m NOME NUGGET
__OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LI. No. 75 NOME, ALASKA, FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 1949 Per Copy—15c
NEWS IN BRIEF
JUNEAU (/P)—Some 150 guests
of the national federation of fed
eral employees arrived in time
Wednesday night to witness the
$75,000 fire which destroyed the
Salmon Creek Country Club three
miles from here.
The blaze was believed to have
started from grease over the kit
chen range or defective wiring.
The country club was owned by
Tom and Joe George, who said
there was “little insurance.”
Volunteer firemen ran two
streams of water from Salmon
Creek, but the fire raged uncon
trolled.
NEW YORK, l/P) — New
York State’s Liberal party, figur
ing that U. S. Senator Robert F.
Wagner will resign soon because
of illness, is backing former Gov.
Herbert H. Lehman for the post.
Selection of the Democratic ex
Governor by the Liberal party’s
policy committee was announced
last night by State chairman
Adolf A. Berle. Jr.
Wagner, New York’s 72-year
old senior Senator, has not ans
wered a Senate roll call since
1947.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.,
^Pl — The nation’s governors
wound up their 1949 conference
Wednesday night by electing
Kansas' Republican Gov. Frank
Carlson as next year’s chairman.
Among resolution approved was
the usual one calling for state
hood: for Alaska and Hawaii.
ANCHORAGE. </P) — A rain
loosened landslide hit an Alaska
Railroad ‘railbus’ north of here
Tuesday, slightly injuring one of
the 23 passengers aboard.
The accident occurred on the
Palmer to Anchorage run while
the train was traveling at about
20 miles an hour.
One woman received superficial
head cuts, and other passengers
were shaken up. The only damage
to ‘he railbus was a bent pilot
plow.
The main railroad line from
Anchorage to Fairbanks was
closed Wednesday by a washout
on the tracks, but service was ex
pected to be resumed shortly.
WASHINGTON </P), The House
labor committee has spt July 8 for
a hearing on a bill by Delegate
Bartlett of Alaska to extend to
workers on federal construction
projects in Alaska benefits of the
Alaska workmen’s compensation
law. The workers are employed by
private contractors and are not
federal employees.
LONDON (Ah—Winston Church
ill, who paints for a hobby, put a
painting on the block today for
the first time. It sold for 1250
guineas ($5,250.>
The signed painting, called
“The Blue Room, Trent Park,
1934,” was auctioned to raise
funds for the Young Women’s
Christian Association.
It was bought by the Brazilian
chain of 24 newspapers owned by
Assis Chateaubriand and will go
to the Sao Paulo art museum.
Trouble Brews
In Cook Inlet
Fish Industry
ANCHORAGE, (TP) — Alfred
Owen, Jr., business agent for the:
united fishermen of Cook Inlet'
<AFL> charged Wednesday that
“leadership” of the CIO fishermen
and cannery workers of Cook In
let is attempting to foment a
strike the end of this week to dis
rupt the canning season.
Owen, who is a member of the
legislature: accused leaders of the
CIO union of “inflaming class
hatred, trough radio talks por
traying employers as responsible
for the ills of resident workers.”
He declared that “such utter
(Continued on Page Five)
New Versus Old
Labor Law Vote
Will Be Close
WASHINGTON, (IP)—Both its
friends and foes yesterday pre
dicted a close Senate vote on whe
ther to keep the Taft-Hartley
law's injunction provision against
, critical strikes.
Backers of the injunction won a
pair of preliminary victories late
Wednesday when the Senate
soundly defeated two other plans
for dealing with strikes which
threaten the national welfare.
But the Senators in that pro
injunction group said they are
keeping their fingers crossed. And
those opposed to the injunction
method declared they still are in
! the running.
Senate Democratic leader Lucas
(111.), one of those against the
Taft-Hartley provision, put it this
way:
“The vote is going to be very
(Continued on Page Eight)
Great Falls Asks to
Be Removed From
Seattle P. O. Dist.
GREAT FALLS, Mont. (/P) —
Great Fall has submitted a formal
request to Washington postal of
ficials that it be removed from the
Northwest Postal District and jur
isdiction of Seattle, district head
quarters.
President Lou Siniff of the
Great Falls chamber of com
merce, said here yesterday the re
quest is being made because
Great Falls “apparently is not re
ceiving fair treatment” in its ef
forts to secure an overland mail
haul out of here direct to Alaska
over the Alaska Highway.
The assertion followed advice
(Continued on Page Six)
BULLETIN
JUNEAU. </P) — Federal Judge
ruled today the special session of
the Territorial Legislature was in
valid. but the withholding income
tax provision passed by the regu
lar session of the Legislature is
legal. The decision was given in
the case of the Alaska Steamship
Co.
House Demos Sure
Socialized Housing
Bill Will Pass
WASHINGTON, (^—Adminis
tration Democrats confide n t 1 y
predicted victory as the slam-bang
House debate on public housing— |
which started off with a fist fight
—went into its second day yester
day.
House leaders claimed a margin
of 30 votes for President Truman’s i
hotly contested housing bill, one
of the major domestic points of
his “fair deal” legislative pro
gram.
Speaker Rayburn <D.-Tex.> told
reporters the administration is
| sure to win.
H o wever, lawmakers spear
heading an opposition team of Re
i publicans and southern Democrats
insisted the issue is still in doubt.
Rep. Halleck <R.-Ind.» said Re
<Continued on Page Three)
Charles Outpoints
Waleott 7» - 72
CHICAGO. (/Pi—'The crowd of
25,392, which paid $246,546. was
not disappointing to Arthur Wirtz.
James D. Necris and Louis, who
formed the IBC.
However, it was in sharp con
trast to the 45,500 fans who paid
$715,470 to see the Brown Bomber
get off the floor in the first round
j and flatten Braddock in the
eighth.
