Internation 1 News
<Contincd from Page One>
of property.
[ During the trial all the defend
ants readily confessed to the
charges brought against them.
Some tearfully begged for me.cy.
Their apparent eagerness to de
fame themselves led some west
ern observers to suggest that the
confession had been, wrung from
them.
The Bulgarian press called this
suggestion baseless and denounced
the clergymen as “squealing little
rats.” One paper called them tools
pf capitalism “combining adroitly i
the worship of God with the serv
ice to Mammon.”
The Western Powers put the
finishing touches to the proposed
North Atlantic Defense Alliance.
Diplomatic writers said the treaty
would be signed in Washington;
before the end of March.
Representatives of the powers
negotiating the pact met wPh U. ’
S. secretary of state Dean Acheson
in Washington yesterday and said
afterward they were almost fin
ished with the task of writing the
treaty.
The bill promising the nations1
of Western Europe $5,580,000,000
x in second-year Marshall plan aid
" has successfully passed its first
major hurdle in the U. S. Con
gress.
The measure, authorizing the
full sum asked by the economic
cooperation administration, was
unanimously approved late yester
day by the Senate foreign rela
tions committee.
In Nanking Premier Sun Fo,
carryover from the nationalist re
gime of retired Generalissimo
Chiang Kai-Shek, quit today.
^ His resignation opened the way j
for a premier more acceptable to i
t ie communists in peace talks to
end China’s civil war.
Gen. Ho Ying-Chin, former de- '
fense minister, seemed the most i
likely to succeed Dr. Sun.
In Paris President Vincent Au
riol and ex-emperor Bao Dai of
Annam signed articles today
which the French hope will end'
the civil war in Indochina. Bao
Dai announced later he would re
turn to Indochina April 25. An
nam is a native kingdom making
up a large part of the French pro
tectorate of Indochina.
The government of India de- !
ployed troops to combat a com
munist-fomented nationwide rail
way, mail and telegraph strike
scheduled to start tomorrow.
The Bombay provincial govern
ment ordered police and military
guards to shoot anyone caught at
tempting to tamper with railroad
or other essential public service
properties.
Wednesday. March 9, 1949
Senate approval appeared as
sured today for the North Atlantic
treaty linking the United States to
seven or more countries as a bul
wark against Russia and her com
munist orbit.
The unprecedented 20-year alli
ance was completed after eight
months of talk and got an infor
mal okay from the Senate foreign
relations committee yesterday. No
strong opposition is in sight. The
accord is intended to make such
a demonstration of unity by the
western powers that Russia, even
if tempted, would not dare to at
tack any one of them.
Other prospective members of
the alliance at present are Can
ada, Britain, France, Belgium,
Holland, Norway and Luxem
bourg. Denmark and strategic
Greelnad appeal likely to join and
other nations such as Italy and
Portugal have expressed interest.
The treaty has the effect of
binding the U. S. to the defense
of western Europe, although Con
gress would have the choice of de
claring war. The alliance treaty
is in the framework of the United
Nations which provides for re
gional defense treatreis. The
United States is expected to fin
ance rearming of the member na
tions. •
The projected accord, however,
seemed not so tight as the network
of alliances Russia has gained or
forced with Poland. Romania.
Czechoslovakia. Hungary, Bulgar
ia. Albania and Yugoslavia.
The British cabinet is expected
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Plan “Speed-Up”
Nevada Divorces
CARSON CITY, Nev. UP)—In
go 200 silver dollars. Lights flash.
Wheels spin. The juke box strikes
up “America”—and out pops your
be-ribboned divorce decree.
That’s Nevada assemblyman C.
Boak’s idea of how to pep up the
already easy way to get a divorce
in the state. He has introduced a
bill to boom silver and slot ma
chines.
Here’s how:
A divorce seeker would reg ster
for a $5 fee. That would buy her
a special key to a combination
juke box, time clock and slot ma
chine. Each day during the re
quired six weeks residence she
would use the key on the machine
—proof she was there.
Then on the 42nd day—in with
the dollars specially minted of Ne
vada silver. Out with the paper,
signed and sealed.
The average automobile con
sists of about 15,000 parts.
to give formal approval to the At
lantic Treaty tomorrow. Both
(London and Washington said the
: accord likely will be signed late
this month or early in April.
Russia’s rulers had another
shift. A. I. Efremov, minister of
, the machine tool industry, was
moved up to a vice premier and
A. I. Kostousov succeeded him. V.
M. Molotov, relieved at the week
| end as foreign minister, still is
; the ranking vice-premier and may
'succeed Stalin who is nearing 70.
Western diplomats have viewed
the changes as a strengthening of
Russian leadership.
China’s peace negotiations with
the victorious communists bogged
down pending formation of a new
| cabinet. Sun Fo held on as pre
mier, a job he resigned, until a
successor is named, possibly for
mer defense minister Gen. Ho
Ying-Chin.
