OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LIV No. 58 NOME, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, MAY 14, 1952 . Per Copy—154
Small Tornado
Raises Havoc In
Fairbanks Suburb
FAIRBANKS, <7P) — A small
tornado roared through the sub
urban community of Graehl near
4 here Monday, tearing roofs, toss
ing automobiles and scattering
debris throughout the area.
There were no reports of in
juries. But witnesses reported the
twister narrowly missed five
year-old Kathleen Carey, who was
playing in the yard of a home
which lost its roof.
The little girl said she heard
a loud roar “and then there was
so much dust I couldn’t see.”
The tornado was the first re
ported in the territory to have
caused damage.
At least half a dozen houses
were damaged and the cab of a
400-pound pickup truck was lifted
over a three-foot fence and flung
35 feet. Telephone and power lines
were tangled and torn and laun
dry from clothes lines was draped
over buildings throughout the
community.
Germany Will Ask U.S.
For At Least A Billion
To Finance Rearmament
BONN, Germany, (JP) — West
Germany is expected to ask the
United States for at least a billion
dollars aid to start arming Ger
man soldiers for Western defense
after the Allied-German “peace
contract” and the European army
treaty are finally approved.
The European army treaty en
visions the raising of 400,000 Ger
man troops for the six - nation
force. Britain may contribute
some equipment to the German
units but the main burden will
fall on the German taxpayer and
the United States.
Authoritative sources estimate
the first year of German rearm
ament wil cost between 3Vfe and
4% billion dollars.
Recruiting of the first German
troops since World War II is ex
pected to start early in 1953.
George Kennan, U. S.
Ambassador to Kremlin,
Presents Credentials
MOSCOW, U.S. Ambassa
dor George Kennan presented his
credentials to President Nikolai
Shvernik Wednesday and told the
Soviets he was going to work to
ward a peaceful adjustment of all
problems between Russia and the
United States.
Kennan became the eighth U.S.
ambassador to Soviet Russia. The
47-year-old expert on Russian di
plomacy led a party of 13 mem
bers of the embassy. staff, includ
ing army, navy and air attaches
in the audience at the Kremlin.
Speaking in Russian, Kennan
said his principal purpose was
the “adjustment of all those spe
cific questions, the solution of
which requires agreement be
tween the two governments.*’
After the ceremony, Kennan
and Shvernik, president of the
presidium of the supreme Soviet,
or parliament, had a private talk.
C. R. Montjoy of Juneau
Guessed Nenana Ice Would
Move at 5:04 p.m., May 12
0 v
The Tanana River ice moved at
5:04 p.m. on Monday, May 12,
bringing to a close another inter
esting all-Alaska spring activity
involving considerable day
dreaming.
One person, Charles R. Mont
joy, director of Division of Re
sources for ANS, with offices in
Juneau, guessed the exact time
that the ice moved. This year
there were a total of over 130,000
guesses ranging from April 1 to
Dec. 31, according to the com
piled list recently issued. This
guessing contest has been popular
since 1917 when it originated.
Nomeite with the closest guess
was Keith Hedreen of the Polar
Bar and city councilman, who was
two minutes off with a guess at
5:06.
Japan May Send
Armed Escorts Out
With Fishing Boats
TOKYO, OP) — A Japanese
maritime spokesman said Tues
day Japan is thinking of sending
armed escorts out with its fishing
vessels to keep them from being
seized by the Russians.
The spokesman for the Mari
time Safety Board, the equivalent
of the U.S. Coast Guard, told the
Associated Press the Russians had
seized 141 Japanese fishing boats
and 1,131 fishermen up to the end
of the occupation. Four more
boats and 43 crewmen have been
captured since.
The spokesman said Russia has
returned 99 ships and 1,061 men
after they had been held for vary
ing periods.
The trouble now is that the
Russians still observe the so
called MacArthur line, although
that line ceased to have any legal
meaning when Japan became in
dependent last month.
