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CONGRESSMEN REPORT ON CLOSING OF MARKS
Last fall three Senators, Lester Hunt of Wyoming,
Wayne Morse of Oregon and Leverett Saltonstaill of
Massachusetts, took time out from a schedule already
more than full, and made a flight to Alaska to see de
fense conditions at the source.
They arrived in Nome during one of our worst rain
storms, risking the chance of being storm-toound, to see
what the people of Northwestern Alaska were so alarm
ed about with the closing of Marks Air Force Base, and
why ther were so aroused.
We have waited for Congress to open its new session
and hear their report. We find that Senator Morse of
Oregon has reported on his trip to Nome in the Senate
on December 1st.
His eloquence speaks for itself in its condemnation of
the action of our military leaders and their destruction
of this outpost defense. We quote in part from the Con
gressional Record: .
“ . . . This afternoon I propose to speak only for the junior Senator
from Oregon, as a member of that subcommittee. I wish to say that the
Oregan, as a member of that subcommittee. I wish to say that the
greatest human drama I have ever observed, I observed in Nome,
Alaska, when on October 18, I beleve it was, we conducted a public
hearing in the courthouse, where we listened to witnesses testify in
behalf of some 150 fellow American citizens, residents of the Seward
Peninsula. We observed them exercise one of the gratest of all the
freedoms incident to being an American, namely, the freedom to pe
tition their Government for the redress of what they consider to be a
wrong.
“In testimony ably prepared, they presented to our committee tne
evidence on which they based their petition for more adequate defense,
not for themselves alone, not for Nome alone, but for the entire Sew
ard Peninsula. Two of those witnesses will always remain very vivid
in my memory, Mr. President; one of them, a Mr. A. Polet, who has
spent 51 years in Nome. He has raised his family .there, presently lives
with his grandchildren in Nome. He has been a past president of vari
ous civic clubs and is presently secretary of the Nome Chamber o<
Commerce. Mr. Polet is one of the leading merchants of the Seward
Peninsula, -beloved by all the residents of that area, including the na
tive Eskimos. The other witness I wish to especially mention is a Mr.
Jones, who has been in Nome for 53 years, and who for many years
was a member of the Senate of the Territory of Alaska. These wit
nesses presented to us, as our committee report I am sure will event
ually show, convincing evidence that the resources of the Seward Pe
ninsula are of such vital importance to the security of America that
they must never be allowed to fall into the hands of Soviet Russia. As
we sat in the courthouse listening to the testimony presented in the
course of the hearing, we were less than *10 minutes by jet plane from
one of the greatest concentrations of air power ever assembled by any
nation—the air power of Soviet Russia assembled on Siberian soil. I
repeat that this powerful concentration of Russian air might is a little
less than 10 minutes by jet plane from -Nome, Alaska. . . .
“ ... As we looked out a fthe window of that courthouse onto Marks
Field, which was one of the great air bases of America during World
War II, what did we see? We saw a field which to all intents and pur
"ANY ROOM IN t FOR US?”
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JHiflHBH
NEWS IN BRIEF
(Continued from Page One’
Ave. 6. f'pr the post two years the
ship has been berthed at the
eminent locks* Prospective buy
ers ihay inspect her by a£f>ofh*t
The vessel was built in 1922.
She was replaced in 1948 on .the
Alaska run by a laj#er ship, also
named the North Star.
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i HEIDELBERG, Germany (JP)—
i U. .S. army general court martial
today sentenced Major Harold D.
Banning, former finance officer of
Berlin Military Post to five years
i at hard labor and a fine eft $90,000
for misusing more than half a
million dollars in army funds.
The sentence includes dishonor
able discharge and forfeiture of
pay and allowances.
• - * •
NEW YORK, <iP)—The atomic
energy commission said today it
was investigating reports that
: snow which fell in Rochester, N.
| Y., this week was “measureably
' radioactive.”
The officers said the reports in
dicated “there is no possibility of
harm to humans or animals.”
^ ■ i ■ ■ — ■ ■■■I—^
I LOUISVILLE, Ky. (JP) — The
temperature dropped to a near
record 19 degrees below zero here
this morning and the eight-col
umn front page headline of the
Louisville Times read:
“Count ’em, 0000000000000000000
below.”
