m NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS_
VOL. LI. ~No7 18 NOMETALASkArFRIDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1949_Per Copy—15c
I
NEWS IN BRIEF
SALEM, Ore., i/P) — Students
from Alaska would be able to at
tend the University of Oregon and
state colleges without payment of
non-resident tuition fees under a
bill before the state senate.
The senate’s education commit
tee yesterday recommended pas
sage.
YAKIMA (/P)—Don’t fret if this
winter weather becomes annoy
ing. It’s even too much for the
rough and ready customers.
Last night as comparatively
mild temperatures made slush out
of a light snowfall, Yakima’s
chapter of Alaska Sourdoughs,
who mushed through frigid hard
ships after gold a few decades ago,
postponed their annual meeting
originally slated Friday night. The
weather, the Sourdoughs declared,
is “too rough right now.”
TACOMA, UP)—A warrant for
the removal of Kenneth L. Rob
erts, 24-year-old Kelso resident, to
Ketchikan, Alaska, to face federal
charges was signed in U. S. Dis
trict Court by Judge Charles
Leavy yesterday.
Roberts was specifically charg
ed with flight in interstate com
merce to avoid prosecution for an
alleged burglary in Seward.
* LONDON, UP)—Half the King’s
horses were down with influenza
today.
Instead of marching up the tra
ditional hill with the king’s men,
the horses were running tempera
tures and sneezing in the royal
stables at Buckingham Palace.
“It is the first time we have
ever had an outbreak of this kind
here,” said a stable official.
He said al lthe animals were ex
pected to recover.
SEATTLE, </P)—A tug company
official said yesterday private
tugs can furnish all necessary
towing service to the government
for at least 25 per cent less than
it is now costing.
Paul Pearson made the state
ment in connection with his criti
cism of the operation of army and
► navy tugs in competition with
commercial towing interests. He
asserted commercial bids for haul
ing cement to Alaska for cement
construction have been rejected
by the government.
W A S H I NGTON, (/P) — John
Nicholas Brown resigned today as
assistant secretary of the navy for
air. Dan A. Kimball of Los An
geles was appointed to succeed
him.
The White House also announc
ed President Truman has named
)TJohn T. Koehler, now assistant
general counsel for the navy, as an
assistant secretary of the navy. He
succeeds Mark E. Andrews, whose
Rescue Work
Continues Despite
New_ Storm Wave
(By The Associated Press)
A new cold wave moved into
sections of the snowbound western
states today.
Strong winds continued to swirl
the mountainous snow in the
western plains, hampering the re
opening of highways and clearing
of rail lines. An army troop train
remained stalled at Rawlins, VVyo.
But the army, Red Cross and
other agencies planned no letup in
the fight to save the lives of hu
mans and livestock. The Red Cross
at Rawlins had planes ready to
make low level flights to drop ra
tions to isolated ranch families.
The mining town of Burke, Ida
ho, was reported isolated by a
300-foot wide snow avalancne
which buried roads, rail and
communication lines. No homes
were in the path of the slide,
which was estimated 150 feet deep
in some places.
Other snowslides in western
(Continued on Page Seven)
LIFTING THE LID
AT JUNEAU
Thursday, February 10, 1949
(By James Hutcheson)
JUNEAU, —After prolonged 1
debate over a steady stream of j
proposed amendments, the Senate |
sharply knocked down personal i
property exemptions in the House
approved general property tax
bill late yesterday.
In the House, lengthy discus
sion centered around a bill pro
viding a 40-hour week and a $1
minimum wage. The House also
scotched an attempt to kill the
controversial bill for establishing
a liquor board and control system.
None of these three major bills
came to a vote, however.
The Senate reduced personal
property exemption now allowed
by cities. It raised the taxing val
uation on mining claims from
$100 to $500 per 20 acres.
The Senate also adopted amend
ments to allow the tax cogimis
sioner authority to reduce the
property tax for new industries as
much as one-half, as an incentive
Continued on Page Three
resignation was announced earlier
this week.
Kimball is executive vice presi
dent of the Aerojet Engineering
corporation of Azusa, Calif.
SEATTLE, (/P)—Fresh from her
annual layup for inspection and
repairs, the Alaska Steamship
company’s Denali is scheduled to
sail at 11 a.m. for Alaska ports.
Capt. Ben Aspen will be on the
bridge.
Army Warns Of
Possible Russian
World Spy Ring
WASHINGTON </P>—'The army
warned yesterday that remnants
of a fabulous Russian spy ring
that operated in Japan with per
haps the greatest daring and suc
cess in history may be at work in
world capitals “at this very mo
ment.”
There is that fleeting hint of a
present-day menace in the story of
an espionage network so bold it
slipped from the Japanese cab
inet and Germany embassy in
Tokyo secrets that helped change
the course of the war.
And there is another hint in a
suggestion that the operator who
tapped out coded messages on a
secret radio might now be busy in
some other country.
The army snipped out parts of a
32,000-word report on the ring
than Gen. Douglas MacArthur
sent over from Tokyo. It gave “se
curity reasons.”
Some members of the House
un-American acivities committee
are interested.
The now-it-can-be-told parts of
the report unfold an amazing tale
centering around:
Richard Sorge, a German com
munist and master spy.
