2JS NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. XLVI1I. No. 116. NOME, ALASKA. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27. 1946 PER COPY—15c
NEWS IN BRIEF !
PERTH, Australia, Sept. 27. (iP)
Weather conditions today forced
the U. S. Navy Neptune patrol
plane “Turtle” to delay for 24 j
hours its takeoff for an attempted
* non-stop flight record. Pilot T. D.
Davies said it should be possible
to take off at sunset tomorrow.
VICTORIA, B. C., Sept. 27. (/P)
Authorities today pressed an in
vestigation into the $50,000 blast
that killed three persons and in
jured two others yesterday at the
Canadian Industries, Ltd., explo
re plant on James island, 14
miles north of Victoria.
J. S. Thatcher, plant superin
tendent, and other company offi
cials expressed the opinion, how
ever, that the cause of the expol
sion may never be known as all of
the building’s occupants were
killed.
SEATTLE,, Sept. 27. (/P)—1The
Pacific northwest’s largest sports
fishing event, the Seattle Times
^city salmon derby, will be run off
this Sunday with an estimated 775
fishermen angling for the $1,500
top prize money, five automobiles
and 44 lesser prizes.
Top fish in the closing qualify
ing round was a 36 pound 6 ounce
king salmon hooked by Martin H.
^IcKinley of Seattle. Catches
ranged down the scale to 18
pounds.
SEATTLE, Sept. 27. (/P>—The
tug boat Monitor, which sank
Monday in Lake Union after 14
years service as a houseboat, can
not be salvaged, Mrs. D. X. Hoss
man, the present owner, was in
formed today.
The Monitor was built more
than 50 years ago as the Lydia
Thompson and plied Puget Sound
as a passenger boat in the late
1890’s and early 1900’s. It was
inverted into a tug about 30
years ago.
PORTLAND, Sept. 27 (/P)—U. S.
Conciliators were hoping for a
settlement today in the dispute
which has had 5,000 CIO loggers
#in the Columbia river area on
strike since Monday.
Another employer-union nego
tiating meeting was slated for this
afternoon. A “good chance” of
reaching agreement was reported
after yesterday’s four-hour ses
sion. The dispute revolves around
contract changes and a Deep
River, Wash., walkout.
BATAVIA, Java, Sept. 27. (/P)—
tTwo thousand tons of rubber and
other property, to a total value of
3(1,660,000, were destroyed in a
fire Wednesday at the Borneo port
of Band}ermasin, according to a
message received here today.
Atomic Energy
Commission ,
Reopens Question
LAKE SUCCESS, N. Y„ Sept.
27. (/P)—Encouraged by a last
minute Russian decision which
made possible a unanimous vote
on a sub-committee report, the
United Nations atomic enery com
mission today prepared to reopen
the whole broad question of inter
national control of the atom bomb.
The first actual step in setting
machinery going will be taken
next Wednesday when the No. 2
(political) committee receives the
much-discussed report which won
blanket approval yesterday in the
commission’s scientific committee.
This move was expected to lead to
early sessions of the commission
itself.
The 12-nation commission, still
standing apart on the United
States and Russian plans, has
been in recess since July, when it
ashed the scientists to draft a re
port on the technical aspects of
the question. For the last three
weeks the committee has been
marking time while the Soviet
representative awaited Moscow’s
I approval of the report.
When the showdown came Prof.
S. P. Alexandrove of Russia cast
an affirmative vote, but appended
a statement that the report’s con
clusions were “hypothetical and
conditional.” He based his stand
on the contention that the com
mittee had at its disposal “limited
and incomplete informatoin.”
Macarthur Breaks
Silence About Loss
Of Manila Planes
TOKYO, Sept. 27. (/P>—General
Macarthur today broke his long
silence regarding the loss aground
of most U. S. airplanes in the
Manila area on the very first day
of the war with the tsatement:
“Our air forces were hopelessly
outnumbered and never had a
chance of winning.”
Macarthur was prodded into his
long-awaited statement by charges
made by Lt. Gen. Lewis H. Brere
ton, commander of the Philippine
air force in 1941, in his book “The
Brereton Diaries,” recently pub
lished. Accounts received there
said Brereton wrote that he had
requested permission of Lt. Gen.
Richard K. Sutherland, then chief
of staff, to assault Formosa. It was
from Formosa that the Japanese
bombers flew to attack the Phil
ippines. Brereton said the permis
sion was withheld so long that the
available small force of B-17
bombers was destroyed on the
U. S. Sends Note
To Yugoslavia
WASHINGTON, Sept. 27. </P>—
The State Department drafted a
new note to Yugoslavia today in
an effort to restore the flow of
American information to that
country. The Tito regime yester
day ordered the United States em
bassy in Belgrade to close down
its information service there.
Although the contents of the
latest American note remained
temporarily undisclosed, officials
said it calls attention to the “fun
damental facts of democratic life,”
and re-emphasizes this country’s
stand for mutual exchange of in
formation between the people of
the world.
Yugoslavia’s action was taken
in protest against distribution of
an article critical of Marshall
Titos’ government. The U. S. em
bassy said that the article was re
produced on the information serv
ice’s multigraph machine without
authorization by an unidentified
government employee who has
since been discharged.
