m NOME NUGGET
_OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS _
VOL. XLIX. No. 146 NOME, ALASKA. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1947_PER COPY — 15c
NEWS IN BRIEF
i _
FAIRBANKS, </P) — Army au
< thorities yesterday identified 1st
* Lt. William J. Reilly, 26, San
Francisco, as the pilot killed in
the crash of a P-80 fighter plane
near Ladd Field Monday. Reilly,
son of Mrs. Catherine J. Reilly,
-San Francisco, flew 61 combat
» missions as a P-38 pilot in England
during the war. He held several
decorations.
Reilly was on temporary duty
at Ladd Field with the 94th fighter
squadron. He crashed one mile
# from the field while coming in for
a landing when his engine appar
ently failed.
NUERNBERG, Germany, (Ah—
Ten former state secretaries, pros
ecutors and judges in Hitler’s min
istry of justice were convicted by
a U. S. military tribunal yesterday
on war crimes charges. Four oth
ers were acquitted. Sentences of
those convicted, which may be
death, will iSe announced later.
--
LONDON, (Ah—Lord Burghley,
president of the international am
ateur. athletic federation an
nounced today the Soviet Union
had joined the IAAF, paving the
way for their participation in the
major sports of the 1948 Olympic
games.
Lord Burghley said he had sent
a cable to M. Morozov, chairman
of the light athletic section of the
* all union committee of physical
culture and sport of the U.S.S.R.,
accepting the Russian member
ship. “I extend to you a hearty
and sincere welcome to our activ
ities and shall look forward to
many pleasant meetings,” Burgh
ley wrote.
SEATTLE, (A*) — Miss Dorothy
Kontich, Seattle-born actress, left
by plane Wednesday for Anchor
* age, where she is to be married
Saturday to Milan Rayovich, civil
ian mantenance engineer at Fort
Richardson. Miss Kontich return
ed here from an overseas tour in
which she played in shows spon
sored by the office of special
services in the European theater.
WASHINGTON, <A>)—'The Sen
ate judiciary committee arranged
for preliminary hearings yester
^ day on the nominations of four
men to be federal judges. They in
clude: Harry E. Pratt, district
judge. Division Four, Alaska.
► MOSCOW, (/P)—In the Russian
Republic alone, one of the sixteen
republics making up the Soviet
Union, it has been decided to set
up twenty factories for manufac
ture of prefabricated houses, ac
cording to the railway newspaper
“Whistle.” Many of the houses
which will be produced there will
go to railway workers, the paper
added.
HAMBURG, (JP) — Telegr a p h
► services between Germany and
Portugal and Iceland are under
consideration, the postal and tele
communications branch of the
t British Control Commission has
announced.
ALTON, 111. (/P)—Three calam
ities occurring on successive days
CAB Hearing Of
Annette Island
Crash Is Recessed
SEATTLE, </P) — Why a four
motored transport airplane plowed
blindly into Tamgas mountain cm
Annette Island near Ketchikan
October 26 carrying 18 perosns to
death remained a mystery last
night when the civil aeronautics
board recessed its inquiry into the
tragedy.
R. W. Chrisp of Washington, D.
C., who presided, announced the
hearing will be reconvened when
conditions permit an examination
of the wreckage on the mountain.
This is expected to be sometime
in August, after snows have melt
ed.
The board made a searching in
quiry, probing into the condition
of the plane, the safety aids at the
Annette Island field, and the wea
ther warnings. But its own safety
chief, Fred G .Powell of Anchor
age, member of the board, testi
fied an examination of the plane’s
records showed it was in air
worthy condition when it left
Seattle; testimony that a radio
beam at Annette Island had tem
porarily been off a degree or two
a couple of days before the crash
was discounted by airmen as in
sufficient to make any difference,
and the testimony indicated the
forecast at departure time in Seat
tle showed light turbulence was
expected throughout the route.
There was testimony that an
amended forecast regarding the
turbulence was sent out when the
plane was about two hours out of
Seattle, and though there was no
acknowledgement it was presumed
that the plane had received it.