I . .......
WASHINGTON, <>P) — Suspen
sion of “assessment work” on min
ing claims until the end of the
! present national emergency was
proposed in Congress yesterday by
the Republican Senator from
Montana.
Federal mining law requires at
least $100 worth of work be per
formed each year on any mining
claim on public land until patent
is obtained. The requirement was
suspended during World War II
and for a year or sd afterward.
* i
.
President Truman will greet 12 outstanding Boy Scouts in the
White House on Feb. 6 opening the 41st anniversary of the Boy
Scouts of America. Boy Scout Week will be observed Feb. 6 to 12
in every part of the nation by more than 2,750,000 boys and adult
leaders. “Strengthen Liberty” is the birthday theme
At “birthday parties” during
Boy Scout Week throughout the
nation each member will re
pledge himself to the Scout Oath
or Promise. In each community
representatives of the churches,
schools, government and busi
ness will observe the anniver
sary with their Scouts. At Unit
“open house” parties, parents,
relatives ,and members of the
chartering institutions will hear
a review of the year’s program
features, service projects and
membership gains.
During Boy Scout Week mem
bers of the organization will
develop window displays and
demonstrations on civil defense
and conservation. Each member
will inspect his home to make
certain no hazards exist. Sur
prise mobilizations will test
Scout efficiency should emergen
cies arise.
Since 1910 more than 17,500,
000. boys end men have been
identified with the Boy Scouts
ofAmerica.
poses has been dismantled—stark, ghostly evidence of one of the great
mistakes of America since World War II, as far as its demobilization
and disarmament program is concerned., I would point out this after
noon that for a long time following the dose of World War II we were
actually engaging, senselessly in my opinion, in a disarmament pro
gram in America as well as a demobilization program. Marks Field
stands as a stark reality of that fct.
“These witnesses, Mr. President, testified for defense Of the Seward j
Peninsula, because the resources of the Seward Peninsula are vital to
the security of every American living in continental United States.. . .”
BOY SCOUT WEEK—FEB. 6 TO 12
President Truman Will greet twelve outstanding Boy
Scouts in the White House at noon next Tuesday, Feb.
6, and most Governors will receive Scouts at state cap
itals to mark Boy Scout Week when more than 2,750,000
members will celebrate the organization’s 41st birth- j
day. *
Observed in every city and town and most villages
and hamlets by more than 75,000 units, Boy Scout.
Week (l*eb. 6 to 12), is the largest single birthday ob
servance by young Americans.
On Thursday, Feb. 8, the day that the Boy Scouts of
America was incorporated at Washington, D. C., the en
tire membership Will recommit themselves to the Scout
Oath or Promise at 8:15 p.m., in the four time zones.
Civil defense attid conservation of the nation’s natural
resources Will claim a major share of the Scouts’ atten
tion this Boy Scout Week. Members will also inspect
their homes to make certain no hazards exist. Scout ef
ficiency in emergencies, will be tested through surprise
mobilizations. j
Boy Scout Sunday will be observed Feb. 11 in many
churches with Scouts and leaders attending services in
uniform. Those of Jewish faith will hold their observ
ances in synagogues and temples Friday evening and
Saturday, Feb. 9 and 10.
No “Blackout” On
Alaska News
•w
ANCHORAGE, (/P)—The Alas
kan command reported yesterday
it has imposed "tighter restric
tions on release of military infor
mation," but denied a general
news blackout was in effect in
Alaska.
A statement issued by the pub
lic information office said:
"The Alaskan command has not
clamped a tight news blackout in
Alaska. Naturally we are impos
ing tighter restrictions on release
of military information and have
been for some time . . . <tout) there
is'no desire of suppress general
news of interest to the American
people. . . ”
The statement was released af
ter the Chicago Tribune had car
ried a story regarding censorship
of military news in Alaska.
The Anchorage Times said that,
with the exception of regulations
put into effect after outbreak of
fighting in Korea, its news rela
tionship with the military has not
been changed in the last five
years.
■■ /
The Nenana Ice Classic, which
has become a traditional part of
Alaska’s spring activities Has a
new manager this year, Don Clark
who announces that the event will
be carried on as it has in the past
34 years.
Th'e closing date of this event is
April 7.