ss NOME NUGGET
_OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS_
VOL. L. No. 5 NOME, ALASKA. MONDAY, JANUARY 12, 1948 PER COPY — 15c
NEWS IN BRIEF
METZ, Finance, </P>—Five min
ers were killed Saturday in a fire
damp explosion at the Vuillermin
coal mine at Petite Roselle near
Forbach.
Approximately 60 men were be
low ground when the explosion
occurred. Rescue workers remov
ed the dead and injured. The to
tal number of victims is not yet
known.
BOSTON, (/P'1 — Ten persons
were taken to a hospital and more
than 50 others shaken Saturday
when the locomotive of a Provi
dence to Boston train overturned
at the Back Bay station.
First reports from the New Ha
ven railroad indicated 63 persons
had been hospitalized but a check
showed only eight persons were
taken to city hospital.
A railroad spokesman said
later the other passengers were
not believed injured seriously.
FAIRBANKS. Capt. Harry
Strong, an army Arctic specialist,
has been replaced by civilian
technician Jim Gale at the search
and rescue site near the wreckage
of the B-29 which crashed Dec. 23
and efforts continue to find the
missing pilot and navigator and
two papatroopers, the army said
Saturday.
The search will continue as
long as the "slimmest hope" re
mains of finding the men or their
bodies. Eskimo dog teams have
aided the aerial search.
JUNEAU, (/P) — A motion to
quash grand jury indictments
against six crew members of the
freighter Coastal Rambler, charg
ed with pilfering freight destined
for Kodiak, was made by Atty.
Mike Monagle before federal
judge George Folta Saturday.
Monagle charged that evidence
used was obtained illegally. Judge
Folta reserved decision.
JUNEAU, (/P)—Territorial Atty.
Gen. Ralph J. Rivers announced
Saturday that he would not be a
candidate in the. Democratic pri-1
maries. He said the salary was not
large enough to warrant his seek
ing another term and he will re
turn to private practice in Fair
banks.
Gerald Williams, Anchorage at
torney, has been mentioned as a
possible Democratic candidate,
sources here said.
- - — - ■ —■ m
McCHORD FIELD, Wash. VP)—
Another group of officers and en
listed men of the Second Infantry
division’s Yukon company B is
expected to arrive here from
winter menauvers in Alaska. One
hundred of the 250 in the com-,
pany returen Friday afternoon in
11 C-82 “Flying Boxcars.”
MOSCOW (£>)—Dr. Elis Berven,
Swedish cancer specialist, still
was in Moscow Saturday, al
though he had planned to return
to Stockholm not later than today,
if possible by plane.
(Dr. Berven was called to Mos-'
j
cow last week for consultation on'
a “serious cancer case.” The mes-j
sage did not give the name of the!
patient. The Swedish press specu
#*■>&<> i - . . r., . . w ——wMau waraag—
PRESIDENT AND CABINET — President Truman poses with his cabinet on the
White House lawn. Front row: Undersecretary of Slate Lovevt. Secy, of Defense Forrestal, Truman,
Secy, of Treasury Snyder, Atty. Gen. Clark; brc’< row : Postmaster General Hannegan, Secy, of Com
merce Harriman, Secy, of Agriculture Anderson, Secy, of interior Krug, Secy, of Labor Schwelienbach.
Alaska Faces
“Unprecedented
Cr isis”—Gruen i ng
FAIRBANKS. (/Pi — “Alaska
faces an unprecedented crisis in
the tremendous gap between Ter
ritorial revenues and necessary
expenditures,” Governor Ernest
H. Gruening said last night in an
30-minute radio address in which
he appealed for passage of Terri
torial income and general prop
erty taxes, and reiterated his con
viction that both the defense and
development of Alaska depend 01
its acceptance by the Union into
statehood.
The Governor deplored the ac
tions of the last legislature which
proposed a budget of more than
$10,000,000 despite prospective
revenues of only $3,750,000.
“Alaska’s basic problem for 35
years has been that there is no
tax system in the Territory” he
said, explaining that some indus- j
tries reap a “spectacular” profit
in Alaska, yet remain untaxed, I
and others arc taxed “negligible”
amounts.
He listed construction compan
ies, steamship lines, airlines and
oil companies as being beyond the
power of Territorial regulation, j
Millions of dollars has been
spent ince 1939 on defense con
(Continued on Page Eight)
lated that the patient might be
prime minister Stalin. Swiss,
newspapers last week published
stories inquiring whether Stalin
was dead. The Russian embassy
in London and Tass said he was
not.)
SEATTLE, </P)—B. R. Gillespie,
veteran West Coast shipping man,
has been appointed to the freight,
department of Alaska Freight Ex- j
press corporation, according to T. j
A. Thronson, traffic manager for
the new common carrier.
Gillespie served in World Wars
I and II, leaving the latter with,
the rank of lieutenant comman
der.
Recommend Large
Federal Budget
For Alaska
WASHINGTON, (/P) — A $25,
482,400 budget for Alaska nearly
! triple the amount appropriated
for the current fiscal year, was
recommended to Congress today
for the 12 months beginning July
1 first
The largest single item in the
estimates submitted by President
Truman is $15,000,000 for the
Alaska Railroad, in addition to
$11,500,000 estimated to be de
rived from operating revenues of
the road.