The testimony showed that
Capt. Alf N. Monsen, veteran
Alaskan pilot who was in charge
of the plane, arrived #over Annette
Island field at 7,000 feet and with
1,820 gallons of gasoline still in
(Continued on Page Seven)
Byrd Challenges
Truman io Reduce
Govt. Spending
NEW YORK, </P>—Senator Byrd
<D-Va.> issued a "challenge” to
President Truman yesterday to
"reduce domestic spending in pro
portion to the new contributions to
be sent abroad” for the rehabili
tation of Europe.
Byrd declared that five to six
billions of dollars could have been
pared from the budget for the fis
cal year which began last July 1
“without interfering too much
with the essential services.”
And if Mr. Truman is sincere
about wanting to aid Europe, Byrd
asserted, he will take the lead in
slashing federal expenditures dur
ing the next fiscal year.
were enough to send Mrs. Ella
Rice, 74, to a hospital. On Monday
a heating stove exploded. Tuesday
a leg broke off a kitchen table and
spilled her dishes on the floor.
Wednesday when the stove ex
ploded again Mrs. Rice went to the
hospital for treatment for minor
burns.
Sen. Butler Offers
Law to Curl) Power
Of Interior Dept.
—
(By Charles D. Watkins)
<f/P) Special Washington Service' i
WASHINGTON. (/P> — Legisla
tion to rescind creation of Indian
reservations in Alaska and take
away the secretary of the interi
or’s right to establish any in the
future was ready yesterday for in
troduction in the Senate.
Senator Butler <R.-Nebr.' chair
man of the Senate public lands
committee, said he would offer n
resolution to make the changes
which he said are needed to en
courage private enterprise to de
velop the Territory.
“No private interests will risk
the financing of any new enter
prise so long as Alaskan lands re
main in their present uncertain
condition of turmoil and confu
sion,” Butler said in a memoran
dum attached to the resolution.
Butler’s resolution recites that
aboriginal titles to land in Alaska
were extinguished by the treaty
with Russia under which the
United States purchased the Ter
i ritory. It said the United States
! had never recognized native rights
1 based upon use and occupancy ex
cept in certain individual cases.
(Continued on Page Seven)
Senator Seeks
Amendment Of
Drastic Jones Act
WASHINGTON, </P) — Legisla
tion intended to improve passen
ger and freight transportation to
Alaska was ready yesterday for
introduction in the Senate.
Senator Butler (R.-Nebd, chair
man of the Senate public lands
committee, said the measure
would permit Canadian vessels to
carry passengers between Alaskan
ports, by amending the Jones
Law, which now prohibits this.
That law prohibits any vessel of
foreign registry from taking pas
sengers from one American port
to another.
Butler said his bill also would
remove what he described as a
discrimination* against Alaska now
in the law. He said this permits
merchandise to be shipped from
an American point of origin to a
foreign port and be carried by
foreign vessels to another Ameri
can point for delivery, except that
foreign vessels are forbidden to
give such service to Alaska.
Under his amendment, the Sen
ator said, foreign vessels will be
able to pickup freight at Canadian
ports and deliver it to Alaskan
ports.
Alaskans have urged such
amendments, saying it will in
crease tourist travel to the Terri
tory and provide another route for
getting in freight. They have con
tended the present service by
three Seattle companies is too
costly and is frequently interrupt
ed by labor difficulties.
Under the Butler proposals a
Canadian ship could pick up mer
chandise shipped from the United
! States via rail to Prince Rupert,
Canada, and deliver it to Alaska.
Death Toll Mounts
In Palestine
Partition Protests
(By the Associated Press'
The death toll mounted yester
day in Palestine’s civil strife as an
Arab strike protesting partition
went through its third and last
day. New disorders broke out else
where in the Arab world, even as
appeals were made by both Arabs
and Jews for a halt to the vio
lence.
Four new deaths were reported,
bringing to at least 35 the number
who have died in the wave of pil
lage, burning and destruction.
Hundreds have been injured.
