OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS__
VOL. LIII. No. 17 NOME, ALASKA, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1951 Per Copy—15c
MEWS IN BRIEF
SEATTLE (/P)—A four-motored
air force B-50 bomber scraped its
belly on trees near McChord Air
Force Base, then gained altitude
and made an emergency landing
at Boeing Field here with one mo
tor last Friday, it was learned
Wednesday night.
It happened during last week’s
air force co’astwide maneuvers.
The plane, from Castle Air
Force Base, Merced, Calif., clipped
the trees as it was coming in for
a landing at McChord through
thick overcast.
Air force spokesmen said last
night the plane suffered “minor
damage.”
■ ■■■■■ ...» ■
SEATTLE, (JP) — The Puget
Sound Bridge and Dredging Co.
was low bidder at $19,731, for the
contract to drydock and repair the
Alaska Native Service ship North
Star. The work is expected to
start Monday and to be finished
by March 1. j
SEATTLE, (JP)—Carl Dverseth,
64, former resident of Cordova,
Alaska, died Wednesday at his
home.
Born in Norway, he came to
the United States in 1908, and to
Seattle in 1912, for years later he
moved to Cordova, where he lived
for 20 years. He was a retired
carpenter.
His widow and a daughter sur
vive.
SEATTLE, (/P) — Protest over
the Alaska Salmon Cannery Un
ion election will delay certifica
tion of the vote, Thomas P. Gra
ham, Jr., announced Wednesday.
Graham, regional director of the
National Labor Relations Board,
said the American Federation of
Labor Alaska fish cannery work
ers had protested the election be
cause of alleged employer favorit
ism toward Longshoremen’s Local
7-C, which won.
The NLRB in Washington, D. €.,
must rule on the protest, Graham
said, before he can certify Local
7-C as bargaining agent for more
than 2,000 non-resident Alaska
salman cannery workers.
__ )
SUDBURY, Ont. (JP) — Eight j
men on their way to work were |
killed today in the collision of a
Canadian 'Pacific passenger train
and a bus on a level crossing
seven miles east of here. Twenty
two were injured.
The crash occurred in 47^below
zero weather and fog shrouded
the region, with visibility down
to 100 yards or less. The train,
out of Montreal, was running late.:
The bus, owned by the Nickel j
Belt Coach Lines, was carrying
the men to the International Nick
el plant at Consiton. The driver,
Edouard Carriere, was not hurt.
Some early reports said 30 to
35 had' been killed but later word
*
was that eight had perished.
CORTLAND, N. Y. (JP)—For the
second year, Dr. Robert H. Kerr
has kept only $1 of his salary as
mayor.
The surgeon, a bachelor, turned .
back $3,599 last night and ex
(Continued on Page Three)
Korean Situation
At A Glance - - -
Thursday, February 8, 1951
Allied tanks poured shells into
! burned-out Seoul from hills only
i four miles away. Chinese de
fenses in western sector south of
Seoul said to be crumbling as they
back up against Han River. Allied
planes stage one of heaviest raids
of war against North Korean key
rail and highway targets, fly 650
sorties during the day.
In Berlin a top Soviet Politburo
man is reported conferring with
East German satellite officials on
the future of Germany.
In Vienna the Austrian news
paper say Czechoslovakia’s for
mer communist foreign minister,
Vlado Clementis, fled to anti
Cominform Yugoslavia for asy
lum. Belgrade officials are silent.
Friday, February 9, 1951
Allied task force pushes to the
j Han River. Chinese communist
| defenses in the west appear shat
tered. Other task forces move up
—some within two miles of the
old Korean capital. MacArthur
was turned back from his 10th
visit to Korea by bad weather.
The Reds release 41 American,
9 |
British and South Korean prison
ers of war.
_
SECOND IN PIONEER CARD
SERIES TOMORROW NIGHT |
The Pioneers of Alaska have
scheduled the second Whist Card
Party of the season for tomorrow
evening at the Pioneer Hall.
Those who did not get to the
first party are welcome the com
mittee stated, to enter the tonrn
ment, or they may compete for
just the evening games.
The committee has planned de
licious refreshments and wish to
stress the fact everyone is wel
come. It isn’t limited to members.
Announce Fur
Rendezvous Basket
Ball Schedules
ANCHORAGE, (/P)—Anchorage
high school, the defending cham
pion, has drawn the toughest as
signment in the opening round
of the Fur Rendezvous high school
basketball tournament starting
here a week from today.
The Eagles will meet a Seward
team which has beaten them once
in four conference games this
season in the Class A tourney.
Palmer, current confer e n c e
leaders, clashes with Fairbanks
on the opening night. Fairbanks
has gone winless in 12 conference
games.
Wasilla and Kodiak City high
school drew byes in the Class B
tourney. Kodiak City is defending
B champion.
Friday afternoon games have
Cordova meeting Nome, and Ko
diak NOB high facing Valdez.
