m NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LII. No. 27 NOME, ALASKA, MONDAY, MARCH 6, 1950 Per Copy—15c
NEWS IN BRIEF
SEATTLE, (/P)—The president
of the International Fishermen
and Allied Workers <CIO> said to
day a one-day stop-work meeting
is planned for the West Coast as
a protest against imports.
President Joseph Jurich said j
the recent convention in San1
Francisco authorized the action to!
emphasize the damage to the West j
Coast industry from imports.
He said the executive board was
authorized to set a date. It has I
not yet been done.
Jurich charged that Iceland
fishermen are subsidized by their
government, through use of funds
from the United States, and then
the fish products are sent to this
country. He said the subsidy is 2
or 3 cents a pound.
SEATTLE, (>P) —Investigations
of Alaska’s diminishing salmon
runs will be reviewed by Dr. Wil
liam F. Thompson, director of the
University of Washington Fisher
ies Research Institute, and his
staff at a salmon research confer
ence here next Friday.
More than 300 salmon cannery
executives, brokers and represen
tatives of associated industries
will hear the scientists’ report on
studies in Bristol Bay, Kodiak,
and Southeastern Alaska.
FARMINGDALE, N. J. (/P) —
Mrs. Betty Kornfeld listened care
fully while two salesman tried to
sell her an accident insurance pol
icy and a newspaper subscription
in her home.
Suddenly there was a terrific
bang.
The oil burner has exploded.
After the salemen, A1 Lifschitz
and Frank Trask had carried Mrs. |
Kornfeld and her grandmother
from the house, shut off the
power and cleaned up the debris,
Mrs. Kornfeld signed up.
FORT BELVOIR, Va. (P)—The
worldwide U. S. army basketball
tournament started here today,
with 11 teams entered.
The army brought in three
teams from overseas, from the
Austrian, Far Eastern and Pacific
command.
They will compete against
teams from Fort Monmouth, N. J.;
Fort Knox, Ky., Fort Jackson S.
C.; Brooks Army Medical Center,
Fort Sam Houston, Tex.; Fort
Riley, Kas.; Fort Lewis, Wash.;
Fort Richardson, Alaska, and Fort
Myer, Va.
DETROIT, (P)—The CIO UAW
are going to demand $125 monthly
pensions and a nine cents an hour
pay raise from General Motors.
They were major parts of a 37
cents an hour package which the
auto union will present to big GM
at forthcoming contracts talks
covering 235,000 workers.
As the UAW unfolded its pro
gram Saturday, industry viewed
it as a possible hint of the pattern
which the CIO will try to set up
nationally for 1950.
NEW YORK, (P) — A new in
quiry into subversive activities i
will be started today by a federal
grand jury here. |
This was announced Friday by I
Statehood Fight
Arrays For Battle
In Senate Arena
•
WASHINGTON, (/P) — Alaska’s
bid for statehood, approved in the
House and endorsed by President f
Truman, headed Saturday for an
uncertain fate in the Senate.
The House passed a statehood
bill Friday, 186 to 146, after a bit
ter fight. There were signs of
even stronger Senate opposition.
Senator Butler (R.-Neb.) pre
picted last year that neither Alas
ka nor Hawaii would reach their
statehood goals at this session of
Congress. The House is scheduled
to take up the Hawaiian measure
this week.
House members from the more
populous states attached Alaska’s
qualifications for Statehood in
Friday’s debate on grounds that
its population is too small. They
pointed out that Alaska, with
about 100,000 population, would
have the same representation in
the Senate as New York of Califor
nia, with populations exceeding
10,000,000.
Hawaii’s Delegate Farrington, a
Republican, retorted that the sys
tem of equal representation in the
Senate was decided upon by the
Founding Fathers of the nation.
He said Hawaii and Alaska should
not be penalized for it.
After passage of the Alaska bill,
Farrington opened debate on the
Hawaii measure.
The Alaskan and Hawaiian bills
have been moving hand-in-hand.
The President mentioned the two
together in urging their approval
in his State of the Union message.
Farrington and Delegate Bart
lett of Alaska, a Democrat, have
teamed up in the fight to get the
two bills passed.