The spokesman declined to
comment directly when asked if
patrol boats would encourage
Japanese fishermen to go outside
the old limit or stand by them if
they did so. “Russia is powerful
enough to have her law ob
served,” he said.
Japanese patrol boats would be
no match for the Russian patrol
craft in case of any clash. The
Russians have mounted guns. The
Japanese boats carry only small
arms.
WASHINGTON, (/P)— Hearings
on a bill to turn control of Alas
ka’s fisheries over to the territory
will be held here June 4-5, Dele
gate Bartlett said Tuesday.
He told a reporter the two-day
session will be held before the
territories subcommittee of the
House Interior Committee.
The bill, introduced by Bartlett,
would pass control of all Alaska
fisheries except the pribilof fur
seal operations from the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service to the terri
tory.
In addition, it provides that the
territory shall receive one-half
the net proceeds of the Pribilof
operations, roughly $750,000 to a
million dollars a year.
U.S. Determined to
Maintain Position
Of West In Berlin
By JOHN M. HIGHTOWER
WASHINGTON, (^—Secretary
of State Acheson declared Wed
nesday the United States is “de
termined to maintain” the position
of the Western powers in Berlin,
and to protect and assist the peo
ple of Berlin and the Western
zones of Germany.
Acheson’s assertion at a news
conference appeared to* be an in
direct warning to the Soviets
against assuming that recent
threatening Communist moves
would sway the United States,
Britain and France from pursu
ing their announced policies on
German unity with the Western
world.
Acheson said he considers ii
reasonably certain that a peace
contract between the Western
powers and Germany—which the
Russians have violently objected
to — will be signed at Bonn this
month.
The peace contract is one of the
basic treaties involved in clear
ing the way for the rearmament
of Western Germany in connec
tion with the total buildup of de
fenses of Western Europe.
Carpenters’ Union
Votes To Submit
Dispute To WSB
4
ANCHORAGE, (£>)—Union offi
cials announced Monday night
that the Alaska Council of Car
penters (AFL) had voted unani
mously to submit its wage dis
pute and strike to a Wage Stabili
zation Board agency. The action
was subject to confirmation by
union locals.
The dispute between the. car
penters and the Associated Gen
eral -contractors would go to the
Construction Stabilization Com
mission, which works under the
WSB.
The Carpenters’ Council deci
sion came as a result of a request
by the WSB and assurance by the
board of prompt action, the union
statement said.
Anchorage, Juneau and Kodiak
have been the only major areas
tied up completely by the strike.
Members of carpenter locals at
Fairbanks, Ketchikan and Homer
continued to work. The Homer lo
cal provided workers for a big
defense project at Kenai.
An announcement of action by
the Anchcnrage union local at a
Monday meeting was awaited
anxiously. A meeting of the Fair
banks local, where there was
strike talk but no strike call, was
scheduled Tuesday night.
The carpenters said they were
assured the decision would be
reached within 10 days or two
weeks after the hearing.
J. I. McCarrey, attorney for the
Associated General Contractors,
said that, regardless of what the
carpenters do, “There is ntft a
chance in the world” that the
AGC will drop its five-million
dollar suit against the union.
Senate Committee Votes
To Strip Wage Board
Of Controversial Powers
WASHINGTON, .(/P)—'The Sen
ate Banking Committee has voted
to strip the Wage Stabilization
Board of its controversial powers
in labor disputes and to reorgan
ize it as an all-public body.
As now set up, the board con
sists of six members each repre
senting organized labor, industry
and the public. At the same time
the committee voted to continue
wage and price controls until next
March 1.
Two Democratic senators, Dou
glas of Illinois and Moody of
Michigan said the committee “did
not adopt a single strengthening
amendment favoring the consum
ing public.”
The 7 to 3 vote to reorganize
the wage board was an outgrowth
of bitter criticism of the board’s
handling of the steel dispute.
Boatner Named
To Koje Command
Colson Removed for
Deal with Red POW’s
By John Randolph
SEOUL, Korea, (^P)—Brig. Gen.