The schedule was announced at
a public drawing by tourney offi
cials.
Winner of the Fur Rendezvous
tournament meets the Southeast
ern champion in an all-Alaska
playoff to be held in western
Alaska this year.
BULLETIN
WASHINGTON, {&)—'The post
office department today lifted all
restrictions on mail service.
An order, effective immediately
directed all post offices to resume
normal mail service.
Various restrictions had been
put into effect during disruption
of train service due ot the switch
men's "sick" strike.
The order gives the nation reg
ular postal service again for the
first time in more than a week.
Eskimo Girl Gets
Year For Katon
gan Shooting
(Anchorage Times)
A 24-year-old Eskimo girl who
has had a first degree murder
charge hanging over her for the
past seven months was brought
into district ccrurt in Anchorage
to hear herself charged instead
with “careless use of firearms.”
Following her almost inaudible
plea of “guilty” Judge Anthony J.
Dimond sentenced her to one year
in jail the last ten months to be
suspended.
Lena Coomara’s uncle, Paul Ka
tongan, died at Providence Hos
pital early an the morning of
June 20, five hours after he had
been shot during a corn whisky
drinking party in an Eastchester
cabin. A coroner’s jury investi
gating the case listed the cause
of death as due to “loss of blood
caused by a gunshot wound caus
ed by person or persons un
known.” Lena was charged with
his murder and held without bail
in federal jail.
At the hearing Assistant U. S.
Attorney Ralph Moody said that
further investigation reve a 1 e d
that Katongan, still in a raging
drunk after he was hospitalized,
pulled the bandages off his
wounds. It appears, Moody said,
that the shot—which entered the
man’s hips—wouldn’t have caused
the death had he not done this.
“I feel that justice will be serv
ed by sentencing the girl on the
charge of careless use of fire
arms,” Moody added.
The girl had steadfastly main
tained that the shooting was an
acident. Her version of the affair
was repeated to the court by At
(Continued on Page Three*
Dog Races At Anchorage Fur Rendezvous
:•
mm#*
H
cl
1*1
Alaska's fastest dogieams will gather in Anchorage late this month to compete in the $6,000 1951
Fur Rendezvous Alaskan Championship Race. Starting Feb. 22 and continuing through Feb. 25,
the races include four 25-mile laps. Photo shows start of last year's race with Dale Potts, No. 19,
at the starting line with his team. In foreground holding the dogs is Earl Norris, one of Anchor
age's lop mushers.
Lifting The Lid
At Juneau
(By Jim Hutcheson)
I -
Thursday, February 8, 1951
JUNEAU, (/P)—A recommenda
tion for a change in the proposed
statehood convention delegations
was rammed through the Alaska
House of representatives late
Wednesday over the heated pro
tests of the Third Division bloc.
Members from the First, Sec
ond and Fourth Divisions pushed,
through a memorial to petition
the U. S. Senate and interior
committees to revise the repre
sentation.
• • * * * *
The final vote was 17-7.
The memorial contends the
bill’s provision for 10 delegates
from the Third Division and nine
at large “may well result in com
plete control of the convention by
the Third Division without regard
to the rights of the other Divi
sions.”
Third Division Representatives
charged the memorial involved
arbitrary abandonment of the
democratic principle of propor
tional representation. They de
nied allegation sthat the Third
Division wants to dominate the
Territorial convention • or the
eventual state.
The scrap over the statehood
• convention lineup—an issue which
Congress and not the legislature
will decide—was the liveliest dis
i
pute in the House’s longest day of
the session.
The House also voted unani
mously for an increase in depend
ents’ allowances under unemploy
ment compensation; voted 13-11
for an increase in unemployment
compensation payments to $30
weekly from $25; and voted unan
imously for a memorial by Rep.
George Miscovich (R.-Flat) asking
federal officials to start purchas
ing and stockpiling of Alaska’s
strategic minerals.
Both unemployment bills were
introduced by Rep. Wendell P.
Kay (D.-Anchorage). They now go
to the Senate.
The dependency allowance bill
provides a person with three de
pendents could draw up to a max
imum of $1,000 in benefits. The
present law allows only $625, the
same as for a single man.
Arguments for it were that all
benefits remain in the Territory
because defendents must be Alas
ka residents to qualify.
The bill to increase compensa
tion had a narrow squeak, how
ever, in fact of criticism that as
almost half the benefits are paid
outside the Territory, the fund
should be built up during the
Alaska military const ruction,
boom.
The split was mainly along par
ty lines, with 13 Democrats for
and all Republicans and Demo
cratic Rep. Glen Franklin (Boun
dary) against.
However, the law making was
Overshadowed by the statehood
bill fight. * It engendered some
spots of genuine heat.
Rep. Vernon M. Metcalf (D.
Juneau) said at one stage:
“We are in danger the Third
(Continued on Page Two)