Ozaki Hozumi, his second in
command and a Japanese traitor.
(Continued on Page Three)
Magnuson Calls
Railroad Confab
((/P) Special Washington Service’ i
WASHINGTON, (/P)—A confer
ence to discuss plans for a rail
road connection between the
United States and Alaska, called
by Senator Magnuson (D.-Wash.),
is scheduled for late today.
Invited to confer in Magnuson’s
office were Senator Butler (R.
Neb.), William E. Warne, assistant
secretary of interior; Gen. Frank
Heilman, chief of the army trans
portation division; Delegate Bart
lett of Alaska, and Reps. Jackson
and Mitchell, Washington Demo
crats.
Up for discussion was the bill
introduced by Magnuson and But
ler to authorize the President to
negotiate with Canada for a rail
road connecting Prince George,
British Columbia, and the Alaska
Railroad.
The measure provides for coop
eration with Canada to construct
the connecting link and for a sur
vey to select the most practicable
route.
Magnuson said there now is a
railroad from Seattle to Prince
George which could be utilized as
part of a direct route to the Terri
tory.
Russians Most
Likely Conducting
Guided BombTests
FAIRBANKS f/P)-An air force
general says the Russians across
the Bering Straits in Siberia are
very likely conducting Arctic tests
similar to United States experi
ments with guided missiles and
warplanes now under way in
Alaska.
That is the expressed opinion of
Maj. Gen. William E. Kepner,
chief of the air forces proving
ground command.
Kepner left Ladd Field Wednes
day night after a week of observ
ing units of his command on tem
porary duty here as part of the
most extensive airground cold
weather tests in air force history.
Kepner, who was air force boss
of the historic atomic bomb ‘oper
ation crossroads” at Bikini, called
tests here so far ‘‘preliminary ex
ploration” into performance of lat
est model planes and guided mis
siles some being of as yet highly
secret types.
“We expect no comprehensive
answer to all our questions on the
basis of one year’s experimenta
tion,” he said in an interview.
He added that although he’d
been here but a week it had been
long enough to appreciate the im
measurable advantage of observ
ing the effects of temperatures
down to 40 degrees below zero on
equipment heretofore tested only
in “ersatz Arctic” laboratories at |
his Elgin Base, Fla., headquarters. ]
(Continued on Page Eight)
Internationa News
At A Glance —
Thursday, February 10, 1949
(By The Associated Press’
Two obscure Hindu journalists
were sentenced today to hang for
the slaying of Mohandas K. Gan
dhi. They are Narayan Godse, edi
tor of a small Poona newspaper
and Narayan Apte, it publisher.
Five of the eight defendants got
life sentences for conspiring to
assassinate the 78-year-old Hindu
spiritual leaden on Jan. 30, 1948.
One defendant was acquitted.
Led from the heavily guarded
Delhi courtroom after the sentenc
ing, the accused began shouting
“We will conquer Pakistan. Long
live Hindustan.” Then they broke
into loud laughter.
Thus was climaxed an eight
month-long trial, during which
Godse confessed he killed Gandhi
“purely for the benefit of human
ity” and asked to be executed.
Voters of Northern Ireland de
cide today whether they want to
stay in the United Kingdom or
join Southern Ireland in a Repub
(Continued on Page Five)
BULLETIN
WASHINGTON, I/Pj—President
Truman announced Gen. Dwight
Eisenhower will serve temporar
ily as chairman of the joint chiefs
of staff. The White House gave no
explanation of the announcement,
but said the assignment will be of
short duration.
The announcement was made
by one cf the White House secre
taries, Eben Ayers. He told the
newsmen Eisenhower has been as
signed temporarily as chief mili
tary president, and secretary of
defense. He will sit in meetings of
the joint chiefs of staff as presid
ing officer. He is on temporary
leave from the presidency .^of Co
lumbia University.
A reporter asked if there was
"any worsening in the internation
al situation." Ayers said not to
his knowledge.
Cut Boat Service;
Aleutian Villages
Suffer As Result
■ — -
SEATTLE, {!■P) — Residents of
! Unalaska and 35 Aleutian villages
are suffering from lack of supplies
as a result of government suspen
sion of mail boat service, E. E.
Wortman, Unalaska businessman,
said today.
In Unalaska, community of
more than 200 persons, the two
main stores last week reportedly
were out of flour, lard and meat,
with little hopes of replenishing
their stocks immediately.
The situation has been growing
worse steadily since the mail boat
contract was terminated in De
cember, 1947, Wortman, who is
visiting here, said.
“Getting food and other sup
< Continued on Page Four)
Truman Calls
Mindszenty Trial
“Infamous”
WASHINGTON, UP)—President
Truman yesterday denounced the
conviction of Cardinal Mindszen
ty as “infamous.” He said it would
go down as one of the black spots
in Hungary’s history.
Mr. Truman termed the tribun
al that tried Mindszenty a “kanga
roo court” instead of a people’s
court, as Hungary called it. He
added Hungary is a police state
and the people are never respon
sible for their government in that
kind of a set-up.
If the people had their way, he
added, Hungary would not have
that kind of government. The term
kangaroo court usually means a
mock trial or one where principles
of law and justice are ignored.
The President expressed his
(**■»• T*- '