221 NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL II. N o^89^NOME , A L AlS KA, FRIDAY, JULY 2 6, 1946 PER COPY 15c
CONGRESS TO INVESTIGATE
ALASKA SHIPPING, FISHING
Damage Report
Bomb Test In
Bikini Lagoon
*_ t *
Howard W. Blakeslee
(#*) Science Writer
ABOARD THE USS APPALACH
IAN, Off Bikini, July 26,—UP)—
The 32,720-ton Japanese battleship
Nagato developed an increasing
list today, pointing her toward a
probable watery grave in Bikini
Lagoon, to which yesterday’s atom
ik blast already has consigned the
battleship Arkansas and aircraft
carrier Saratoga.
Late this afternoon, hours after
Vice AdmiralWm. Blandy had pro-(
nounced the aged but heavy-hulled
battlewagon in bad shape, her pa
goda-like superstructure showed an
even more precarious slant.
Admiral Blandy’s report on the
Nagato was made at a press con
fwence in which he said the under
water blast probably would have
killed all men on the decks of all
the target vessels had crews risked
their lives in the man made catas
trophe.
“It is probable that personnel on
deck would have been goners, if not
immediately, at least later on,” he
said in assessment of the explo
sion which thus far has shown
these results:
Immediately sank the 26,100
ton Arkansas; caused the 33,000
ton “Sara” to go down nearly
eight hours later; so grievously
wounded the Nagato that she be
gan a steady list; caused the des
troyer Hughes to start settling
in the water, so that she was
beached today by a tug; sank
lighter craft including some sub
marines and spread so much ra
dio activity that 24 hours later
36 square miles are contaminated.
¥ Don Whitehead, of the (/P), after
a flight over the lagoon today,
said the bomb had proved it has
tremendous destructive force pos
sibly fatal to ships within a half
mile radius and considerable pow
^•r beyond that deadly circle.
Million Dollars For
Crippled Children
SAN FRANCISCO, July —{&)—
Shriners today mapped a $1,000,
000 program of expansion for
Shrine Hospitals devoted to the
treatment of crippled children.
Announcement of the plans
F came at the conclusion of the
three-day convention climaxed by
f the installation of George H. Rowe
Buffalo, N.Y., Imperial Potentate.
Rowe said he will visit every
Shrine temple In America.
I -
!_
II6TH FLEET SHIPS — Among ships awaiting construction of piers at Green Cove
Springs, Fla., to be a big inland base, are these LSMs of the 16th U. S. fleet.
Up-to-date Map Of
Alaska Completed
WASHINGTON, July 26, —(£»)—
The Geological Survey has com
pleted the first-up-to-date map of
Alaska.
Announcing this, Secretary of the
Interior Krug said he expected the
map to be of great value in his
plans for a post-war development
of the Territory.
Compiled from data by ground
surveys and aerial photographs,
the map shows the locations of all
mountain ranges, of streams, geo
graphical boundaries, settlements,
roads, railroads, coastlines, islands
and lakes.
PAA Increases Its
Alaska Service
SEATTLE, July 26, — (/P>—'To
handle its record-breaking Alas
ka air travel demand, the Pan
American World Airways announ
cen today that it will add two
Douglas DC-3 Clippers to its fleet
of five. Both were transferred
from its Latin American division.
“Schedules will be stepped up
to 35 round trip's weekly between
Seattle and Alaska,” acting man
ager Lewis Lindsey said. The
two added planes will carry 1,500
passengers and 30,000 pounds of
freight monthly, giving the Alas
Coal Mines Under
Investigation
I
'
i WASHINGTON, July 26, — (A*)—
The Coal Mines Administration
, announced today that investiga
tors have been sent to the West
to study conditions in coal min
ing communities.
The new team covered the so
called Denver area, including Col
orado, New Mexico, Arizona, Cal
ifornia, Wyoming, Eastern Idaho,
Utah, Montana, Washington, Ore
gon and Alaska.
