m NOME NUGGET
__OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LII. No. 5 NOME, ALASKA, FRIDAY, JANUARY 13, 1950 Per Copy—15c
NEWS IN BRIEF
DAVENPORT, (A>) — A young
woman patient who admitted set
ting a mental ward fire that killed
41 women because ‘‘I thought I
*
could escape if the building would
burn,” is to be arraigned tomor
row on a charge of murder.
Mrs. Elnora Epperly, 23, of Rock
Island, 111., was charged b>^ Scott
County Attorney Clark O. Filseth
yesterday with ‘murder commit
ted in the perpetration of arson.”
She was held in the Scott county
jail.
ANCHORAGE, (/P)—1The chair
man of the new national defense
establishment housing commission
urged city leaders here to work
for reduction of exorbitant rents
for military personnel.
Before flying back to the States,
chairman Bertram E. Giesecke ap
pealed for support in “making the
people realize that the military
should have favorable treatment.”
He said he had seen “dozens of
places where the military get
nothing for $100 a month plus
utility costs.”
ANCHORAGE, (/P)—1The Third
Division Democratic convention
has been set for March 23-25 in
Anchorage.
ANCHORAGE, (/P) — The An
chorage Democratic Club went on
record overwhelmingly, at its
meeting this week, against any
Territory-wide sales tax.
KETCHIKAN, (/P) — The new
Ketchikan Eagles Lodge building
will be dedicated at a formal
opening ceremony Feb. 23, under
present plans.
The Eagles will occupy the up
per two floors of the three-story
structure.
JUNEAU W-Dr. George Allan
Dale, director of education for the
Alaska Native Service for 15
years, and his wife are leaving
Alaska in the next couple of weeks
for Washington, D. C. They are
going to unannounced assign
ments. Mrs. Dale, kown as Dr.
Evelyn Butler, is the ANS welfare
director.
_
WASHINGTON, (/P)—'The army
confirmed today that it has drop- j
ped a reserve officer who helped
sponsor a Paul Robeson concert,
but declined to suy what were the
(Continued on Page Seven)
I
1
(Special to The Nugget)
WASHINGTON. (/P) — Delegate
Bartlett and Governor Gruening
announced this afternoon they
would make "vigorous protests"
against the closing of Marks Air j
Force Base. They said it would
be "a blow at morale" for the air
force to "pull out the only airbase
in Northwest Alaska." Delegate
Bartlett said a protest would be
made at once to Defense Secretary
Johnson. Air Secretary Symington
said the Air Survival School and
Airways Detachment were all that |
is now located at Marks Base.
Large Business
Apartment Block
For Fairbanks
FAIRBANKS, (IP) — Plans for
construction of an eight-story, 210
unit apartment and business build
ing—the largest in Alaska—have
been announced.
Philip A. Johnson, president of
the Bank of Fairbanks, estimates
the cost at $3,000,000.
Announcement was made in be
half of the bank directors and
Reed Sc Martin, Inc., the proposed
builders and co-owners of the pro
jected ^structure.
The building will occupy a full
block.
Options obtained early last fall
on property, and application un
der section 608 of the national
housing act, was made to the fed
1 eral housing administration in Oc
tober. Commitments for mortgage
insurance were signed Nov. 29 by
C. C. Staples, director of the FHA
for Alaska. This is tantamount to
(Continued on Page Eight)
Lewis Mav Have
To Retire Feb. 12
_
WASHINGTON, (JP) — John L.
Lewis must bow out as head of the
United Mine Workers union one
month from yesterday unless his
own top aides decide to keep him.
They probably wi^J.
But a compulsory retirement
proviso of the UMW’s constitution
could conceivably provide a chal
lenger to Lewis’ grip on union
miners.
Lewis himself had “nothing to
say” when confronted with the
UMW constitutional clause say
ing that officers must retire on
reaching their 70th birthday. The
same constitution says the retire
ment shall be on a pension, but
nobody would say how much that
would be.
