as NOME NUGGET
_OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LI. No. 73 NOME. ALASKA, MONDAY, JUNE 20, 1949 Per Copy-^TBc
NEWS IN BRIEF
QUANAH, Texas, (aP)—A price
war knocked the price of one-1
pound loaves of bread down to
6V£ cents Saturday.
One grocer recently opened a j
branch store in Oklahoma City and
obtained a bakery to supply both
stores. He undersold other stores
here until three of the larger local
groceries banded together to lease
idle bakery equipment. Now all
four stores sell bread at 6V2 cents.!
__
SEATTLE, (#*) — Approximate- i
ly 550 employees of the North
Coast Greyhound lines walked off j
their jobs Saturday, halting north
south bus service in western
Washington.
The strike was called by the
AFL motor coach employees un
I ion. local 1384, after a 15-hour ne
gotiating session had failed to
break the deadlock in a dispute
over wages and working condi
tions.
VANCOUVER, B. C. i/P) — Bri
tish Columbia salmon fishing
came to a standstill Saturday as
members of the United Fisher
f men's and Allied Workers’ union
voted on a new price offer by the
fish companies. Union officials
said the balloting will take several
days. Terms of the offer were not
disclosed. Earlier, the net fisher
men had rejected a company pro
posal, holding fast to a demand of
7 cents a pound for pinks and 14
cents for cohoes.
NAVAN, Ont. (/P/ — A seven
pound son was born to Mrs. Lu
cien Cleroux Friday night, 47
hours -after the birth of his six
pound twin sister.
MEXICO CITY, (/P) — Mexico
cheapened her peso Saturday to
attract tourists and sell more
Mexican goods.
The Government reduced the
peso value from 12 and a half!
cents to 11 and a half cents Fri- ,
day. With the aid of foreign funds,
the government will pay 8.64 for
a dollar and sell dollars for 8.65
pesos. Before the announcement
dollars were selling at 8.03.
SYRACUSE, N. Y. </P» — Lewi
Andreas, Syracuse university’s
director of athletics, said Friday ^
f night that Gus Eriksen, freshman
crew coach at the University of i
Washington, is “one of several j
candidates under consideration”
as head coach for the Orange.
Andreas said he would talk
with Eriksen Saturday. He added
that Eriksen has not yet offered
the job, now held by Ned Ten
Eyck, who is retiring.
WASHINGTON, (&)—The civil
Aeronautics board advised the re
construction finance corporation
Friday that it will guarantee a
proposed loan of $12,000,000 to
Northwest Airlines.
The airline already has . bor
rowed $9,000,000 from private
banks as part of a $21,000,000 fi
nancing program for new flight
equipment. The RFC-guaranteed
loan will be used in buying 10
Boeing Strato-Cruisers.
The CAB is required to pass on 1
an airline’s financial stability in
applications for loans to be guar
anteed by the RFC.
Reclamation
Report Shows
Varied Resources
(By Vern Haugland)
((/P) Special Washington Service)
W A S H I NGTON, (AP) — The
world’s largest oil claim, on the
northern shores of Alaska, has
produced a honey-colored oil that
smells like gasoline and will pour
at 70 degrees fahrenheit below
zero.
The oil came from a test bore in |
the navy’s 35,000-square-mile pe
troleum reserve No. 4 in the Point
Barrow area, the bureau of recla
mation says in its first report on
Alaskan resources.
Pointing out that no oil in com
mercial quantities has yet been
found in the reserve, it said:
“In the event that pools of sutn
cient size to warrant development
are found, engineers have already
roughed out pipelines, highways
and possible railways linking the
fields with Interior Alaska, and
eventually the ice-free coast of
the Gulf of Alaska.”
Jhe report added that oil shales
assaying from 50 to 100 gallons
and more a ton have been found
near the mouth of Alaska's Noa
tak River.
It said Alaska’s coal reserves of
more than 10,000,000,000 tons may
be found to justify construction
of at least one synthetic oil and
gas plant.