The Philippines has a political
crisis over control of the powerful
Liberal party. Two big meetings
were called, either of which could
touch off bloodshed.
Railway officials said a com
munist strike of Indian railway
workers was a total failure.
Communist newspapers in Bul
garia blazoned stories that the
trials of the 15 Protestant minis
ters, convicted yesterday, were
fair. Communist-led Hungary con
victed two more Catholic priests,
one on charges linked to the case
of Josef Cardinal Mindszenty,
now serving a life term on a count
of treason.
German border police said they
were informed that communist
Czechoslovakia will close all bor
der points to American-occupied
Bavaria March 20. A forcer Czech
intelligence officer told a Munich
court Czechoslovakia planted spies
in U. S. refugee camps in Ger
many.
South Africa held provincial
council elections in which strict
racial segregation is the major is
sue.
Demo. Caucus Asks
Re-Appointment
Of Gov. Gruening
'Contined from Page One)
mittee cast a unanimous voice vote
to delay action on Gruening be
cause of protes’s from Alaska leg
islators.
The statement then said that
Lyng emphasized he is n >: oppos
ing the governor’s confirmation.
It added that the two Republi
can Senators who had wired pro
tests to Washington were William
I Munz and Charles Jones, both of
, Nome, and both long-time foes of
Gruening.
Information from Washington,
the caucus committee said, came
from two other Nome Republicans
j—Grant Jackson, a banker, and
'Carl Lomen, businessman.
With McCutcheon on the special
committee to communicate with
the U. S. Senate are Rep. Warren
A. Taylor, of the Fourth Division,
! and Sens. Frank Peratrovieh of
, Klawock and Walter Huntley of
the Third Division.
A Monday deadline was set for
receiving formal objections to
jGruening’s nomination from Aia»
, ka’s lawmakers.
; The caucus committee said it
had received reports from Wash
ington that telegrams opposing
Gruening had recommended Sen
ator Howard Lyng of Nome, long
time Democratic national commit
teeman, for the governorship.
The caucus statement said fur
ther that Lyng had told the Demo
cratic legislators he had been in
formed by Alaska friends in
Washington that Sen. Magnuson
(D.-Wash.) and former Washing
ton state governor Mon C. Wall
gren. were trying to have Gruen
| ing appointed ambassador to Mex
| ico.
Lyng explained to the commit
tee that he had notified his
j friends he would gladly accept the
governorship if offered to him and
Gruening accepted the ambassa
dorship.
i
WASHINGTON. (/P)—1The Sen
ate interior committee made pub
lic today the names of Alaskans
who protested the confirmation of
Governor Gruening for ar.o her
for year term. They are: Edward
D. Coffey. Anchorage, who repre
sented a number of others; C. Mo
riarity, Juneau; William Munz,
Nome; Joe Coble, Fairbanks; El
mer Friend, managing erlito • Alas
ka Empire, Juneau; Curtis Shat
r~-— - - -- - --
Single Short
Halibut Fishing
Season Remains
SEATTLE. <aP»—A single short
season for Pacific ’Coast halibut
fishing will remain in effect this
year the international fisheries
commission announced today.
The commission said that it had
decided to defer actiort in 1949 or)
a proposal to divide the season
into two or more periods, but in
d’C3ted it might order a change in
1950.
The idea was advanced about 60
days ago. The commission said
this did not allow enough time fcr
fishermen and fishing boa* own
ers to study the plan.
“There appeared to be so much
misunderstanding about the pro
posal that the commission decider!
to give further opportunity for ali
interested persons to present their
views before making such a
change,” the announcement said.
The commission said a survey
by its biologists showed that a
split season might spread fishing
over grounds not now fully fished,
thereby increasing the catch.
It added that fishermen and
boat owners generally favored a
split season “to avoid such a glut
as under the present short single
season.”
Present seasons range from 30
days along mainland waters to '
two and a half months on Alaska
banks.
The commission established by
treaty between Canada and the
! United States, regulates hnli-bu
fishing off the Pacific Coast.
MOSCOW BLAMES,
THEN LAUDS YUGOSLAVIA
MOSCOW. (/P)—The same copy
of “Izvestia” which accused the
Yugoslav mission in Hungary of
“harboring an ass assin” of a Hun
garian “democratic” leader re
ported from Yugoslavia itself
progress in housing and the put
ting into operation of a children’s
railway. Soviet papers, while se
verely criticizing ‘he Tito regime
in the Yugoslav communist party,
several times recently have re
ported progress in the Yugoslav
economy.
tuck, Juneau: Mrs. Helo^ Troy
Monson, Democratic Div;si ma’.
committee, Juneau; Allen Shat
tuck, Juneau: Charles D. Tones.
Nome. The committee y s'erday
postponed ac'ion on the nomina
tion until next week.
Scotty’s
Liquor Store
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