2HS NOME NUGGET
_2_OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. XLIX, No. 79_NOME~ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 1947 PER COPY — 15c
NEWS IN BRIEF
WASHINGTON. (./P) — A one
year suspension of the require
4 ment for $100 worth of improve
ment work'annually on mining
claims in Alaska was apprqsred
yesterday by President Truman.
He signed a bill making the
suspension effective until July 1,
1948.
NEW YORK, (JP)—Spencer van
Bokkelen Nichols, 65, assistant
secretary of state during Presi
dent Wilson’s administration, and
publicist, author and lay church
worker, died Monday night.
KETCHIKAN. (/P)—Validity of
Alaska's so-called veterans' tax
was upheld Monday when first
district court judge George W.
Folta found for the Territory in a
suit brought by the Evans Jones
Coal company to recover pay
ment of $3,800 paid in protest as
last year's tax.
ELLISTON, Va. (/P)—Mrs. Pearl
Tyler Ellis, between 85 and 90,
the youngest and only surviving
daughter of John Tyler, tenth
President of the United States,
died last night.
ALBANY, N. Y., (>P)—Meldon
9 (Mellie) Wolfgang, 57, former
pitcher with the Chicago White
Sox in the American league and
with Albany in the former New
York State league, died Monday
night.
ANCHORAGE, UP) — Flight
training for !30 veterans ended
yesterday unless the federal gov
ernment renews contracts with
two Merrill Field flying schools, it
was announced here yesterday.
Seventy-nine of the ex-GI’s are
seeking commercial licenses.
Sohool officials said they did
not know the reason the govern
ment has failed to extend their
contracts.
Meanwhile, the Veterans’ Ad
ministration here is continuing to
certify veterans for training.
KETCHIKAN,' (JP)—Edgar Zim
merly, 46, drowned in Hecate
Strait Sunday while fishing for
salmon abroad the Jeanette B,
owned and operated by Harvey
Benedict. His body was brougnt
here yesterday.
A N C H ORAGE, {&) — Alaska
commissioner of veterans affairs
Norman Haley and Miss Ruth van
Tassel, both of Juneau, were mar
ried here Sunday. Haley has lived
in Fairbanks and Skagway and
served with the army at Ladd
Field during his nearly 20 years
residence 4n Alaska.
WASHINGTON (>P)—The comp
troller of the currency today is
sued a call for a statement of the
condition of all national banks at
the close of business Monday,
June 30.
The federal reserve board is
sued a similar call for state banks
that are members of its system,
and the federal deposit insurance
corporation issued another for all
other banks that it insures.
Rents Hiked
Sharply In U. 8. |
(By The Associated Press*
Permanent residents in many
hotels throughout the nation have
received notices their rents are to j
be increased—ranging upward
from 15 per cent.
Although a boost of 15 per cent!
was the most frequently reported \
as the hotels were freed from con
trols under the new federal rent
law there were instances of rent
, increases as much as from 25 to
165 per cent.
There also were reported iso
: lated cases of extreme hikes—of
300 per cent for a resident of a
Denver tourist camp, and 200 per
cent at a St. Louis hotel. New
York City reported boosts of up
to 50 per cent were fairly com
mon.
In contrast to increases by some
hotels, there were others in some
; cities which announced there
would be no boosts in rents for
permanent residents. These in
1 eluded the Stevens in Chicago, the
world’s largest; the Somerset in
i Boston and the White Plaza in
Dallas, Texas.
■ In some cities many hotels did
not disclose their immediate
plans under the new law. Some
confusion was reported among
tenants and landlords alike as they
sought interpretation of the act
, Federal rent offices were swamped
by callers seeking explanation.
In Denver, Gov. Lee Knous of
Colorado said he had received re
ports of several “sharp” rent
jumps, including a hike of 300
per cent for a tourist camp resi
dent whose rent was raised to
$240 a month. In Los Angeles,
H. K. D. Peachy, acting area rent
director, said there was evidence
of eviction notices in “wholesale
, quantities” over Los Angeles
county. He advised tenants to
await court action.
