Equipment Company i
Questioned closely by Alaska I
Development Board Counsel Da
vid Scoll as to what duties they
performed in Seattle entitling
them to such emoluments out of
the rates paid by shippers at
Nome, the officers testified they
settled claims, did purchasing for
the concern and “pinch-hit” for
one another.
At the conclusion of the hearing,
Examiner Horan announced briefs
in the case would be due March
14. Omar Victor, who intervened
on behalf of the United States
Smelting, Refining and Mining
Company, one of the largest ship
pers into Nome, urged that the
Maritime Commission reach a de
cision in the case before the open
ing of the 1947 navigation season.
Alaska Development Board
ALTHOUGH FANS HAVE been
used in China since about 3,000
B. C., the holding fan was not
known until the seventh century,
when it was invented by the Jap
anese, according to the Encyclo
paedia. In Europe, the gestures
ladies used in handling their fans
developed into code signals for
flirtatious purposes.
Seattle Terminal
Operators Modify
Demands
As a result of protests from
Alaska, terminal operators in the
Pacific Northwest have modified
their request for drastically in
creased wharfage and handling
charges on cargo for the Territoy,
it was disclosed today by George
Sundborg, General Manager of the
Alaska Development Board,
Sundborg, who attended hear
ings before the U. S. Maritime
Commission in Seattle last week
on the terminal increases and on
Bering Sea lighterage rates, said
the reduced scale could be attrib
uted directly to the fact that the
Alaska Development Board, Dele
gate E. L. Bartlett, Attorney Gen
eral Ralph Rivers and the Depart
ment of the Interior protested to
the Maritime Commission in
Washington against the magnitude
and discriminatory character of
the dock operators’ requests.
Originally, Sundborg said, the
Northwest Terminal Association
proposed to increase wharfage,
handling and service charges at
Seattle on Alaska cargo from $1.63
per ship’s ton to $4.40. An increase
of this size would have applied to
Alaska cargo only.
When the Development Board
filed its protest and asked the
Commission to make the terminal
charges a subject of hearings,
Sundborg said, the Association
modified its proposed new scale
on Alaska cargo to $2.20 per ton.
The reasonableness of the increase
from $1.63 to $2.20 is what was
under study in the hearings at
Seattle. This matter is under ad
visement by the Maritime Com
mission.
Legal Blanks at The Nugget office
Honor Babe Ruth
On Birthday
NEW YORK, </P) — The ail >g
Babe Ruth celebrated his birr ->
today, although the records in
that he actually was born a f> *y
earlier. As usual, however, u*
hero of baseball’s millions of ' ’
had enough well wishes to mai ■ •*
a two-day affair.
Whether he is 52 or 53 is al > .
matter open to some debate. *Jp
until the need for a birth cer li
cate arose some years ago, the
Babe had always given Feb 6,
1894 as the date of his birth. So,
by his own choice, he is 53 to i :y.
Friends started telepho n n g
French hospital early yesterda to
wish the former home run king a
happy birthday and a speedy re
covery from the illness that has
kept him there for three mot s.
The Babe s nurse started n y
ing messages, but he squeh u i
her enthusiasm when he infor led
her “this isn't my birthday. To
morrow is my birthday.” Flov
telegrams, cards and letter< 1 ive
been arriving all week. They < me
from former teammates anti . om
notables of the sports world
■ other fields.
Today, a plane was to bn
i voice recording with bu t
i greetings from Eddie Collins, 'if
fy Lewis, Johnny Quinn, Ted *il
liams, Joe Cronin and Lem V ran
of the Boston Red Sox. Frank Se
vens, concessionaire at Y; koe
stadium, was to present the re
cording to the Babe.
OLD LANDMARK MOVED
FROM STEADMAN STREET
Pedestrians have a lost fc ’ ng
when traveling up Steadman ' ve.
at the familiar old landmark. The
St. Joseph’s Catholic Church has
been moved out near the T S.
Smelting Co.’s power house.
#
PIONEER WATER DELIVERY
Phone Main 94
ERIC NELSON
Watch Repairing Service
Three Day Service
M< VICKER S JEWELRY STORE
WATCHES - DIAMONDS - GIFTS
Box 1336 Anchorage, Ala?'::
BERING SEA CLUB
Dancing every Saturday and Sunday Night
HYDE’S ORCHESTRA
Bridge Every Tuesday Night
All Bridge Players Invited
NORTHERN
LIGHT & POWER CO.
“BETTER LIGHT - BETTER SIGHT”
G.-E. Mazda Lampe Refrigerators
Electrical Appliances Washing Machines
Wiring Material
Phone MAIN 105