Charles F. Colson was removed
Tuesday as commandant of Koje
Island—’three days after he made
a sharply criticized deal there
with Red prisoners of war for re
lease of his predecessor.
The new shakeup in the Koje
command came less than 12 hours
after it became known the joint
chiefs of staff demanded imme
diate and full clarification of cir
cumstances leading to:
1. Brig. Gen. Francis T. Dodd’s
capture by his Koje prisoners, and
2. Colson’s promised concessions
to Communist POW leaders which
won Dodd’s release Saturday
night.
Gen. Mark Clark, who became
Far Eastern commander Monday,
was instructed to send his report
to the Pentagon “by the fastest
means possible.”
Gen. James A. Van Fleet named
Brig. Gen. - Haydon L. Boatner,
veteran front line infantry com
mander from New Orleans, to
take over the turbulent 80,000
man prisoner camp
Boatner, third general to hold
the post within a week, arrived
at Koje a few hours after his ap
pointment. He speaks Chinese and
is an expert on Chinese affairs.
"V
On Koje, flame-throwing Am
erican tanks and combat infantry
men stood guard outside barbed
wire compounds, over some of
which captured Chinese and
North Koreans flew the Red flag.
And Father Gets The Bills
MIDDLETOWN, N.Y., (JP) — A
local clothing store (Kassel Bro
thers) says the mother gets the
credit when a baby is born, the
infant gets presents and father
gets nothing but the bills.
So the store sends each new
father in the area a gift necktie
with “It’s a Boy” or “It’s a
Girl” inscribed on the front.
About 100 ties have been dis
tributed so far.
For twins: the tie reads, “Wow,
it’s twins.”
Alaska Exempted
From Ban On
Aviation Gas
WASHINGTON, (ff) — Alaska
will be partially exempted Wed
nesday from restrictions on the
use of aviation gasoline, Delegate
Bartlett reported.
He said Petroleum Administra
tion for Defense officials advised
him the order would be signed
Wednesday. It will permit normal
use of 91-octane gasoline in the
territory. That grade, normally
used by medium-type craft, also
can be used by smaller planes,
Bartlett said. 4
PAD restricted use of aviation
type gasoline after a strike of oil
workers threatened supplies.
Bartlett said the order is de
signed to free air travel within
the territory. He said he does not
believe it will affect travel be
tween Alaska and the Pacific
Northwest, now dealt with by the
PAD by individual exemption.
Nation Awaits Supreme
Court Decision On
Steel Mill Seizure
WASHINGTON, (JP) — The an
swer to the momentous question:
“Did President Truman exceed his
legal powers when he seized the
steel industry” began forming
Wednesday behind the marble
columns of the U. S. Supreme
Court.
The lawyers had their final say
yesterday for (1) upholding, and
(2) reversing the decision of Dis
trict Judge David A. Pine, who
held the President’s action was
illegal and unconstitutional.
Justice Jackson spoke out from
the bench against any hasty an
nouncement. He said he will op
pose making known the court’s
decision until the opinion explain
ing the reasons behind it has been
written.
If a majority of the nine jus
tices go along with Jackson’s
view, it may be a matter of weeks
before the country knows whether
the President had—or didn’t have
—authority to seize the steel mills
to avert a strike of 650,000 CIO
steelworkers for higher wages.
On The Political Front—
(By the Associated Press)
>
Conventions in Wyoming and
Rhode Island Monday revised the
Associated Press tabulation of
GOP delegate strength to read:
Taft 349; Eisenhower 300.
In Wyoming Taft picked up six
delegates agaist two for Eisen
hower. Four others were not com
mitted. But the general got all
eight of Rhode Island’s votes when
the convention there balked at
a split with Taft.
Nomination requires 604 votes.
In Washington yesterday, Taft
told a reporter he believes fewer
than 100 delegates will remain
uncommitted when the GOP con
vention opens July 7 in Chicago.
However, Wesley Roberts, an Eis
enhower leader, said he believes
there will be many more than
100 who could go either way.