I I
—
U. S. Submits
; Report To U. N.
LAKE SUCCESS. UP) — The
United States submitted its peri
odic report to the United Nations
today on economic .social and edu
cational conditions in the outlying
possessions administered under
the American flag.
The report, prepared by the de
partment of interior and forward
ed with a note from Secretary of
State Marshall to U. N. secretary
general Trygvie Lie, included six
illustrated statistical pamphlets
covering Alaska, American Samoa,
Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and
the Virgin Islands.
One section of the Alaska re
port said:
“The manufacture of pulp and
paper, particularly newsprint, is
the great potential forest industry
of Alaska. . . . More than a mil
lion tons of newsprint annually,
or more than one-fourth of the
present requirements of the
United States, can be produced in
perpetuatity under proper man
agement of the growing industries
in southeast Alaska as soon as
certain technical obstacles have
been eliminated.**
Operators Fear
Coal Strike Likelv
w
(By Harold W. Ward)
WASHINGTON, (£>)—Soft coal
operators, in full possession of
their mines for the first time in
more than a year, looked to the
government yesterday to revive
contract talks with John L. Lewis
in time to avert a new strike July
8.
The miners’ 10-day vacation
ends next Tuesday, and only a
wage pact with the operators—or
a court injunction under the new
Taft-Hartley labor law—appears
likely to head off another walkout
of the 400,000 bituminous coal
diggers.
As the operators gathered for
what they hoped would be a week
of head-to-head talks with Lewis’
united mine workers, they de
clined to confirm reports that the
big northern group had offered to
meet the miners’ full wage de
mands.
WASHINGTON, (/P)—Powerful
soft coal operators predicted to
day that an agreement will be
reached with John L. Lewis in
time to avert an all-out strike next
Tuesday in the bituminous indus
try.
The operators, who asked to re
main anonymous, said the united
mine workers’ chief already has
been assured by influential indus
trialists that his soft coal diggers
in northern and western pits will
get their full wage hike demands.
Gen, Craig States
Alaska Needs Roads
And .Housing
ANCHORAGE, (JP) — Alaska’s
American Legionnaires received a
double-barreled warning of “an
iron curtain” across the Bering
Strait and a lack of sufficient
military highways at their conven
tion session here yesterday.
Maj. Gen. Howard A. Craig, the
army’s Alaskan Department com
mander, told the war veterans
that roads and housing are the
Territory’s foremost needs.
Contending that development
of a highway system is a key de
fensive necessity, the general said
his inspection of available roads
showed that they would be un
able to support movements of
1,000 tons daily for more than a
week.
Stephen Chadwick of Seattle,
past commander of the Legion,
admonished the convention:
“The people across Bering
Strait could sit down with us as
we are seated here and solve the
problems of peace, but instead
they draw an iron curtain. Let us
retain our strength until the cur
tain is broken.
“Alaska can be the crossroads
of strife or the crossroads of un
derstanding.”
Chadwick, appearing in place of
Paul Griffith, national Legion
commander, who was reported ill,
made a strong plea for Alaskan j
statehood and promised to “tell
the American people what they
(Continued on Page Six) ,
Mississippi River
Still Rises: Many
Homeless
ST. LOUIS, i/P) — New levee
breaks along a 90-mile stretch of
the Mississippi river forced evac
uation of additional thousands
yesterday as the rampaging river,
already at a 103-year peak, con
tinued to rise from heavy over
night rains Monday.
The town of Dupo, 111., (popula
tion 2,600> eight miles south of
here, was abandoned when the
rising flood waters breached a sec
i ondary levee on the Illinois Cen
i tral railroad tracks about a mile
! behind the first levee which was
abandoned during the night.
The waters also bypassed the
1 Missouri Pacific railroad embank
I ment which saved Dupo in the
last big flood of 1944.
The 600 residents of nearby East
Carondelet and 800 in the sur
i rounding area also were evacuat
ed.