Rioting Kills IT
In Bombay
BOMBAY, Sept. 27 (/P)—Eleven
persors have been killed in re
newed Hindu-Moslem rioting in
Bombay, Calcutta, Dacca and the
Taj Mahal city of Agraa, in the
last two days.
Seven were killed and about 100
were injured in Agra yesterday in
a clash reported to have been
touched off by the stoning of a
Hindu religious procession. A 24
hour curfew was imposed on the
rioters. The city was reported
quiet today.
Three persons were killed and
two were wounded in Calcutta,
scene in mid-August of the blood
iest communal riots in its tumul
tuous history.
ground at Clark Field, 90 miles
north of Manila.
MacArthur replied that Ameri
can fliers could not have attacked
Formosa before the Japanese
planes wiped out the Philippine
based bombers on the first day of
the war. His statement was issued
to the press in reply ot questions
regarding Brereton’s book.
“General Brereton never recom
mended an attack on Formosa to
me and I know nothing of such a
recommendation having been
made,” Macarthur stated flatly.
“In the short interval of time in
volved, it is doubtful that an at
tack could have been set up and
mounted before the enemy’s ar
rival.”
Submarine Cables
Now Used for Long
Distance Phone
SEATTLE, Sept. 27. (/P) — Old
Alaska submarine cables, which
were “retired” with the coming of
radio, now have new important
duties.
Long distance telephone service,
started by the Alaska Communi
cations system last July 25 be
tween several southeastern Alas
ka points over the old cables, was
again extended yesterday. Gov. |
Ernest Gruening, Col. T. J. Tully,
ACS commanding officer, and the
mayors of Juneau, Skagway and
Haines took part in brief ceremon
ies linking those cities.
It is believed the first time such
service has been started over con
siderable distances by submarine
cable, the ACS said. Ketchikan
and Metlakatla, Petersburg and
Wrangel land Haines and Skag
way were given such service
, starting in July.
A Drastic Order
Is Anticipated
By Japs
TOKYO, Sept. 27. (/P)—Specula
! tion that a major policy r>ro
nouncement by General Macar- ]
' thur is in immediate prospect
gained credence today in both oc-;
cupation and Japanese circles. A
flood of rumors and at least one
newspaper article dwelt on the
possibility of a purge of economic
leaders.
Throughout more than a year
of occupation, there has been j
much speculation among Japanese j
that Macarthur eventually would
deal with financiers and industri
alists, whom many felt were co
workers of the militarists, if not
manipulators, in Japan’s aggres
sion.
Interest in the subject goes be
yond mere punishment for past
acts, however; the entire future
of Japan unquestionably will be
geared to the gate of those who
at present, as in the past, control
the economic situation.
COOK BOOK FOR
CHRISTMAS PRESENTS
The Ladies Aid Society of the
Federated Church announce that
the Nome Cook Book is on sale in
all shops and stores in town and
that anyone desiring these books
for Christmas gifts should make
their purchases soon. The books
have had a steady sale since they
were published last spring and
have proved to be very popular.
Hearing For Cut In
Lighterage Rates
Opens In Nome
The hearing by the U. S. Mari
time Commission into the rates
and tariffs of ships’ anchorage to
shore at ports along the Bering
Sea coast of Alaska, was begun
Thursday morning in the court
room of the federal building.
Lomen Commercial Company of
Nome is being represented by Ira
D. Orton, local attorney and S. J.
Wettrick, Seattle attorney.
Representing the people in the
hearing are David E. Scholl, at
torney for the Alaska Develop
ment Board, Ralph J. Rivers, At
torney General of the Territory of
Alaska, and George W. Rogers.
Territorial Price Executive for the
OPA.
The U. S. Smelting Refining
and Mining Company is being
represented by the company at
torney Omar O. Victor, of Boston.
The case opened with a report
of findings by Mr. Rogers, in his
survey of the lighterage company
books which were made available
to him, and through contact with
numerous merchants.
Mr. Rogers entered the OP A ex
hibit to illustrate the importance
of lighterage costs in relation t >
the cost of landed goods at Norn'1.
He stated that his data was com
piled from actual invoices ani
shipping bills, and if desired
would furnish copies of same for
the records. Mr. Rogers states that
high lighterage costs, coupled to
already high steamship rates, is a
serious handicap to the develop
ment of the area.
In giving his report, Mr. Rogers
stated that his study of the real
labor costs projected by the re
spondent, Lomen Commerc i a 1
Company, were apparently rea
sonable, but were somewhat lower
than the figure used by the com
pany to compute the cost par ton
for handling, but considered it
not a fair basis for judging the
reasonableness of the rate struc
ture.
The report of the OPA execu
tive referred to an increase of
400% increase in the superintend
ent’s salary since 1938; travel ex
penses increased 350%; consider
able increase in repair costs to
equipment nad high depreciation
accounts.
The OPA report also went to
great length regarding the increase
in officers’ salaries of the lighter
age company which paid 500%
more in 1946, (estimated) than in
1938, and although “other salar
ies” have doubled they could
seemingly be allowed in part.
The OPA and the Development
Continued on Page Three