If the Alaska bill surmounts the
Senate hurdle, the Territory
would have to wait a year or more
before it achieves statehood.
This would be the procedure:
during that time:
1. A constitutional convention
would be called and held.
2. The convention would be ap
proved by the President.
3. A general election would be
held to name two Senators and
one representative.
4. The result would be reported
to the President, who then could
proclaim Alaska a State.
The Territory was purchased
from Russia in 1867 for $7,200,000.
(Continued onr Page Three)
Thomas J. Donegal, special assist
ant to the attorney general. He
said the jury, successor to the one
that indicted Alger Hiss, will hear
“many new witnesses who have
not appeared before,” as well as a
few who appeared before the Hiss
jury.
PHILADELPHIA ,(>P) — Edgar
Lee Masters, who forsook a flour
ishing law practice to write “Spoon
River Anthology" and many other
widely-read poems, died last night
at the age of 81.
Masters had keen retired from
an active literary career during
the latter part of his life.
He was stricken with virus
pneumonia several years ago.
4Mercy Death" Wo
man May Have Died
Before Injection
MANCHESTER, N. H., (TP)—Dr.
Herman N. Sander’s claim that a
cancer patient died before he in
jected air into her veins still stood
after a stiff attack.
Attorney general William L.
Phinney tried hard Friday to have
a star defense witness say Mrs.
Abbie Borroto was “practically
dead” and not entirely dead when
he saw her last Dec. 4. He failed.
The witness was Dr. Albert
Snay, who said he found Mrs. Bor
roto dead a few minutes before
Dr. Sander put air into her veins
in an apparent gesture of impul
sive mercy.
Phinney put the word euthana
sia into the 10-day-old trial record
for the first time with a sugges
tion that young Dr. Snay favors
such mercy killings.”
“I have no opinion on euthasa
sia,” insisted Dr. Snay.
i The rapid-fire order in which
23 defense witnesses took the
stand Friday led to a defense pre
diction that testimony might be
over by Tuesday. Thus, the case
might go to the all-male jury by
Thursday.
MANCHESTER, N. H. </P)—Dr.
Hermann N. Sander testified in
his murder trial today that “there
was no indication of life, no re
action,” when he injected aid into
the veins of Mrs Abbie Borroto.
He also said “I never had any
intention of killing Mrs. Borroto.”
Under questioning by one of his
attorneys, the defendant said he
• Continued on Page Four)
*’\\ alking Blood
Bank Success After
Six Months* Trial
(Petersburg Press>
A “Walking Blood Bank” which
can supply donors within 15 min
utes after a doctor's request is
ideal for a small, semi-isolated
community like Petersburg.
This is the wholeeharted opin
ion of Petersburg’s two doctors,
Mr. and Mrs. Jesse L. Herrell.
With the Territorial spotlight
casting its rays this way in a few
weeks when the Alaskan Jaycees
gather here for their State Con
vention in March, the doctor’s re
port on the first six month’s oper
ation of the Jaycee brainchild
bears its share of community in
terest.
Late last summer the Junior
Chamber of Commerce here gave
birth to the idea and prevailed
upon their membership to sign up
with the doctors and have their
blood typed. Telephone numbers
(Continued on Page Three)
BULLETIN
(Special to The Nugget)
WASHINGTON. (/P). The House
tentatively approved the bill
granting Statehood to Hawaii by i
a voice vote, but postponed the ii- j
nal vote until tomorrow. There
was only minor opposition during
the debate.
Coal Contract
Signed; Miners
Go Back To Work
WASHINGTON, (/P)—'The sign
ing of a new contract sent soft
coal miners swarming back to the
pits today — ending a serious
threat to the nation’s economy
and promising peace in the coal
fields for months to come.
For the miners, the prize they
won was a $1.40 daily “package”
per man, plus, a reasonable assur
ance of fairly steady work for at
least a year and perhaps until the
middle of 1952. For the operators,
it meant getting back into busi
ness.
For the public the settlement
meant relief from a four-week
strike, rescue from a looming in
dustrial breakdown, and some as
I surance of stability in what Pres
: ident Truman has called “a sick
industry,”—plus higher coal bills.