Eighty miles to the south the
i river broke the Degognia-Foun
tain Bluff levee in two spots driv
| ing approximately 600 persons
I from the villages of Gorham and
1 Neunert, 111.
As a result of this break, flood
: waters pouring down an inland
I valley threatened to isolate the
town of Grand Tower, 111., (pop.
1043).
i Mayor Jesse Grammer estimat
j ed about one third of Grand
Tower was in danger of being
' flooded but said he expected resi
i dents in the higher part of town
would be able to care for those
forced from their homes.
_________ |
ST. LOUIS (j*P) — The raging,
' Mississippi river continued its
(Continued on Page Seven)
'
■ ■ — 1 ... ■ - ■ ■■ I
Marshall Urges
“Information” Bill i
’
i
WASHINGTON, (>P)—Secretary1
of State Marshall urged Senators;
today to approve in this session of
Congress legislation to expand a
foreign information program
which he termed “vital to the
success of our foreign policy.”
Marshall told a Senate foreign
relations sub-committee that un
less the Senate acts on legislation
authorizing such a program, the
j state department will face “seri- j
ous handicaps” abroad.
Rep. Mundt (R.-S.D.t, author ofj
I the House-passed measure now j
before the committee, also urged (
speedy action. He told the Sena-1
tors that “Russians and others are
spreading malicious lies about us
every day.”
Republican leaders have indi
cated they may pigeonhole the I
Mundt bill until next January and
rely on a $13,470,000 appropria
tion passed by the Senate to carry
on the cultural program, including
the shortwave radio “Voice of
America” broadcasts.
Marshall told the committee
that the Senate-approved appro
priations figure is too small, rep
resenting only about one-half of
the money that President Truman
originally requested.
May Try For New
Tax Bill In Cloning
Days of Congress
WASHINGTON, (JP) —Republi
can leaders scheduled a conference
today to map a legislative pro
gram for the closing days of the
session. It may include another
try at tax reduction.
But they probably will postpone
until next year final action on
universal military training, fed
eral aid to education and a long
range housing program.
The big question before them
was this: should they try to re
pass the vetoed $4,000,000,000 tax
reduction bill?
Still in doubt, apparently, is the
Senate’s willingness to override
possible Presidential rejection of
the tax bill. As re-introduced it
would start the proposed income
tax cuts January 1 instead of yes
terday’s effective date as in the
original bijl.
Speaker Martin <Mass.> said
House passage of the bill is likely.
No other measures. — Leaders
were reported to have decided
there is no time to consider uni
versal military training. President
Truman has endorsed this pro
posal.
The House apparently still is
determined to block proposals to
provide additional government as
sistance on housing and for fed
eral aid to education.
Chairman Taft <Ohio> of the
Senate GOP policy committee
wants both enacted. He may seek
Senate approval of one or both.
Meanwhile, a new political bat
tle erupted between the White
House and Republican lawmakers.
The GOP Congressmen are de
manding that President Truman
produce evidence that real estate
lobbyists influenced Congress rent
control action. #
Senator Wherry (Nebr.), the Re
publican whip, called on the
President to order prosecution of
any lobbyists he considers guilty
(Continued on Page Sixl
Truman Blasts Real
Estate Lobbyists
WASHINGTON, (&)—President
Truman’s plea that Congress in
vestigate what he called the “bra
zen operations” of real estate lob
byists yesterday generated a
broadside of clashing reaction
with political overtone.
The chief executive made his
appeal in assailing the rent con
trol extension bill which he signed
reluctantly because of provisions
permitting 15 per cent rent in
creases and junking nearly all
construction controls.
Senator Bricker (R.-Ohio) de
nounced Mr. Truman’s lobby in
quiry proposal as “the cheapest
kind of political demagoguery.”
But Senator Taft, Bricker’s
Ohio colleague and—like Bricker
—widely mentioned as an aspirant
for the Republican Presidential
nomination, told reporters in com
menting on the President’s call for
a full investigation:
“I wouldn’t mind doing that
myself.”