Similar investigating teams have
been sent or soon will be sent to
other mining areas.
The CMA is making a study of
medical, sanitary and welfare con
ditions as part of the agreement
which terminated the soft coal
strike.
The team making the investi
gation in the West is headed by
a navy medical officer, Command
er John F. Shronts of Woodstock,
111., and includes Lt. Comdr. Glenn
S. Buie of Patrick, S. C„ Lt Com
dr.Charles J. O’Neill of Rye, N. Y.,
and Chief Yoeman C. B. Cook of
Columbia, Miss., clerical assistant.
%
ka fleet a combined monthly ag
gregate of 5,000 passenger seats
and 100,000 pounds of cargo mon
thly. Twenty flight crew mem
bers have been put on here and
the maintenance staff increased
10 percent.
UNRRA Surprised '
British News Story!
- I
WASHINGTON, July 26, —(/P)—
UNRRA officials expressed sur
prise today at a report in the Lon
don Daily Graphic, which pre
dicted Great Britain would re
duce “substantially” her contrib
utions to the relief organization.
These officials told reporters
Britain already has made avail
able the full amount of the two
contributions she pledged, total
ing $624,650,000. No further
contributions from any UNRRA
members are contemplated, they
said, since UNRRA ends its act
ivities in Europe December 31,
and in the Far East March 31.
Panic Spreads In
Jittery Jerusalem
JERUSALEM. July 29. —{/P>—
Panic spread in the heart of jit
tery Jerusalem from a false bomb
alarm today as British police
continued measures against al
leged terrorists and rounded up
more than 200 Jews.
The panic developed from the
spread of a rumor that police
headquarters was to be blown up
in a few minutes.
Someone shouted the Hebrew
word for ‘bomb’ and the busy
streets around headquarters and
the postoffice quickly emptied.
WASHINGTON, July 26, —(JP)—
A congressional committee which
hopes to solve the questions of
steamship transportation for Alas
ka and allocation of fish trap sites
in Territorial waters will open
hearings in Juneau August 5.
Rep. Jackson <D-Wash> Chair
man of a subcommittee of the
House Merchant Marine and Fish
eries Committee will head the in
vestigations and will be accom
panied by Rep. Herter <R-Mass>,
Rep. Bland <D-Va.) and Delegate
Bartlett of Alaska.
After completing the hearings
in Alaska, expected to take about
a week, the committee will hold
hearings on the Alaskan questions
in Seattle August 12 and go to
Portland, Ore., for hearings on
fishery problems on the Columbia
River on August 13.
Jackson said the Alaskan trans
portation problems had reached
a point where action to insure
steamship transportation to the
Territory must be taken in the
next session of Congress.
At a recent hearing before the
Maritime Commission here pri
vate ship owners formerly oper
ating in the Alaskan service
warned the commission they
would not again operate the lines
unless they were assured suffi
cient income to make a reason
able profit from the business.
They estimated it would require
67 to 100 per cent additional
freight rates to make the opera
tion profitable.
The lines are now being opera
ted by the War Shipping Admin
istration, which asked for a rate
increase after losing money on
the line during the war.
Jackson’s subcommittee expects
to be able to decide, after holding
the hearings in Juneau and Seat
tle, whether authority over fish
trap sites shall be lodged in the
Territory or in the federal gov
ernment. If it decides the Ter
ritory should have jurisdiction,
the problem will be turned over
to the Territory, but if it decides
the federal government shall have
jurisdiction, legislation to provide
for allocation of the traps will
be proposed in Congress.
The Interior Department, which
through the Fish and Wildlife
Service, has jurisdiction over trap
sites now, last spring ordered a
reallocation of the trap sites,
charging big commercial fisheries
controlled the majority of them,
owning from 25 to 80 site* each.
The cannery representatives op
posed the proposed changes, say
ing they would cause great loss
_
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