Lignite deposits can be used for
agricultural purposes, the report
said. It added:
“Black coal dust spread over
snow-covered fields accelerates
thawing of snow, advancing plant
ing from 10 to 14 days.
“In addition, lignite dust could
tContinued on Page Seven)
Vets To Get Near
Three Billions In
_Dividends
WASHINGTON, —Veterans
Administrator Carl R. Gray, Jr.,
today authorized payment next
year of a special $2,800,000,000
dividend on national service life
insurance policies.
Gray said he hopes veterans
will begin receiving checks “some
time in January, 1950,’’ with pay
ment substantially completed in
the first half of that year.
The dividend payment has been
hopefully anticipated by some
economists as a stimulant to pur
chasing power which might help
offset declining business activity.
Almost 16,000,000 'veterans of
World War II will receive the
dividends.
This would average about $175
for each ex-serviceman, but the
agency said individual calcula
tions have not been completed.
In general, every veteran who
took out national service insur
ance and kept it at least three
nonths will be eligible. Where
policy holders have died, the ben
eficiaries will receive the funds,
Uray said.
Application blanks for the divi
dends are being prepared and
(Continued on Page Five)
Unrest Bubbling
In Labor Pot
(By The Associated Press*
A week’s walkout of John L.
Lewis’ coal miners ended today
and negotiations for a contract
approached showdown stage.
Contract talks also occupied the
attention of the steel industry and
its union workers.
Lewis’ united mine workers :
halted their “stabilization” walk
out on schedule but only a week’s
work is in store for the 480,000
diggers. On Saturday their 10-day
paid vacations begin.
Whether they’ll be back in the
pits at the end of June depends on
the outcome of the talks about a
new contract to replace that ex
piring June 30. As yet the oper
ators don’t know exactly what
Lewis wants in his new pact. Min
ers now are paid an average of
$14.05 a day.
It may be that he will ask for a
cut in the work week from 40 to
35 or 30 hours at the same rate of
pay as a “stabilizing” influence
against reduced consumption of
coal.
U. S. Steel corporation and the
CIO united steelworkers called
; another contract negotiation meet
(Continued on Page Seven)
Bureau Report
Would Conserve
Salmon Waste
(By Vern Haugland)
(</P) Special Washington Service)
WASHINGTON, bT; — Salmon
heads are tasty and ought to be
canned instead of thrown away, a
bureau of reclamation report on
Alaska stated.
Most of the canned heads would
have to be exported to foreign
countries, however, the report
conceded. Immense quantities are
discarded in Alaska each year.
“Squeamishness is felt in most
section of the United States re
garding the use of fish heads,” the
report explained.
The report, perhaps the most
comprehensive study of Alaskan
resources yet published, suggested
that Alaska’s fishing industry
might also develop markets for
caviar, octopus tenacles—“they
are exceptionally tasty”—seaweed
and canned fish balls of salmon,
founder and black cod.
“New methods, new products,
new fisheries and new areas hold
promise of boosting the value of
Alaska’s fisheries far beyond its
present $115,000,000 annual mark,
creating additional empolyment as
well as more permanent employ
ment for thousands of Alaskans,”
the report said.
“It is true there is little likeli
hood the canned salmor> pack, the
fisheries largest industry, will in
crease.
“However, the majority of for
mulas now used by the industry
in canning salmon are not only
archaic but also unreasonably
wasteful.
“According to present methods
and processes, about 30 per cent
of the fish part, including heads,
(Continued on Page Three)
Cut Govt. Costs!
Truman Asks For
Another Dept.
WASHINGTON, (/P>—President
Truman today asked Congress to
create a tenth cabinet-rank de
partment—a department of wel
fare—and then put the commerce,
department in charge of public
roads.
The plans—seven all told—were
sent to Capitol Hill within a half
hour after Mr. Truman signed the
long-debated reorganization bill
giving him broad powers to merge
and streamline government agen
cies, subject to Congressional
veto.