One operator put the cost of the
United Mine Workers’ gains at
^$250,000,000 this year. The extra
cost to consumers may be any
: where from 25 to 50 cents a ton.
The strike-settling contract was
(Continued on Page Five)
Capt. Lathrop Sure
Senate Will Kill
Statehood Bill
SEATTLE (/P)—One of the most
■ outspoken foes of statehood for
1 Alaska was astonished by the
i strength of the dissenting vote
1 when the House of Representa
■ tives approved admission of the
j Territory into the Union.
, Austin E. (Capt.) Lathrop, 84
year-old Alaskan industriali s t,
said yesterday he “didn’t lose a
wink of sleep” over the 186-146
vote which sent the statehood bill
to the Senate Friday.
The heavy opposition vote was
surprising, Lathrop said, “because
nobody in the House could hurt
himself by voting for it, since the
Senate is there to make sure the
bill will go no further.”
The “political compulsion’’ that
exists in the Senate was absent in
the House consideration of the
measure, Lathrop said.
“The State of Alaska would
send one representative and two
Senators to Washington,” he said.
“Four hundred thirty-five Repre
sentatives don’t worry too much
about one more member, but 96
Senators will think a moment be
fore they consent to two more.”
Lathrop has lived in Alaska
since 1896, when he sailed from
Seattle as part-owner of a steam
schooner carrying gold miners.
Lathrop has opposed immediate 1
statehood for Alaska on the J
grounds that too few taxpayers j
would have to support a govern-1
ment “more costly than the Ter- j
ritorial government we have not
proven we can support properly
now.”
Lathrop disapproved the use of
“national defense” as an argu
ment for statehood.
“I’d hate to think,” he said “that
the proper defense of the nation’s
most strategic area depends in
any degree on the form of govern
ment of Alaska.”
News of the W oriel
At A Glance —
Saturday, March 4. 1950
<Bv the Associated Press)
The French National Assembly
clamped a gag on debate of its
anti-sabotage bill today after a 24
hour session in which communist
deputies fought with fist and fili
buster to block the measure.
The controversial bill intro
duced on the eve of arrival in
French ports of American arms
aid would authorize the govern
ment to insure the unloading of
military cargoes. It also tightens
up security controls aimed at
thwarting communist attempts to
stop the unloading of American
arms.
In one of the stormiest sessions
of the French Parliament, the
j communists used every delaying
tactic in the book to block the leg
islation.
They fought guards with fists.
They staged sitdown strikes on
the Assembly rostrum. They usee!
; two-hour long delaying speeches.
They fought with their fists on
the assembly floor and a near riot
1 broke out in the assembly corri
jVlors.
The communist benches cheered
when one party member, referr
; ing to the American arms ship
ments, declared: “The boats will
1 come, but they will not be allowed
to unload.”
The communist, Georges Gos
i nut, shouted: “This program,
pushed under the pressure of the
Americans, is leading us to the
, gates of war against the Soviet
| Union.”
Another communist depu t y ,
Gerard Duprat, held the rostrum
for more than seven hours until
guardsmen evicted him.
In P r a g ue, Czechoslovakia’s
communist government threatened
new state action against the Ro
man Catholic hierarchy. Minister
of justice and church affairs Alex
ei Cepicka charged Archbishop
Josef Beran with “working for a
long time to spread disruption and
incitement.”
The latest attack on the church
was prompted by a circular letter
which the prelate recently issued.
It forbade Czech priests from ac
cepting government posts without
prior approval of the church.
In London, Prime Minister Att
lee held a series of conferences
with heads of Britain’s counter
spy and security organizations. It
was believed they discussed the
seven-year leak of atomic secrets
to Russia through the hands of Dr.
Klaus Fuchs who was sentenced
to 14 years imprisonment last
Wednesday. The conferences were
said to be aimed at reinforcing se
curity measures and preventing
any further leaks to foreign pow
ers.
A Hong Kong newspaper said
700 persons were killed yester
day in a Nationalist Chinese air
raid on Canton. Nationalists air
headquarters made no mention of
bombing Canton. It announced a
reconnaissance flight over Han
kow. Earlier it had announced 10
major cities of communis Chino
would be bombarded
cally.
(Continued on Page
i*