The $15,000,000 compares with
$4,000,000 appropriated for this
year, but includes money to pay
obligations incurred under au
thority granted to the in
terior department six months
ago to contract for the rehabilita
tion of the railroad.
A grant of $9,767,000 was pro
posed for construction and main
tenance of roads, bridges and
trails, with request for authority
to contract for $6,944,000 of addi
tional work. Only $3,750,000 was
granted for the same purpose this
year.
Other budget estimates for the
Alaska government included
$448,000 for care of the insane,
$50,000 for public schools, $69,000
for salaries and expenses of the
governor and the secretary of the
Territory, $48,000 for legislative
expenses, and $100,000 for con
struction and repair of wagon
roads, bridges and trails.
Budget estimates of the office
of Indian affairs include $1,205,
800, plus an additional $6,400,000
in contract authority, for Indian
schools, hospitals and quarters.
This year’s appropriation was
$400,000. A grant of $4,759,700
was asked for the Alaska native
service. $875,000 is requested for
the public buildings administra
tion for the establishment of a
geophysical institute at the uni*
versity of Alaska and for protec
(Continued on Page Eight)
Committee Will
Probe Deeper Into
Pauley Activities
*
-.—
(By Donald Sanders)
WASHINGTON, (#)—-Chairman
Ferguson (R.-Mich.) said Satur
day his Senate committee investi
gating commodity spt^ula t i o n
wants to know more about con
versations Edwin W. Pauley had
with two cabinet members about
I the time he completed a profitable
market deal last August,
The committee probably will
call secretary of agriculture An- j
derson and Robert E. Hannegan,
until recently postmaster general
and head of the Democratic na-1
tional committee, to tell of their
talks with Pauley at his Hawaiian
estate, Ferguson told a reporter.
He said no date has been set for
reopening the Pauley angle.
Harold E. Stassen, the former
governor of Minnesota now cam
paigning for the Republican Pres-!
idential nomination, told Fergu- i
son’s appropriations subcommit
tee Friday that administrative in
siders—including Pauley — have
been in the markets to the extent
of about $20,000,000 and have
profited by approximately $4,000,
000 since the end of the war. He
said Pauley alone made $1,000,-1
000.
Stassen said he has information
on about 11 big traders in the ad
ministration or closely related to
it.
“I will not name them until I
am ready to back it up with pos
itive proof,” he said.
Stassen said Congress should j
pass a law barring all government j
employees from buying stocks, J
bonds or commodities of a specu-;
lative nature.
There is nothing illegal about |
such activities under present law. j
Stassen declined to name the
government employees who, he j
said, gave him his first “crucial
information” which led him to
name Pauley, now a special as-|
sistant to secretary of the army!
(Continued on Page Eight)
«
Two Local Men
Give lip Search for
Missing Fliers
Charles O’Leary, veteran of the
Alaska Scouts and Sam Mogg,
who have been assisting the army
in the search for the missing men
of the ill-fated B-29 which crash
ed at Serpentine on Dec. 23, re
turned to town Friday evening
with Frank Whaley of Wien Air
lines and Bill Munz, of Munz Air
Service. Their dog team, and other
equipment were also brought in
by plane as they are withdrawing
from the search. The army, how
ever, is continuing its constant
watch whenever weather permits.
It is reported that these men
located a deep furrow about 150
feet south of of where the body
of Stg. Santhell London was
found, which they followed for
about a mile and a half east of
the wreck. This furrow is believed
to have been made by a para
trooper being dragged by his
chute. The trail which O'Leary
staked out ended on the hard flats
where there wras no impression.
With night approaching he was
forced to abandon the search, and
bad weather fop three days pre
vented progress. When it was
possible to travel again, all traces
(Continued on Page Four)
Some Of Billions
In Foreign Aid
May Be Repaid
WASHINGTON, ^ — Ambas
sador Lewis Douglas told Senators
Saturday that the United States
may recover through loan repay
ments up to $2,800,000,000 of the
$6,800,000000 proposed for the
first 15 months’ operation of the
European recovery program.
C h a i rman Vandenberg dt.
Mich.) brought this out in a se
ries of questions as Douglas con
tinued testimony before the Sen
ate foreign relations committee on
the proposed four-year program
known as the Marshall plan.
Vandenberg recalled earlier
testimony of state department of
ficials and asked Douglas whether
it is true that eventual cost to the
United States might ‘‘ultimately
be reduced” by $1,300,000,000 to
$2,800,000,000 through recovery
on loans expected to be repaid
under the plan.
“That is correct,” Douglas as
sured Vandenberg.
State department officials have
estimated that from 20 to 40 per
cent of any revorey funds ad
vanced will be in the form of
loans that may be repaid. The
balance of 80 to 60 per cent would
be in the form of grants that
would not be repaid.
Both the amount of money re
quired and the way the state de
partment wants the program run
have been under powerful criti
cism in the Senate. Vandenberg
previously has complained that
the administration has failed to
suggest *a business-like operating
system,” in which the American
people have confidence.”
Without that ‘‘you are sunk
without a trace” he added.