The public roads administration
(Continued on Page Seven)
Coplon Charges
Boss “Gave” Her
“Decoy” Notes
WASHINGTON, t/P) — Judith
I Coplon told the jury trying her on
1 espionage charges Friday that her
justice department boss insisted
she take the notes from an FBI
“decoy” memorandum which were
I found in her purse when she was
i arrested.
i When the trial resumes today
for its ninth week, Miss Coplon
will return to the witness stand to
finish her denial that sh$ evei;
| engaged in espionage activity.
She testified Friday that Wil
’ liam E. Foley, chief of the justice
! department’s foreign agents reg
! istration and internal security sec
tions, gave her the “decoy” paper
the morning of March 4 as she was
about to leave for New York.
Foley, when he appeared as a
government witness, said that he
showed the “decoy” to Miss Cop
lon before she left for New York
and remarked that it was “hot and
interesting.” He said he directed
her to give it to an attorney work
ing on the Amtorg case when she
had finished with it.
Tourists Must
Deposit $347 To
Travel Alcan
CAL GARY, Alta., (/P) — Two
United States tourists said last
night they had been told by Cana- (
dian customs officials they would
have to pay a deposit of $347 be
fore they could obtain a permit to
travel over the Alaska Highway.
The two men, George G. Daunt,
of Sacramento, Calif., and Herman
J. Peters of Vallejo, Calif., said
they had refused to pay the de
posit pending inquiries into the
reason for it.
They arrived in Calgary last
night from Babb, Mont., on a 30
day permit to travel in Alberta.
Both said they had never heard of
such a permit before.
Officials of the junior chamber
of commerce in Calgary also said
they had no knowledge of such a
deposit for travelers to Alaska.
Board of trade officials said it
might be required under United
(Continued on Page Eight)
News of the World
At A Glance —
Saturday. June 18. 1949
<By The Associated Press*
The Big Four powers are ex
pected to reach agreement on an
Austrian peace treaty over the
week-end. The four-week-old con
ference of foreign ministers in
Paris is slated to end with a se
cret meeting tomorrow and a fi
nal open meeting Monday.
The second accord the foreign
ministers are striving to reach
| centers around a mode of living
[ together in divided Germany.
The world will be left with two
; Germanys, two Berlins, two eur
j rencies and an explosive area,
should east-west tension increase.
However, some progress has
been made. Agreement between
Russia and the western powers on
an Austrian treaty would be the
most important achievement of
the four powers in two years. It
would remove Russian and west
ern troops from one more point of
' possible friction.
However, friction will be in
creased in another direction. Rus
sia is said to be willing to jettison
Yugoslavia’s claims for a part of
Austria. In return she is said to be
bargaining for a greater share of
German assets in Austria. This
' Russian action will further raise
! the wrath of PrCmioi Marshal Tito
, '! Jugoslavia. It will heighten
the tension between Yugoslavia,
I the cominform outsast, which has
been feuding with Russia and
! eastern communist countries for a
| year.
Reports from Prague said Ro
man Catholic archbishop Josef
Reran will attempt to leave his
^Continued on Page Two)
CONGRESS
HIGHLIGHTS
Saturday, June 18, 1949
(By Jack Rutledge)
WASHINGTON. itfh—President
Truman ran interference for his
housing bill Friday with a blast
at real estate lobbyists who op
pose it. „
The Senate-passed me asure
calling for slum clearance, low
rent public housing and farm
housing aid comes up for House
debate next Wednesday.
The President said in a letter
to speaker Rayburn (D.-Tex.)
that he was shocked by the extra
ordinary propaganda campaign
unleashed against the housing bill.
He said it “consistently distorts
the facts.”
Terming the lobbyists “short
sighted and - thoroughly selfish,'*
Mr. Truman asked Congress not to
be misled by what he called their
exaggerations and mis-statements.
However, Rep. Martin (R.
Mass.), the House Republican
leader, said the only lobby that
has contacts with him was the one
trying to put over the bill. He said
the real estate lobby campaign “is
a surprise to me."
Martin said more of the opposi
tion to the bill, one of President
Truman’s major measures, comes
(Continued on Page Three)