Lewis turns 70 on Feb. 12.
Bartlett Requests
Canadian Freight
r
Permit Extension
WASHINGTON, f/P) — Delegate
Bartlett of Alaska asked Congress
to extend until June 30, 1951, a
law permitting Canadian vessels to
carry passengers from Skagway
and Haines, Alaska to other points
in the Territory. It is due to ex
pire next June 30.
The law also permits Canadian
vessels to carry passengers and
freight from Hyder, Alaska to
other Alaskan points and ports in
the United States.
Bartlett also proposed elimina
tion of the Territorial tax on pri
vate railroads in Alaska. It was 1
superceded by a general tax law i
adopted a year ago by the Terri
tory. Only one railroad now pay-!
ing both taxes, the White Pass & ,
Yukon Railroad, would be affected.
The Delegate also introduced a
bill to authorise appropriation of
$25,00 for an addition to the Tar- |
ritorial school at Nome to care for i
Native children.
Fear Many Dead !
In Sunken Sub
Rammed by Ship
SHATHAM, Eng. (A*)—Fifty-two
men were feared dead aboard the
rammed and sunken submarine
Truculent today.
Divers and frogmen tapped out
messages on th ehulk of the sunk
en undersea raider, but up to this
afternoon apparently had received
no response.
Vice Adm. G. B. Middleton of
the Chatham navy yard posted a
notice saying “great loss of life”
is feared.
Word from rescue craft at the
scene indicated hope was fading
swiftly for the men still believed
to be aboard the submarine which
went to the bottom of the Thames
estuary last night after she was
rammed by the iron-clad prow of
a Swedish tanker.
“We have practically given up
hope,” an admiralty spokesman
said after rivers came up and re
ported they found no sign of life.
Dusk was beginning to close in on
the rescue operations.
Nine are known dead. Three of
these were picked up last night
after the collision and six more
bodies were found today. Fifteen
men were rescued.
In addition, all five men aboard
a Lancaster rescue plane were
killed early today in a takeoff
crash at a Royal Air Force station
in Scotland. The plane was to
have picked up divers for the
Chatham operation.
The submarine lay in silt about
42 feet below the surface at low
tide. The ebbing tide had aided
the divers in reaching the craft,
which had gone down in water 54
feet deep.
Of the 76 aboard, 58 were sail
ors and 18 were dockmen sailing
(Continued on Page Eight)
Marks Air Force
Base Will Close
(Special to The Nugget)
WASHINGTON, (/P) —
The Air Force announced
today that Marks Air Force
Base at Nome, Alaska, will
he shut down by next No
vember. The closing down
is to begin in the near fu
ture. Officials said the in
activation is being made to
save considerable money
without weakening Alaska
defense. They added the
inactivation affects only
the Arctic Survival schools
and airways detachment.
The school will he trans
ferred to Ladd Air Base, at
Fairbanks. The final dispo
sition of Marks Base has
not been decided. Officials
said the airways detach
ment is composed of only
twelve men handling air
traffic at the Base.
Reds Massing For
Attack On Island
Of Hainan
TAIPEI, Formosa, (/Pi — Red
China was reliably reported mass
ing forces yesterday for a smash j
at rugged Hainan Island, Nation- j
alist refuge off the south China
coast.
I n f o r mation reaching Hong
Kong said the communists could
land on the island at will. Some
17,000 Red guerrillas already on '
the island control the heart of the
iron ore rich island and 100 miles :
of the west coast.
Unconfirmed rumors flew that
the Reds already had landed on
the West Coast. But Nationalist
sources here said they had no
knowledge of any landings or Red
“beachheads” on Hainan.
Nationalist naval units were
sent to Hainan Strait, a narrow
strip of water that is barely five
miles wide at one point, separat
ing Hainan from the Chinese
mainland. All but a mile of the
Strait at this point could be waded
by troops.
A Nationalist navy task force
reported it sank 30 of 50 Red
junks trying to invade Weichou is
land off Liuchow peninsula.