Charles’ victory over the 35
year-old Camden, N. J., family
man was decisive. Walcott staked
everything on a knockout blow in
the first two rounds. But the fal
tering veteran, who one year ago
was beaten into submission by
Louis, had lost much of his speed
and ring cunning as the result of
a year’s absence from the ring.
Charles fought a cautious bat
tle. He had his aging foe on the
way to a knockout in three differ
‘Continued on Page Three)
Fight For Stassen
And Warren As
GOP Chairman
(By Jack Bell)
SALT LAKE CITY UP)—A fight
between backers of Harold E.
Stassen and Gov. Earl Warren of
California over the choice of a
new chairman appeared develop
ing among young Republicans
here today.
At the same time, an AFL labor
leader told the young Republican
national federation bluntly that
its leadership needs “a complete
change in thinking” to the point
where it will show some “respon
sibility for the public welfare.”
Joseph D. Keenan, director of
Labor’s League for Political Edu
cation <AFL> fired a critical blast
at GOP leaders—including Sena
tor Robert A. Taft of Ohio and
House minority leader Joseph
Martin of Massachusetts—as the
convention’s second day's sessions
got underway.
There seemed little doubt that
(Continued on Page Five)
Rain And Floods
Do Much Damage
Near Anchorage
—
ANCHORAGE, (&)—Torrential
rains and swollen streams and
rivers put emergency crews to
work Wednesday all the way
from Anchorage to Mile 267.6,
north on the Alaska Railroad.
Alaska Railroad, Alaska road |
commission, army and Anchorage
municipal empolyees plunged into
the breach as flood waters dis
rupted rail and highway transpor-,
tation and threatened to flood
railroad storage yards here.
Emergency dikes were thrown
up along raging Ship Creek near
Anchorage as the stream leaped
to a record high. One of two rail
road equipment reservoirs adja
cent to the creek was swept away.
Scrap metals, railroad car
: frames, old stoves, wheels and
1 junk were dumped in front of a
1 piling breakwater to help pro
tect the railroad pumping station.
Other levees were going up along
the creek to keep waters from the
railroad yards.
City work crews were working
around the daylight-blanketed
clock to keep the storage yards
; near the stream protected. Valu
able telephone cable was among
equipment stored there. Rampag
ing waters cut away a bank near
the pumping station and threat
ened to take out the Anchorage
city water supply intake. Large
concrete blocks, dumped in front
! of the intake, diverted the force
\ of the water. Another dike was
: erected to protect a diesel plant
in the area.
The weather bureau said this
section of Alaska can look for
more rain. Showers were to con
tinue with heavier rains expected
(Continued on Page Six)
Truman Asks For
Postniastersliips
Out Of Politics
WASHINGTON, </P)—President
Truman today recommended leg
islation completely rem o v i n g
postmaster appointments f r o m
politics.
In a special message to Con
gress he urged enactment of a law
to authorize the postmaster gen
eral to appoint all postmasters
subject only to provisions of the
civil service and classification
acts.
This would mean tha| the time
honored custom of the President
appointing first, second and third
class postmasters—of whom there
are some 21,000—would be aban
doned. Senate confirmation of the
Presidential choices likewise
would no longer be a part of the
routine.
Postmasters theoretically have
been under the civil service sys
tem for some time. But legislators
frequently have had a hand in
picking one of the first three pass
ing the examination and, further
more, the Senate for years has had
final say on confirmation. Fourth
class postmasters are appointed
by the postmaster general and do
News of the World
At A Glance —
■»
Thursday. June 23. 1949
*By The Associated Press'
A Vatican source said today the
arrest of Archbishop Josef Beran
by the communist government of
Czechoslovakia is expected at any
time. Archbishop Beran, primate
of the Roman Catholic church in
Czechoslovakia, has been accused
of anti-state activities by the gov
ernment established Catholic Ac
tion Society.
It is a show-down tight between
the Catholic hierarchy and the
government, similar to that waged
in other communist-dominated
countries. The Vatican has ex
communicated members of the
Catholic Action Society, calling it
a device to divide church mem
bers and put church education un
! der government control.
The striking West Berlin rail
way workers union proposal to
work freight trains from West
Germany, although not abandon
ing their strike, has run into
snags. British officials said the
plan was impractical and ordered
German police to stop the workers
from operating an “emergency
service” without the permission
of the Russian-controlled manage
ment.
the otter is being considered by
the railway management. The un
ion also offered to send work
squads out to repair damage done
i during the early days of the
strike. They are striking for full
pay m We<! marks, instead of less
valuable East marks, for job se
curity and union recognition.
There was speculation in com
munist-held Shanghai that Britain
may try to run the announced
blockade of communist ports to be
imposed Sunday by the national
Chinese government. The British
sloop Black Swan stood off Shang
hai. British officials were mum
on their plans.
In London, Britain lodged a
second protest over Chinese na
tionalist air attacks on the dam
aged freighted Anchises in the ap
proaches to Shanghai. The freight
er was bombed by Chinese na
tionalists early this week in the
Whangpoo River and was beach
ed.
A fact-finding board in Hono
lulu is studying testimony pre
sented at public hearings in an ef
fort to find some solution to Hono
lulu’s crippling longshoremen’s
strike. The board will make a re
commendation to Gov. Ingram M.
Stainback.
The 54-day-old strike of 2,000
stevedores for increased pay has
tied up shipping—Honolulu’s life
line. Lack of supplies has closed
many industries and brought
hardship to protesting consumers.
A Dominican gov ernment
fContinued on Page Three)
not have to be confirmed. These
are for the smaller offices.
The new legislation requested
by Mr. Truman is in line with a
recommendation of the govern
ment reorganization commission
headed by former Pres i d e n t
Hoover.