One Arab was killed and several
Jews and Arabs were wounded in
renewed fighting in the no-man’s
land between all-Arab Jaffa and
all-Jewish Tel Aviv. A jewish fac
tory worker was reported shot to
(Continued on Page Eight'
Coester Looks Into
Seamen’s Arrest
JUNEAU i/Pi—Ed Coester, busi
ness agent of the Seattle local,
sailors union of the Pacific, was
'here yesterday to investigate the
arrest last week of six seamen on
charges of larceny of goods in in
terstate commerce.
The men, crewmen of the
freigher Coastal Rambler, were ar
1 rested by agents of the F.B.I. They
are being held under $3,500 bail.
Coester said he was investigat
i ing the arrests at the behest of the
Seattle local but was not empow
ered to take any action as the case
is not a union affair. He conferred
yesterday with the seamen’s coun
sel and was expected to talk with
the men themselves.
Soviets To Devalue
Ruble; People In
Panic Start Buying
WASHINGTON. (>P> — Reports
of “panic buying” and impending
currency changes in Soviet Russia
have reached Washington and
been given sufficient credence to
be broadcast around the world by
the government’s “Voice of Amer
ica" radio.
The state department’s broad
cast in 23 languages Wednesday
night said the wave of buying had
been touched‘off by widespread
rumors of prospective price in
creases and devaluation of the
Russian ruble.
The rush to trade paper money
for durable goods at stores in
Moscow and other cities, the
broadcast said, is reported to have
swelled to such proportions that
some establishments in the Soviet
capital have been forced to close.
Reports to authorities here, sup
plementing the one on which the
broadcast was based, also hinted
at further trouble for the tightly
managed Soviet economy.
Heavy runs to withdraw savings
from banks, these reports related,
have resulted in an order to limit
individual withdrawals to 200 ru
bles daily.
Botli F j«r liters I n
Condition For
Champion liotit
(By Ted Smits)
NEW YORK, Joe Louis and Jer
sey Joe Walcott, both ^3, which is
aged as prize fighters go, took well
earned rest yesterday to get in top
mental and physical shape for to
night’s world heavyweight cham
pionship fight.
Odds ran as high as 1 to 10
Louis will retain the title he has
held ten years. There was compar
ative little betting.
Last word from the champion’s
camp was the unanimous verdist
of his sparring partners that he is
better than ever.
The challenger’s associates made
no such claim for their man, but
‘ instead hinted they would rather
i see some other referee than Ar
thur Donovan in the Madison
Square Garden ring for the 15
! round fight. Louis said he didn’t
care.
Louis at 212 pounds will hold
an 18-pound advantage over Wal
,cott; his reach is 76 inches, two
more than Walcott's; and at six
feet two he is two inches taller.
In punching, speed, and ring
craftsmanship the margin in favor
of Louis is much greater.
This is what Louis’ sparring
partners say:
Jimmy Bell—“He is better than
when he fought Billy Conn,”
Bob Garner—“He has more will
power when it comes to training
than any fighter I ever knew.”
George Fitch—“Wallcott is a
| shifty fellow and may fool him for
a couple of rounds, but Joe will
catch him.”
Louis did four fast rourltts Wed
nesday, and yesterday listed only
light road work and calisthenics.
This morning he motored to New
• York for the weighing-in.
What Walcott did only his camp
| mates know, for the secrecy was
complete. Both men have trained
{ conscientiously.
Scliuiiian Making
Headway With
Anti-Strike Laws
PARIS. </P) — The government,
armed with a new and drastic
anti-strike law, made some dents
yesterday in the Communist- pro
pagated strikes which have vir
tually strangled French economy,
but confronted fresh violence on
the fashionable Riviera.
A mob seized the post office in
Cannes. Another throng was
driven back by rifle butts and
truncheons of mobile guards at the
postoffice in Nice where the cen
tral labor committee called a gen
eral strike.
The government was striving to
reopen stiuck mines. Rail traffic
leaving Paris reached 80 per cent
of normal and some commerce
was coming through the Atlantic
ports.
Conditions along the Mediter
rean coast were so critical that
trains from Paris were proceeding
only as far as Lyon.
Socialist Premier Robert Schu
(Continued on Page Six)