Chiang Kai-Shek’s bombers
ranged the coastal country blast
ing Red concentrations. Canton,
, Foochow and Shanghai were
1 bombed.
Chinese news dispatches report
ed a big concentration of commun
ist boats in Hangchow Bay. The
Chu San islands, 20 miles long
10 miles wide and located about
100 miles south of Shanghai, ap
peared to be their objective. The
islands are used by the National
ist navy ad air force ot blockade
Shanghai.
Most of the Hangchow craft
were said to be 40 to 15-ton craft.
Their number ranged up to 2,000.
Small scale fighting between the
100,000 Nationalist regulars and
stragglers on Hainan and the 17,- 1
000 Red guerrillas, who have been
operating in this area for a long
time, was reported officially here
in the nationalist capital.
—
Gruelling Says
Statehood Heads
Alaska’s Problems
SEATTLE, (/B — Gov. Ernest
Gruening stopped here briefly
Wednesday night on his flight to
Washington, D. C., and described
Statehood as the No. 1 problem to ,
be pushed with government offi
cials and Congress.
His brief case was bulging with
documents on action he will seek
from Congress or government i
agencies.
He listed the following major
goals:
1. Appropriation of funds to
carry out recommenadtions of the
military for the defense of Alaska.
He will address a “defend Alaska” j
group in the Statler Hotel in
Washington.
2. Retention of Marks Air Force,
(Continued on Page Seven)
News of the World
At A Glance - - -
Thursday, January 12, 1950
(By The Associated Press)
Unofficial reports in Tokyo to
day said Britain plans an armed
convoy to proceed from Hong
Kong to puncture the Nationalist
blockade of Shanghai.
In London the Admiralty said
British warships will continue
protection of British shipping off
China from Nationalists attempts
to bottle Communist ports. But the
spokesman neither confirmed nor
denied the reports that Britain
would open the sealanes to Shang
hai.
The Admiralty spokesman indi
cated the British patrol would not
go beyond the three-mile limit of
Chinese territorial waters.
In Hong Kong, Britain’s historic
open door to China, there was
speculation Chinese communist
leader Mao Tze-Tung is not get
ting all the economic help he
wants from Soviet Russia.
Observers pointed to Mao’s un
precedented long stay in Moscow,
which they said may indicate he
has found the bargaining tough.
TTo has been talking with Kremlin
heads now for almost a month.
Mao does not need to be hugged
| uncomfortably by the Russian
bear, Hong Kong observers said.
Forces pulling him in another di
rection, it was pointed out, are
British recognition of his regime,
President Truman’s “hands off”
declaration on Formosa and the
possible emergence of an Oriental
Tito in Japanese communist lead
er Sanzo Nozaka.
British Commonwealth foreign
ministers, meeting in Colombo,
Ceylon, appeared to have reached
the conclusion that Indochina is a
key factor in holding the line
in southeast Asia.
Malcolm MacDonald, Briitsh
commissioner general for south
east Asia, said there is a good pos
sibility a sound regime will be es
tablished in the former French
colony that will nullify commun
ist threats.
Prime Minister Jawaharlal Ne
hru of India, who has been elo
quent at the conference, wants In
dochina to gain complete sover
eignty as a bulwark against com
munism. Nehru is a lifelong foe
of colonialism.
Conservative leader Winst o n
Churchill has broken up his vaca
tion on Medeira, Portuguese is
land and gone home to lead his
party in the forthcoming F>riitsh
elections.
Tn Rome. Premier Alcide de
Gasperi and his anti-communist
coalition cabinet resigned. He is
expected to form a new govern
ment, either another coalition or
one composed of his Christian
Democrat party followers entirely.
At Lake Success, observers said
the Soviet Union has not mustered
enough support to throw National
ist China out of the United Na
tions security council at this time.
The council meets today to face
a Soviet resolution demanding the
buster of the Chinese Nationalist
delegation headed by T. F. Tsiang,
(Continued on Page Seven)